# Political Science (Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T))

Santa Barbara City College · 2026-2027 Catalog · Department: Political Science, Economics, Global Studies, and Law and Society

Source: https://catalog.sbcc.edu/academic-departments/political-science-economics/political-science-aat/

The study of Political Science is the study of how people are governed and how they govern themselves. This process involves, among other things, the decision to allocate scarce resources to an expanding population with ever-increasing demands.  Political Scientists aim to develop an understanding of the institutions, the practices, and the relations that constitute public life.

As a discipline, in the West, Political Science originates with the Greeks.  Following their lead, we examine the views of political philosophers from Plato and Aristotle to the present on the question of which type of government is most conducive to human fulfillment and why. Given that we are a department of Political Science at an American institution of higher learning, we study the American political experience as a unique experiment in “self-government,” but we also go beyond studying how America is governed to look at other political systems, both democracies and non-democracies. Furthermore, our discipline seeks to understand the cooperation and conflict in the international arena by studying the interactions of states, international organizations, and non-governmental actors on the global scene.

The goal of the Political Science Program at Santa Barbara City College is to prepare students to develop the fundamental understanding of the American political experience as a unique experiment in “self-government,” going beyond studying how America is governed to look at other political systems with a view to realizing the differences and commonalities between these political systems. The program examines these differences in an attempt to understand something about the degree to which one system is better suited to a country than another, and whether or not one can indeed speak of one type of political arrangement as the “best.” Our discipline also seeks to understand the causes, dynamics and possibilities of conflict and conflict resolution in the international arena, by studying the interactions of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and non-state actors on the global scene.

Political Science courses help prepare students for many careers in the public or private sectors. For example, Political Science is often used as a pre-law major or for other related professions, such as careers in government at the federal, state or local levels. Our discipline is also appropriate for a number of careers at the international level, such as international diplomacy or international business, as well as other professions in non-governmental sectors both nationally and internationally.

The Associate in Arts for Transfer degree in Political Science provides students with the foundational knowledge necessary to make a successful transition into a Baccalaureate Degree at any of the CSU campuses.  The Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) is a special degree offered at California Community Colleges. Students who earn an AA-T or AS-T degree are guaranteed admission to a campus within the California State University (CSU) system in a similar major, although not necessarily to a specific campus. Students who complete an AA-T or AS-T are given priority consideration when applying to a particular program that is similar to the student’s community college major, and will be given a special GPA advantage when applying to CSU impacted campuses or majors.

Students should consult with an academic counselor when choosing electives in order to develop a program of study that is best suited to their specific needs. For example, requirements for the baccalaureate degree in Political Science vary from one institution to another. It is, therefore, essential to become familiar with the requirements of the institution that a student plans to attend.

Visit https://adegreewithaguarantee.com/ for more information about these degrees.

### Requirements

**Associate Degree for Transfer Graduation Requirements**

Complete all of the following:

1.  All Major Requirements listed below with a “C” or better or "P" in each course.
2.  Cal-GETC pattern.
3.  At least 60 CSU transferable semester units.
4.  Achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all CSU transferable coursework.
5.  A minimum of 12 units through SBCC.

