Political Science 101 is open to first-year students. Political Science 101 offers a rigorous introduction to the concepts and methods of the discipline. The course serves as a gateway to the major, but it also helps students understand the political world more generally. This has direct relevance for many other academic enterprises and for a variety of careers.
Students majoring in political science are required to complete courses in each of the three subfields (comparative politics, international relations, and American politics) and two seminars at the 300 level. Majors must fulfill a specified 200-level prerequisite prior to enrolling in a 300-level seminar. No 200-level course can be used to fulfill the prerequisite for more than one seminar. It is possible to count up to eight credits as cognates from related fields of study in the social sciences if taken at the 200-level or above. In addition to taking 32 credits in the major, political science majors must take a course in statistics (MAT 115 or MAT 209). Students must fulfill this statistics requirement on campus at Grinnell. The department recommends that students who have prior coursework in statistics enroll in MAT 209. Exceptions to this policy may only be made for transfer students on a case-by-case basis.
There are many ways to complete a major in political science. One possibility, which includes a semester of Off-Campus Study (OCS) is:
| FIRST YEAR FALL | FIRST YEAR SPRING | |
| POL 100 | POL 2XX | |
| SECOND YEAR FALL | SECOND YEAR SPRING | |
| POL 2XX, MAT 115 or MAT 209 | POL 2XX | |
| THIRD YEAR FALL | THIRD YEAR SPRING | |
| POL 2XX or OCS | POL 2XX | |
| FOURTH YEAR FALL | FOURTH YEAR SPRING | |
| POL 2XX and/or POL 3XX | POL 3XX |
