Undergraduate Program

Requirements and Instructions for Petitioning

A joint concentration is a combined pursuit in which the student develops a program that integrates two fields in a coherent plan of study; it is not the equivalent of majoring in one subject and minoring in another. Any student wishing to create a joint concentration of Government with any field must submit a petition to the Undergraduate Program Office for consideration by the Faculty Concentration Committee. The committee reviews petitions once each semester; the petition deadline is a couple of weeks before Add Day. This review process is intended to ensure that you have given careful thought to both the opportunities and potential problems that may accompany being a joint concentrator. It will help you to identify more clearly why you wish to pursue a joint concentration and what will be involved in fulfilling your objectives. In general, the most persuasive petitions come from students with superb grades whose proposed plan of study has been endorsed by a faculty member in the Government Department.

The Undergraduate Program recommends that you take the following steps if you plan to petition for a joint concentration:

FIRST: Discuss your plans with your Concentration Adviser. He or she will be able to give you some perspective on the special burdens placed upon joint concentrators, as well as the intellectual rewards of joining disciplines. The Concentration Adviser can also assist you in bringing more focus to your plans.

SECOND: Write a petition for a joint concentration. The petition should have two parts:
(1) A cover letter of two to five pages that addresses the following questions:
a)      What are the goals you hope to achieve through a joint concentration?
b)     Why is it not possible to achieve your goals by working within an existing concentration and supplementing your work with elective courses from the other discipline? What will your joint concentration allow you to do that you could not do within an existing concentration?
c)     Does the joint concentration you propose have the same qualities--in particular, breadth and depth--as the existing concentrations?

(2) Two proposed programs of study, each listing courses by semester, using both course numbers and titles, and reporting the grades received or expected in the courses already completed or nearly completed.
a)     One program should lay out the courses (including courses you already have taken) you propose to make up your joint concentration.
b)     The other program should lay out the courses you would take (including courses you already have taken) if you were confined to an existing concentration.
c)     A copy of your transcript (does not need to be official).

THIRD: Have your Concentration Adviser read through your petition and offer comments before it is submitted to the Undergraduate Office.  Government Concentrators will receive an e-mail announcement each semester with the deadline for petitions. This deadline is generally a couple of weeks before the add/drop deadline (the fifth Monday of the semester). Decisions will be sent out just before that deadline so that students have the opportunity to adjust their courses accordingly. Again, successful petitions usually require that students have excellent grades and have the endorsement of a faculty member in the Government Department.

The following charts describe the Government Joint Concentration requirements for the Class of 2010 and beyond.  For previous classes requirements, please consult the Government Undergraduate Program Office.

Joint Concentration Requirements - Government Primary

Joint Concentration Requirements - Government Secondary