UC Center Sacramento Courses
Coursework & Internships (up to 15 quarter units):
(A) Political Science 192A: Political Science Internship (Mandatory, 5 units - Pass/No Pass):
This course combines research with professional experience. Work as an intern for about 20 hours per week by supporting the policy-making process in a legislator's office, an executive branch agency, or another setting in the Sacramento policy community. Students must complete a public policy research paper as part of this course.
- Visit the UC Center Sacramento Internships page for ideas.
(B) Political Science 193: Internship & Research (Optional, 2 units - Letter Grade):
Internship and three analytic papers related to the internship and/or current events in addition to an oral presentation.
(C) Political Science 195: The California Policy Seminar (Mandatory, 4 units - Letter Grade):
This course teaches students about the state's political processes, institutions, and policy challenges. The seminar is taught by members of the UC Davis faculty and features guest lectures given by a variety of participants and observers of California politics and government.
(D) Political Science 196E: Research Design & Methods (Mandatory, 4 units - Graded):
Original undergraduate research work culminating in a poster presentation. Learn to utilize programs like Qualtrics, GIS, Stata, and Excel to collect and analyze data.
(E) Additional Courses. Students are permitted to enroll in additional courses offered at UC Davis, so long as they meet course requirements. This option is not encouraged, as students are typically very busy between their internships and courses at the center alone. Click to see additional courses
Special Courses:
Each quarter, a special studies course is offered and can be taken instead of Political Science 195: The California Policy Seminar (4 units - Letter Grade).
(A) Public Policy - Healthcare
Political Science 108: Public Policy - Healthcare (4 units)
This course is currently "The Policy & Politics of Healthcare". Students analyze the impact and implementation of Health Policy in California. The course examines the way health policy can influence health, the tools available to health policy analysts, and the ways in which health services researchers have examined health care access, quality, and costs. This course is only available during Fall Quarters/Semesters and is taken instead of Political Science 195. This course must be taken for a letter grade.
(B) Public Policy - Environment
Political Science 108: Public Policy - Environment (4 units)
The Environmental Policy course has three main objectives 1) to introduce the basics of environmental policy tools, approaches, and issues, 2) to creatively and critically examine case studies of environmental policy, and 3) to develop skills in investigating, writing, and speaking about environmental policy issues. The course will utilize an active learning approach and will center on case studies to examine cross-cutting themes. This course is only available during Winter Quarters and is taken instead of Political Science 195. This course must be taken for a letter grade.
(C) Public Policy - Education
Political Science 108: Public Policy - Education (4 units)
Students will examine the landscape of education policy and governance and develop an understanding of major education policy issues in California, including education finance policy and school funding, school accountability and improvement, teacher preparation and tenure, access to higher education, and more. This course is only available during Spring Quarters and is taken instead of Political Science 195. This course must be taken for a letter grade.