| Course | Title | Units |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Major Requirements** | |  |
| **Required Core - Complete three courses from the following:** | | 9-10 |
| ↳ POLS C1000 | American Government and Politics |  |
| ↳ POLS 121 | International Politics |  |
| or ↳ POLS 121H | International Politics, Honors |  |
| ↳ POLS 131 | Comparative Politics |  |
| ↳ POLS 132 | Political Thinking |  |
| **List A - Complete two courses from the following:** | | 6-8 |
| **Any course not selected from the Required Core** | |  |
| ↳ POLS 104 | American Government: Policy Issues/Process |  |
| ↳ POLS 110 | Politics, Society And The Mass Media |  |
| ↳ POLS 122 | International Organizations: Global and Regional Governance |  |
| ↳ POLS 134H | Political Violence, Honors |  |
| ↳ POLS 136 | Middle East Government And Politics |  |
| ↳ POLS 151 | Law And Society |  |
| ↳ STAT C1000 | Introduction to Statistics |  |
| or ↳ COMM 288 | Communication Research Methods |  |
| or ↳ PSY 150 | Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences |  |
| or ↳ PSY 200 | Research Methods and Experimental Design in Psychology |  |
| or ↳ SOC 125 | Introduction to Statistics in Sociology |  |
| **List B - Complete one course from the following:** | | 3-4 |
| **Any course not taken in the Required Core or in List A** | |  |
| ↳ AJ 101 | Introduction To The Administration Of Justice |  |
| ↳ AJ 102 | Ethics In The Criminal Justice System |  |
| ↳ AJ 104 | Introduction to Corrections |  |
| ↳ AJ 105 | Diversity, Law and Justice |  |
| ↳ AJ 107 | Concepts Of Criminal Law |  |
| ↳ AJ 125 | Introduction To Criminology |  |
| ↳ AJ 245 | Constitutional Law |  |
| ↳ AJ 271 | The Study of Evil |  |
| ↳ ANTH 102 | Introduction To Archaeology |  |
| or ↳ ANTH 102H | Introduction to Archaeology, Honors |  |
| ↳ ANTH 103 | Introduction To Cultural Anthropology |  |
| ↳ ANTH 104 | Language and Culture |  |
| ↳ ANTH 109 | Comparative World Cultures |  |
| ↳ ANTH 113 | Witchcraft, Magic, Science And Religion |  |
| ↳ ASAM 101 | Comparative Asian-American History, 1849-1965 |  |
| ↳ ASAM 102 | Contemporary Asian-American History |  |
| ↳ BLAW 101 | Business Law |  |
| ↳ BLAW 110 | Legal Environment of Business |  |
| ↳ BLST 102 | The African-American In U.S. History, From Civil Rights Movement To Present |  |
| or ↳ BLST 102H | The African-American in U.S. History, from Civil Rights to Present, Honors |  |
| ↳ BLST 103 | African-American Culture |  |
| ↳ CHST 101 | Mexican-American (Chicano) History In The U.S. |  |
| ↳ CHST 102 | The Chicano And Latino In U.S. History, From The 1960's To The Present |  |
| ↳ CHST 103 | Mexican-American (Chicano) Culture |  |
| ↳ CHST 115 | Introduction To Mexican Literature |  |
| ↳ CHST 121 | The Chicana And Other Latina Women |  |
| ↳ COMM 101 | Introduction to Communication |  |
| ↳ COMM 151 | Intercultural Communication |  |
| ↳ COMM 171 | Mass Media and Society |  |
| ↳ COMM 289 | Communication Theory |  |
| ↳ ECE 102 | Child, Family and Community |  |
| ↳ ECE 120 | Child Growth and Development/Educators |  |
| ↳ ECON 114 | Environmental and Natural Resource Economics |  |
| ↳ ECON C2001 | Principles of Microeconomics |  |
| or ↳ ECON C2001H | Principles of Microeconomics - Honors |  |
| ↳ ECON C2002 | Principles of Macroeconomics |  |
| or ↳ ECON C2002H | Principles of Macroeconomics - Honors |  |
| ↳ ETHS 101 | The Immigrant Experience in the U.S. |  |
| or ↳ ETHS 101H | The Immigrant Experience in the U.S., Honors |  |
| ↳ ETHS 103 | The American Ethnic Cultural Experience |  |
| ↳ ETHS/SOC 107 | Racism In America |  |
| ↳ ETHS 109 | U.S.-Mexico And Other Borderlands |  |
| ↳ ETHS 110 | Contemporary Ethnic Communities |  |
| ↳ ETHS 120 | Race, Ethnicity and Social Movements in the United States |  |
| ↳ ETHS 121 | Women of Color In The U.S. |  |
