Sophomore Planning
When are sophomore plans due?
The schedule for 2025 Sophomore Planning is as follows:
January 28 - February 14: Departments and program info sessions.
Political Science's Info Session is Tuesday, February 11 @ 4pm in Trotter 301
February 17 at 1 pm: Deadline for students to indicate major(s) and minor(s) in mySwarthmore.
February 24: Deadline for students to draft a sophomore plan to review with their advisor.
February 24 - March 5 : Students and sophomore plan advisors meet individually to review plan.
March 6 at 1:00 pm : Deadline for students to submit revised sophomore plan in mySwarthmore.
Where do I complete my sophomore plan?
Early in the Spring semester, students complete their Sophomore Plan electronically via the mySwarthmore website.
What should my plan include as a Political Science major/minor?
Future courses: Enter a list of the courses that you plan to take related to your major(s), minor(s) and any remaining distribution requirements.
Political Science courses for the next two years can be found here.
Political Science majors must have taken one intro course and one other POLS course to be accepted as a major. You must take one course in each subfield (American Politics, International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Theory), and must complete 8.5 credits. You must include the senior comprehensive (POLS 092) in Spring of your senior year.
Narrative: Write a short essay in the narrative box, describing what you want to study and why.
Honors: Indicate whether you plan to pursue the Honors Program. If you plan to pursue Honors, complete the Honors Plan.
Honors majors and minors must list the honors preparations they plan to take in the next two years. Please review our website for an accurate listing of upcoming honors seminars. To be accepted as an honors major/minor in Political Science, you must have a POLS GPA of 3.67
What resources are available to assist me with my plan?
Our department will assign you an advisor to your sophomore plan once you indicate your intended major/minor in mySwarthmore.
Dean Liz Derickson (Assoc. Dean of Academic Success) can help you with sophomore planning dilemmas, and Mira Baric (Student Affairs Division) supports the overall Sophomore Planning process.
