Public Administration Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate public administration major is an interdisciplinary program. In addition to the courses taken within the School, provisions have been made for the student to select additional courses in areas as diverse as economics,sociology, social welfare, political science or psychology. Required preparatory courses for the major include classes in accounting, political science and statistics.

Declaring the Major
The Public Administration program is in impacted program. To be admitted to the major students must meet the following criteria:

  • Students must fulfill the premajor requirements described in the catalog in effect at the time they declare the premajor.
    OR New Majors must complete the following:
  • 6 required prerequisite courses noted on Major Outline (18 units);
    • ACCTG 201 Financial Accounting Fundamentals
    • ECON 101 Principles of Economics (this course is also a prerequisite for the Minor)
    • ECON 102 Principles of Economics (this course is also a prerequisite for the Minor)
    • POL S 102 Intro to American and Californian Government and Politics (this course is also a prerequisite for the Minor)
    • IDS 180  Principles of Information Systems (Minors must also take one course from IDS 180 or Statistics)
    • A three-unit course in elementary statistics
    • An additional three-unit prerequisite, PA 200, is required and may be taken concurrently with PA upper-division courses.
  • Minimum grade of “C” in all prerequisites
  • Complete a minimum of 60 transferable semester units
  • Minimum 2.4 G.P.A., cumulative.

At the end of each semester (after grades are posted) PA pre-majors will be evaluated by the Office of Advising and Evaluations and automatically declared a PA major if all pre-requisite requirements have been met. 

Students not meeting the minimum pre-requisite requirements may petition for special consideration by completing the “Declaration or Change of Major” form (see reverse side) and following the below instructions…

If you have met the requirement to declare the major, you must complete the Declaration or Change of Undergraduate Major form.

Pre-Major/Major Students
At the end of each semester, after grades post, PA pre-majors will be evaluated by the Office of Advising and Evaluations and automatically declared a PA major if all pre-requisite requirements have been met. Students not meeting the minimum pre-requisite requirements may petition for special consideration by completing the “Declaration or Change of Major” form, which may be obtained from the Lobby of PSFA 100 or from the Office of the Registrar (SSW 1641). When submitting the DCM Form please attach an official or unofficial transcript(s) from all institutions of higher education AND place in the drop box in PSFA 100. Be sure to highlight all 6 required courses on the transcripts. After the form has been submitted it may take up to a week to process. If the form is approved, it is the student’s responsibility to take the form to the Office of the Registrar.

Filing a Master Plan (major outline)
Students may consult with a PA Faculty Advisor regarding their major courses. PA Major coursework must conform to the requirements on the Major Outline or Degree Evaluation depending on your catalog year. If courses are not shown on your Degree Evaluation, submit the Master Plan to your Advisor for formal approval before the end of the second week of your final semester. If you declared the major in a different catalog year and there is a conflict see your advisor to resolve the conflict.

Please click here for a copy of the Public Administration Advising guide.