Department of Government

Living in a foreign country and gaining fluency in a foreign language can be central parts of a liberal education. Indeed, a deep understanding of any of the sub-fields of political science-yes, even American politics-requires engaging other people's politics, history, culture, and language. For this reason, the Government Department has a policy of doing what it can to enable its concentrators to study abroad.

The process of approving 'Study Abroad Petition' requires concentrators to meet with the DUS for advance approval of courses that will count toward the concentration. The DUS generally approves any political science course taken abroad for the concentration, though in some cases may need to consult the proposed course description and syllabus carefully. Courses taken in the stipulated related fields will also count toward the concentration. Students must earn a B- or better in each course in order to receive final approval.

Students often feel they need to take as many courses abroad for concentration credit as possible in order to get a petition approved. This is neither an accurate interpretation of the College's policy nor something the Government Department endorses. The Department cares rather that students take a sufficient number of courses for concentration credit to ensure timely progress toward the degree requirements. We care also that these courses make sense given a particular student's intellectual interests and aims. For instance, students intending to write a thesis need to choose their courses in the junior year with special care. Meeting with the DUS is meant to help ensure that the chosen courses not only will count toward the concentration, but also that they are appropriate for you.

Once abroad, many students find they need to change their course selection-sometimes students discover that courses listed on the Study Abroad Petition are not offered as expected or that scheduling precludes taking all the courses listed. Students in this situation should email the DUS immediately (or the Undergraduate Program) with their revised list of courses, and should copy their correspondence to Catherine Winnie. It is in the student's interest to keep the DUS informed of all course changes as they occur.

Students should keep in mind that the DUS only approves courses for concentration credit. The Government Department does not decide which courses if any may count toward the Core and does not decide whether the Study Abroad Petition should be approved. For more information about these matters and the study abroad process generally, we encourage you to consult with the Office of International Programs. They are located in University Hall, Ground Floor South. They can also be reached at 496-2722, or oip@fas.harvard.edu. A list of programs recommended by Government department faculty members is available on the OIP web site.

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