Undergraduate Advising

Requirements to Register for PSC 2987

Students must meet all eligibility requirements to earn internship credit.

1. Declared a PSC major.
2. Hold at least junior standing.
3. Obtain a confirmed internship position involving substantive political science research and work.
4. Complete a PSC Internship Contract (PDF).
5. Download and fill out a Registration Transaction Form - RTF (PDF).
6. Submit the Internship Contract and RTF via email to Professor Susan Wiley for signature.
7. Deliver the signed registration transaction for processing to CCAS Undergraduate Advising.

Requirements to Receive Credit

• Complete required hours. PSC 2987 is variable credit, semester-long course, and it is graded Pass/Fail.
  • For 1 credit, intern a minimum of 8 hours per week and write an 8-10 page paper.
  • For 2 credits, intern a minimum of 10 hours per week and write a 10-12 page paper.
  • For 3 credits, intern 12-15 hours per week and write a 12-15 page paper.
• Communicate with Professor Susan Wiley by email at least once a month.
• Complete final paper. Papers are due the last day of classes of the semester in which the student is interning.
• Receive an evaluation. The internship supervisor must complete the Internship Supervisor Evaluation (PDF) for the student at the end of the semester and email or mail the evaluation to Professor Susan Wiley.
• Complete a student internship survey at the end of the semester.

Students wishing to transfer credit for a course taken at another university must download the Transfer Credit Approval Form and send the form and a course syllabus to Professor Wiley, [email protected].  If the course credit is approved, Dr. Wiley will return the transfer credit approval form to the student for submission to the Office of the Registrar for processing. 

If the course taken for transfer is similar enough to a current GW Political Science Department course, the credits will transfer to that corresponding GW PSC course number. If GW does not offer the same course, the course transfers as PSC 1099 or PSC 2099, which counts as an upper-level elective credit towards the major. No courses ever transfer as a PSC 3192W or as PSC 3500.

Learn more about accepted transfer grades and credit limits on the Office of the Registrar website.

• Study Abroad transfer credit: use the GW Course Approval Transfer System (CATS). 
• Non Study Abroad transfer credit: submit a course syllabus or description along with an Undergraduate Credit Transfer Approval Form (PDF) to Dr. Susan Wiley via email at [email protected].

Departmental Honors

to be considered for special honors upon graduation and earn the transcript designation of Honors, students must: 

• Meet GW’s general special honors requirements.

• Hold a minimum GPA of 3.70 within the major (calculated using 2000, 3000, and 4000 level classes, with no substitution classes and no transfer classes).

Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Society

the Department of Political Science hosts one of the largest nationwide chapters of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. Members participate in scholarship and grant opportunities, networking events and professional conferences. Pi Sigma Alpha also puts out a peer-reviewed journal to which undergraduate students are welcome to apply.

To apply for membership, students must have completed 60 credit hours, hold a minimum GPA of 3.50 in upper-level political science classes (3.40 overall); and have completed at least five such classes at GW.

Contact Professor Susan Wiley to apply.