| ↳ ETHS 122 | Arab-American/Middle Eastern Women In The U.S. |  |
| ↳ GEOG 102 | Human Geography |  |
| ↳ GEOG 104 | World Regional Geography |  |
| ↳ GEOG 105/ERTH 142 | Economic Geography |  |
| ↳ GEOG 106 | Geography Of California |  |
| ↳ GLST 101 | Introduction to Global Studies |  |
| ↳ GLST 102 | Global Problems |  |
| ↳ GLST 105 | Global Environmental Politics |  |
| ↳ HIST 103 | History of Western Civilization |  |
| ↳ HIST 104 | History of Western Civilization |  |
| or ↳ HIST 113H | History Of Western Civilization: 1600 To Present, Honors |  |
| ↳ HIST 107 | World Civilization, Beginnings to 1550 |  |
| ↳ HIST 108 | World Civilization, 1550 to Present |  |
| ↳ HIST 110 | History of American Women |  |
| or ↳ HIST 110H | History Of American Women (Honors) |  |
| ↳ HIST 111 | The American West as Frontier and Region |  |
| ↳ HIST/ENVS 112 | American Environmental History |  |
| ↳ HIST 115 | The Vietnam Wars |  |
| ↳ HIST 120 | Modern Europe |  |
| ↳ HIST 121 | History Of Great Britain |  |
| ↳ HIST 122 | History Of Great Britain |  |
| ↳ HIST 127 | History Of Russia |  |
| ↳ HIST 133 | History of Latin America |  |
| ↳ HIST 135 | History of Mexico |  |
| ↳ HIST 137 | History of Religions of The Middle East |  |
| ↳ HIST 138 | History of the Modern Middle East |  |
| ↳ HIST C1001 | United States History to 1877 |  |
| ↳ HIST C1002 | United States History since 1865 |  |
| or ↳ HIST C1002H | History Of The U.S. Since 1865 - Honors |  |
| ↳ JOUR 101 | Reporting/Writing I |  |
| ↳ JOUR 200 | Contemporary News Media and Society |  |
| ↳ NATA 101 | American Indian: Past and Present |  |
| ↳ NATA 102 | The Native American In 20th Century Society |  |
| ↳ NATA 104 | California Indians |  |
| ↳ NATA 105 | California Tribes: The Chumash |  |
| ↳ PHIL 101 | Introduction to Ethics |  |
| or ↳ PHIL 101H | Introduction To Ethics, Honors |  |
| ↳ PSY 112 | Introduction to Cognitive Psychology |  |
| ↳ PSY 140 | Child Development |  |
| ↳ PSY 145 | Human Development |  |
| ↳ PSY 170 | Abnormal Psychology |  |
| ↳ PSY 175 | Social Psychology: Psychological Perspective |  |
| ↳ PSY 210 | Introduction to Psychopharmacology |  |
| ↳ PSYC C1000 | Introduction to Psychology |  |
| or ↳ PSYC C1000H | Introduction to Psychology - Honors |  |
| ↳ SOC 101 | Introduction To Sociology |  |
| or ↳ SOC 101H | Introduction to Sociology, Honors |  |
| ↳ SOC 103 | Marriage, Family and Intimacy |  |
| ↳ SOC 104 | Social Psychology |  |
| ↳ SOC 106 | Sociology of Deviance |  |
| ↳ SOC 109 | Social Problems |  |
| ↳ SOC 113 | Sociology Of Sex and Gender |  |
| ↳ SOC 115 | Introduction To Social Research |  |
| ↳ SOC 118 | Media, Culture and Society |  |
| ↳ SOC 127 | Introduction to Women's Studies |  |
| **Total Units** | | **18.00-22.00** |

Students are advised to consult the CSU ADT Major & Campus Search database to determine which bachelor's degree programs offered by the CSU campuses are deemed similar to the AA-T in Political Science.   Students are also advised to consult ASSIST (www.assist.org) and to meet with an academic counselor to discuss the best combination of courses to take for their AA-T to ensure they receive the admission benefits associated with it, and to meet the requirements of the transfer institution to which they are intending to transfer.

### Learning Outcomes

1.  Demonstrate knowledge of how people are governed and how they govern themselves.
2.  Analyze the role of government institutions in contemporary society.
3.  Demonstrate knowledge of key terms and core concepts of political systems.

### Recommended Sequence

Make an appointment with your SBCC academic counselor through Starfish to create a Student Education Plan that reflects a recommended course sequence for this program that is tailored to your individual needs.

How to schedule an Academic Counseling appointment.