Whatcom Community College
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Political Science Pathway
This pathway assumes:
- You will be a full-time student.
- You will start in the fall.
- You are ready to take 100- and 200-level classes.
If not, you can still complete the pathway! You will just need to make adjustments. Talk with your advisor to customize your plan.
Follow this recommended pathway to earn the AAS/DTA degree and prepare for a university major in political science, political science/social studies, political science/economics, political science/economics/philosophy, or other combinations. You can customize your plan even more. Talk with your advisor about adapting it for your individual goals.
Scroll to the end for course suggestions.
| Description | Designed for students new to the college environment. Introduction to college services; study skills and time management; educational planning and career exploration; and skills necessary to become a successful student. Lectures, small group discussion, and experiential exercises. (UE) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Outlines the main structure and function of American government. Also deals with politics in theory and in practice emphasizing political concepts, protest and reform movements. (SS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | This course helps students become more effective writers in academic and professional settings. Students learn to enter ongoing academic conversations, analyze and use secondary sources to formulate, develop, revise, and communicate ideas in writing, and shape their message to different purposes, audiences, and media. (CC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of ENGL 95 or placement in ENGL& 101. |
| Course Attributes |
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Total credits this quarter: 13-14
Career exploration: Find your people! Attend area-of-study activities and connect with clubs with a focus on community activism, politics, sustainability, or leadership. See what student government is doing.
Action item: Meet with your advisor to build your degree plan.
Action item: Have your transfer-in credits officially evaluated.
| Description | This course helps students become more effective communicators through the production of various forms and mediums of writing. Students develop effective rhetorical strategies through analysis of texts and contexts, as well as engaging in independent research as part of meaningful and ethical scholarship. (CC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of ENGL& 101 with a minimum grade of C-. |
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| Description | Rigorous introduction to statistical methods and hypothesis testing. Includes descriptive and inferential statistics. Tabular and pictorialmethods for describing data; central tendencies; mean; modes; medians; variance; standard deviation; quartiles; regression; normal distribution; confidence intervals; hypothesis testing, one and two-tailed tests. Applications to business, social sciences, and sciences. (QSR,MS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Completion of MATH 088 or MATH 099 with a minimum grade of C. |
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| Description | Survey course covering the rise of nationalism, evolution of American lifestyles, Civil War, westward movement, and the American industrialrevolution from 1815 to World War I. (SSd) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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Total credits this quarter: 15
Course note: Choose this quarter's social science from a subject other than POLS.
Career exploration: Compare the different political science majors and combined majors at universities you're interested in.
| Description | Fundamental course in communication theory. Students will apply knowledge in variety of settings including interpersonal, public speaking, and small group communication. Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Introduction to communication theory and public speaking emphasizing organization, audience analysis, oral styles, and use of visual aids. Includes presentation of various types of public speeches and analyses of contemporary speeches. Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Introduces students to the theory and practice of small group communication. Course covers interpersonal relationships in groups, leadership, decision-making, problem solving, and presentations speaking in a variety of settings. Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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| Description | Formerly CMST 145. This course is designed to introduce students to the field of organizational communication. Students will examine a range of perspectives, theories, and issues exploring the ways communication affects and is affected by the organizational context. Topics will include technology, diversity, and ethics in organizations; sexual harassment, negotiating/conflict management. The course involves theory application with a primary focus on the development of effective communication skills (e.g., interviewing, professional presentations, teamwork, responding non-defensively to criticism, leadership). Recommended preparation: placement in ENGL& 101. (OC) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
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LAB SCIENCE click for list (5 credits)
HUMANITIES from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
Total credits this quarter: 15
Career exploration: Look for a summer job or internship related to your career goals.
Action item: Check the GPA and other entry requirements for your future major. Are you on track?
| Description | Evaluation of major political concepts in regard to government, property, religion and man's place in society. (SSg) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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| Description | This course examines the major events and developments in world history since 1815. Major themes will include industrialization; imperialism, resistance, and decolonization; nationalism, revolution, and state building; the growth of dominant political ideologies and mass movements; global conflict and genocide; neocolonialism; the Cold War; and human-environment interactions. (SSg) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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| Description | Survey course exploring the social, political, and economic history of the United States since World War I. (SSd) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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or another ELECTIVE from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
SCIENCE click for list (5 credits)
PHYSICAL EDUCATION click for Listed Electives list (1-2 credits)
Total credits this quarter: 16-17
Course note: You can use up to 3 total credits of activity PE in your AAS/DTA degree.
