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the flowchart is a suggestion, not a rule. no cal poly student has ever followed their flowchart perfectly.
its basically a map showing what you should take when. look at the units at the bottom. for non-STEM majors, 16 units is typically 4 classes. the school here is recommending poli sci majors take 16 units a quarter until they reach their junior spring.
For example, if you look at your sophomore winter quarter, your department is recommending taking a POLS major course - so a course that applies to your major with the POLS prefix (refer to your curriculum sheet for more details) - 2 GE courses (again, refer to curriculum sheet), and a free elective (any class you want). This would add up to 16 units. If you haven't taken your A3 GE by then, they would want you to take that class instead of the free elective, and fill the free elective units later (if they haven't been filled by AP credit, which for a lot of students they are).
When a class is a bar across quarters, you only need to take the class in one of the three quarters suggested, not three quarters in a row. If there's multiple classes listed in a block, you only have to take one of them.
But! shit happens. people change majors. some quarters have to be lighter than others depending on class load. As long as you cross off every one of these blocks by the end of your 4th year (or beyond), youll be golden. my favorite game is to cross of classes when i register for them to track my progress.
I followed mine to the T bc aero transfer lol
Thanks for your response! Would you say 4 classes a quarter is pretty rigorous?
It’s normal
sure, but is it rigorous
Normal amount of rigourousness
really depends. my major? yeah i would die, at least this year. it fluctuates. poli sci, probs not. most people manage. also strategically choosing easier GEs with harder major courses is very common.
ah i see!
Of topic but it’s the first time I see a blue box.
Overburdened engineering majors rise up
You count the number of classes in each column to figure out how many you're taking at once. If I remember correctly, when a class takes up multiple quarters in this chart, you can schedule it for any of those quarters. So figure out which ones of those boxes you want to push into a quarter and then start counting.
Here's a suggestion: All the classes in green are GE's. Take these classes every summer (I suggest 2 per summer) to make your quarters less rigorous. Lower division GE's can be taken online at most community colleges such as Foothill College. Upper division GE's (some not all) can be taken online with Cal Poly. As others have stated, the flowchart is a suggested flowchart. You don't have to follow it exactly.
Thanks for this! Will I have time to meet with my advisor before the school year starts to discuss this possible option?
I'm sure you can. Check you advisor's office hours and call
Looking at your first quarter.
Fall:
POLS 112 (4)
POLS 180 (4) [Can be taken Fall or Winter]
POLS 229 (4)
COMS 101 (4) [Can be taken Fall, Winter or Spring]
ENGL 133 (4) [Can be taken Fall, Winter or Spring]
GE (4)
Total units: 24 units, 12 units or 12-24 units
You can be ambitious or you can take it slow. Really up to you. Hopefully this helps you read the rest.
Thank you! Would you say my schedule is rigorous (if i were to follow this chart)?
I do not recommend following the chart exactly. Look at your curriculum sheet and pick your classes yourself! Just add them up to get to 12-20 or however many units you want to take (depending on your rigor ofc)
Legit just look at what you need to get done each year and do it in any order you want, if you don't get to something it can he done later. The only real stopping point is the class set of stat217, research design, data analysis. All else is pretty free game in pols
No absolutely not rigorous
If you look at the bottom right, you can see the total number of units you need to take to graduate (might be slightly off as you might need to take extra classes as prereqs). If you divide that by the number of quarters you will be taking, you will get your average units per quarter (assuming no summer quarters, you would have 15 units per quarter).
Note* there is a row under each quarter stating the suggested unit load, but i would honestly ignore that.
Seeing as most classes are between 3-5 units, this translates to an average of 3-5 classes per quarter. This document is merely a suggestion of a course load the average person in your major should take. However, you should keep note of prerequisites and when certain classes are offered, as some classes are only available during certain quarters. It also doesn't take into consideration having to retake classes or being waitlisted for them (its a pain as a freshman in winter quarter) so when you get to build you schedule in the winter you should be aware of that.
As for actually translating the document, there should be a key noting what each color means on the chart. Any class spread over multiple quarters (coms 101/102 for example in fall/winter/spring) means that you can take it in any one of those quarters, while classes in only 1 quarter means you should probably take it that specific quarter.
In general, when you get here in the fall (assuming you were accepted based off the questioning) go to the Academic Advising Center on campus (or call/email them) and ask about this stuff as well.
Where do you find this? Looking to see what different engineering majors class schedules will look like for students entering in fall 2024.
Flowcharts
thank you so much!
It’s weird 12 feels too easy and 16 is tough also depends on the classes of course.