Politics, Policy, and Administration Stream

In September 2025, we will be welcoming a new program into our undergraduate portfolio: the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration)! 

Providing a specialized and prescriptive set of courses for students interested in public policy and public administration, the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration), also known as the PPA, offers students a sequence of opportunities to learn applied public policy skills and engage in practical analysis of public problems.  

This program is designed for: 

1. Students looking to work in professional public policy or administration contexts post-graduation; and 
2. Students who intend to complete public policy or public administration graduate programs (e.g. MPP or MPA) with the aim of working in government, think tanks, advocacy groups, and beyond.   

The PPA program is distinct from our Political Science Major Program in its specificity. Students seeking broad training in Political Theory, International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Canadian Politics in preparation for a vast array of post-graduation pathways, including law, journalism, education, working for non-profits, consulting, graduate school, and more may find our Political Science Major program to be a better fit.

Requirements 

Students within the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration) must complete the following courses: 

*Successful completion of any 400-level POLI course will also fulfill your Arts Research Requirement (a general degree requirement). 

PPA-Designated Courses

The content of the following courses is relevant to public policy or administration: 

• POLI_V 303: Federalism in Canada 
• POLI_V 304: British Columbia Government and Politics 
• POLI_V 328: Topics in Comparative Politics 
  • Recent course offerings to give sense of policy content: 
    • Comparative Politics of Immigration 
    • Political Violence, State Fragility, and State-Building 
• POLI_V 338: Politics and Development 
• POLI_V 348: Political Theory and Public Policy 
• POLI_V 351: Environmental Politics and Policy 
• POLI_V 352: Comparative Politics of Public Policy 
• POLI_V 363: Canadian Foreign Policy 
• POLI_V 366: International Political Economy 
• POLI_V 405: Topics in Canadian Politics  
  • Recent course topic offerings to give sense of policy content: 
    • Public Opinion and Public Policy 
    • Urban Governance and Public Policy 
    • Behavioural Public Policy in Canada  
    • Natural Resources, Climate Change, Colonial Project of Canada  
• POLI_V 422: Selected Problems in Comparative Politics  
  • Recent course topic offerings to give sense of policy content: 
    • Politics of Economic Inequality 
• POLI_V 439: Politics and Economic Growth 
• POLI_V 449: Topics in Political Theory 
  • Recent course offerings to give sense of policy content: 
    • Intersectionality 
• POLI_V 450: Policy Analysis

Admission

For Frequently Asked Questions about the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration), please see our 2025W Prospective Majors FAQ.

Students who meet our program entry requirements will be able to self-declare a Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration) in Workday as of February 2025. Students who self-declare the PPA Major before September must indicate a ‘Declare Date’ of September 1, 2025 and will have a ‘pending’ program of study on their record until this date.

Please Note: Having a ‘pending’ program of study within Workday may impact one’s ability to self-register in certain POLI courses (POLI_V 395 and 400-level POLI seminars, specifically) during the 2025W registration period. If you self-declare the PPA Major before September 1st and complete our mandatory Program Entry Survey, you will receive guidance from our Advising Team about how to plan for registration ahead of the 2025W registration period.

Program Entry Requirements

• Enrolled in UBC-V’s Bachelor of Arts program; 
• Have second-year standing or above; and
• Will graduate in or after May 2026.

Please follow these steps to join the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration):

1. If you have yet to declare a specialization or wish to change your current specialization to the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration), please follow the steps outlined in this Workday tutorial: Declaring or changing your primary major, honours, or specialization.
   • Select: B.A., Major in Political Science, Politics, Policy and Administration (Vancouver).
   • For students declaring before September 2025: indicate September 1, 2025 as your ‘Declare Date.’*
2. If you wish to add the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration) to your existing specialization (e.g., a student who wishes to complete the Politics, Policy, and Administration Major alongside their existing Sociology Major), please follow the steps outlined in this Workday tutorial: Adding a program of study (second major or minor).
   • Select: Major in Political Science, Politics, Policy and Administration (Vancouver). 
   • For students declaring before September 2025: indicate September 1, 2025 as your ‘Declare Date.’*
3. Complete our Department’s short Program Entry Survey. 
4. Self-enroll in the Department’s Undergraduate Info Hub, a Canvas course from which we send our monthly undergraduate newsletter, share important program information, and post our advising team’s drop-in advising days/times. 

If you meet our program entry requirements and face any difficulty adding the Major in Political Science (Politics, Policy, and Administration) to your student record, please contact our advising team at: poli.ugrad@ubc.ca.

*This goes against the guidance listed in the above-linked Workday tutorials; however, you will not be able to successfully self-declare this program in Workday ahead of September 2025 if your Declare Date is set to the current date.