Advanced Placement
The Department gives accelerated placement into upper-level electives to students who have scored a 4 or 5 on the AP Government exam. Such students, if they wish, may substitute an upper-level elective for Fundamentals II (PO 042). To make this substitution, the student should contact the Department's transfer credit adviser. This substitution does not reduce the total number of courses required for the major. Students must still take at least 10 Political Science courses for the major during their years at Boston College.
The Department's advanced placement adviser is 
Professor Dennis Hale.
Transfer Credits from Study Abroad
Students considering study-abroad and seeking to transfer courses from abroad should review the Department's
policies regarding
study abroad. The Department's study-abroad adviser is
Professor Kenji Hayao.
Transfer Credits from other U.S. Institutions or Departments
Students who come to Boston College as transfers from another institution in the United States, and who have been granted transfer credits by Boston College Admissions, should consult with the Department's transfer credit adviser to confirm how these credits will be applied to the Political Science major. This consultation should occur before registering for further Political Science courses.
Students who are enrolled at BC and take Political Science courses at other institutions in the United States or abroad may have such courses credited toward their major. However, the Department will accept no more than two Political Science courses per semester (6 credits) from another institution, or four courses for an entire year. These courses will count as major electives only.
Students are encouraged to take as many courses in Political Science as they wish at other institutions, within the United States or abroad. But in all, no more than four courses taken at other institutions may be counted as elective courses toward the Political Science major. (The additional courses may count toward the total courses required for the BA degree.)
The four courses for the field distributional requirement in the Political Science major (one course each in American, Comparative, and International Politics and in Political Theory) must be taken at Boston College.
Final approval of courses taken at other U.S. institutions requires the signature of the Department's transfer credit adviser. Students are advised to discuss courses they might take at another U.S. institution with the transfer credit adviser in advance, to assure that the courses are eligible for Political Science credit.
The Department's transfer credit adviser is
Professor Dennis Hale.
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