BA/BS Social Science

A bachelor’s degree in social science is the most frequently pursued major at Portland State University. For this reason, all off-campus sites offer core courses for a bachelor’s degree in social science.

Requirements
for transfer students with 90 or more credits

General Education Requirements

• 12 credits—upper-division cluster: three 4-credit courses
• 6 credits—senior capstone project

Major Requirements

• 32 credits—upper-division social science (300- or 400-level)
  • 8 upper-division credits in one department
  • 8 upper-division credits in a second department
  • 16 additional upper-division social science credits
    from courses in administration of justice (330), anthropology, black studies (except BSt 351, 352, 353, 421, 424, 425, 426), economics, geography, history, international studies, political science, psychology, sociology, urban studies and planning, or women’s studies
• 4 credits - writing 323 or a WIC-designated course
• Courses used to satisfy the major must be graded C- or above. A maximum of 12 credits may be graded P/NP.
• 20 credits of upper-or lower-division social sciences.

Electives

• These may vary depending on the number of credits transferred at admission, the amount of lower-division coursework in social science, and whether a minor is being pursued. (Students must complete a total of 72 upper-division credits.)

BA Requirements

A Bachelor of Arts degree requires that the student has 12 credits in Arts/Letters (four credits must be in Fine & Performing Arts), 12 credits in Sciences/Social Sciences (four credits must be in science), and four credits in foreign language numbered 203 or higher (conducted in the target language). (28 total credits)

BS Requirements

A Bachelor of Science degree requires 12 credits in science (exclude math/stats), 12 credits in arts/letters and/or social sciences, and four credits in math/stats; eight of the 12 Science credits must be coursework with lab or field work (28 total credits).