Getting Credit, Political Science, Barnard College

GETTING CREDIT

Getting Transfer Credit
You can receive major or minor credit for a maximum of two courses transferred from another college. Only one such course may be used for the colloquium requirement, and only if it is a small course (fewer than twenty students) and if a research paper is the major part of the grade.
You can obtain the course approval request form online or from the department office, 417-A Lehman. To request approval, please see the Department Chair with the syllabus or an equivalent description of the course requirements. At the discretion of the department, courses that do not meet Barnard standards for workload or intellectual rigor will not be granted major or minor credit.
Getting Summer School Credit
You can receive major or minor credit for one course taken in a summer school session. Before enrolling you must fill out the Registrar's application for summer course approval, identifying the course you plan to take. You cannot get summer credit for a political science course unless you meet with the Department Chair and provide the course description and reading list from the summer session program prior to taking the course. This pre-approval does *not* guarantee you course credit in the College or the department. You request departmental credit when you return and fill out the course approval request form, and provide a copy of the syllabus or an equivalent description of the course requirements. At the discretion of the department, courses that do not meet Barnard standards for workload or intellectual rigor will not be granted major or minor credit.
Any political science course listed in the undergraduate offerings (i.e., 1000 and 3000-level) of the Columbia University Summer Session will count toward the Barnard major or minor requirements, with the exception of POLS W1002 "Introduction to Political Thought." For 4000 or higher level Columbia courses you will need to submit a course approval form to request credit.
Getting Advanced Placement Credit
Barnard awards Advanced Placement (AP) credits toward the 120-credit requirement for the B.A. degree. The Department does not credit an AP course toward the ten-course requirement for the major or the five-course requirement for the minor.
Students who have passed the AP in American national government with a grade of 5 are exempted from the requirement to take an introductory course in American politics, provided they take an upper-level course in American national government listed in the Barnard catalogue. Where BC1001 "Dynamics of American Politics" is listed as a course prerequisite, an AP score of 5 in American national government counts as an equivalent.
Students who have passed the AP in comparative politics with a grade of 5 are exempted from the requirement to take an introductory course in comparative politics, provided they take an upper-level course in comparative politics listed in the Barnard catalogue. Where V1501 "Comparative Politics" is listed as a course prerequisite, an AP score of 5 in comparative politics counts as an equivalent.
Getting Credit for Internships / Independent Study
Barnard does not award academic credit for internships per sé. However, you may use an internship experience in an independent study project sponsored by the department and receive credit for the academic work involved in the project. Online instructions about the independent study are available.
Getting Study-Abroad Approval and Credit