UCLA VS. Berkeley -- Political Science

drbash
Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:31:20 +0000

Here’s a copy of a post from samantha444:

tough one…
I can only speak for UCLA poli sci (since i’m a student here), but I would recommend reposting this in the Berkeley forum. from what I hear, UCB has an amazing political science program, but I would ask students to get their input.

PROS
UCLA Poli sci and Public Affairs professors are excellent: they are leaders in their fields, and many of them have had major leadership roles in governmental agencies (Mike Dukakis teaches some undergraduate courses, Al Gore has taught here, Warren Christopher teaches an Honors Collegium each winter, etc.). There is a wide variety of courses, and you have to choose to specialize in one of five tracks (check the UCLA poli sci website for specifics). Usually, the professors are very highly ranked and people do not complain about them. There are a lot of opportunities to study abroad in the major, during the summer or the school year, and there are a lot of internship opportunities in the LA area and Washington DC through the CAPP program or the UCLA Career Center. A lot of governmental agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, recruit at UCLA. I know people who have interned for Senators Boxer and Feinstein, as well as for the city officials.

CONS
Political Science is a very competitive and impacted major at UCLA (probably because of the quality of the classes and professors). Classes are often difficult to get and fill up quickly. If you have priority, this is often less of a problem, but you’ll see that it doesn’t always work out perfectly once you actually register yourself here (priority caps on sections). Don’t expect to get many PS classes your freshman year…use the year to get your GEs done.