Action item: Meet with your advisor about applying to universities. Start your transfer applications.
Action item: Apply for next year's financial aid.
| Description | Examines the history of international relations and theories of how such relations work, possible trends in globalization or interdependence, problems of authority, concepts and reality of conflict and security, and economics. Studies key international actors such as nation-states, international organizations and others including multinational corporations, and terrorist groups. Also addressed: diplomacy, human rights and international law. (SSg) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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| Description | Use interdisciplinary methods to evaluate and compare the uses of different key resources, using methodologies from science, economics and politics. Students will learn about resources, such as energy or water, in the context of scarcity, depletion, climate change and impact on the environment. Students will learn why these three disciplines must be considered by voters and decision makers as they try to formulate policies and make choices regarding sustainable resource use that are scientifically feasible as well as economically and politically acceptable. Recommended preparation: Math 98. Prerequisite: placement in ENGL& 101. (SS,MSwgs) |
| Enrollment Requirements | Placement in ENGL& 101 |
| Course Attributes |
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or another MATH/SCIENCE from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
HUMANITIES from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
PHYSICAL EDUCATION click for Listed Electives list (1-2 credits)
or another ELECTIVE from suggested list below or click for complete list (2 credits)
Total credits this quarter: 15-17
Course note: Take this quarter's PE or elective only if you're going to need them to reach 90 total credits in 100- or 200-level courses.
Course note: You can use up to 3 total credits of activity PE in your AAS/DTA degree.
Action item: Apply to graduate by week 3 of this quarter.
| Description | This is an introductory course for those not planning a major in Business, Accounting, or Economics. Fundamental concepts of economic analysis with application to contemporary problems, including consumer demand and supply decisions in market economies, national income, unemployment, inflation, money, and banking. (SS) |
| Enrollment Requirements | None |
| Course Attributes |
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or another ELECTIVE from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
HUMANITIES from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
ELECTIVE from suggested list below or click for complete list (5 credits)
Total credits this quarter: 15
Action item: Attend the spring job fair.
Course Suggestions
If your goal is to major in political science at WWU
- POLS& 202, POLS& 203 and POLS& 201 as listed above
- Elective (if offered):
POLS& 204 Comparative politics (preferred)
or POLS& 101 Intro to political science
If your goal is to major in political science/social studies at WWU
(leads to a secondary education endorsement in social studies)
- POLS& 202, POLS& 203 and POLS& 201 as listed above
- Elective (if offered):
POLS& 204 Comparative politics (preferred)
or POLS& 101 Intro to political science - Social science or elective:
ANTH& 206 Cultural anthropology
or SOC 201 Social problems
or SOC 120 Marriage and family
ECON& 201 Microeconomics
ECON& 202 Macroeconomics
Note: as an alternative, wait until after transfer and take a course geared toward teaching economics.
HIST& 214 Pacific Northwest history
HIST& 126 World civilizations I
HIST& 128 World civilizations III
HIST& 146 US history I
HIST& 147 US history II and HIST& 148 US history III (must take both to get credit for WWU's HIST 104)
GEOG& 200 Human geography
If your goal is to major in political science/economics at WWU
- POLS& 202, POLS& 203 and POLS& 201 as listed above
- Elective (if offered):
POLS& 204 Comparative politics (preferred)
or POLS& 101 Intro to political science - Social science or elective:
ECON& 201 Microeconomics
ECON& 202 Macroeconomics - Math (Quarter 2), Math/science (Quarter 5) or elective:
MATH& 146 Intro to statistics
MATH& 141 Precalculus I
MATH& 142 Precalculus II (prereq for calculus I)
MATH& 151 Calculus I
MATH 145 Algebra applications for business and economics (prereq for business calculus)
MATH& 148 Business calculus
If your goal is to major in political science/economics/philosophy at WWU
- POLS& 203 as listed above
- POLS& 202 or POLS& 201 as listed above (not both)
- Social science or elective:
ECON& 201 Microeconomics
ECON& 202 Macroeconomics - Humanities or elective:
PHIL& 101 Intro to philosophy
PHIL 130 Intro to ethics - Math (Quarter 2), Math/science (Quarter 5) or elective:
MATH& 146 Intro to statistics
MATH& 141 Precalculus I
MATH& 142 Precalculus II (prereq for calculus I)
MATH& 151 Calculus I
MATH 145 Algebra applications for business and economics (prereq for business calculus)
MATH& 148 Business calculus
PHIL& 117 Traditional logic