The Comprehensive Review for admission to the undergraduate major in Political Economy will consist of a holistic review by a faculty committee. Although academic performance is important, your ability to articulate your interest in political economy is just as important.
The committee will evaluate applications based on the following three criteria:
- A review of your academic preparation through prerequisite coursework and GPA;
- Your personal, professional, and volunteer experiences, especially as they relate to, or demonstrate an interest in, political economy;
- Your probability of success in Political Economy courses.
This holistic review will examine academics, leadership, work and volunteer experience, along with some required essays.
The Review Committee will take note of the grades earned and the type of coursework completed. The essays will provide additional information to evaluate your interest in, and understanding of, political economy. If a student’s GPA is not the best, being able to explain in one of the essays what happened is essential. Strong applicants will clearly highlight in their resumes and statements of purpose what they have done that demonstrates their interest in political economy.
In short, a student should think about how to provide as complete a story to reviewers as possible.
Application Components
The application will require the following components, which need to be merged into one PDF and emailed to Professor Alan Karras at karras@berkeley.edu.
For instructions on how to manage your transcript and other files, and create a single PDF, follow this link: UC Berkeley Unofficial Transcripts and Merging Application Materials Guide
Statement of Purpose
Review the Writing the Statement of Purpose from the UC Berkeley Graduate Division for additional guidance on how to approach these questions. View the Essay Format Example.
- Explain in your own words what political economy means to you and what you have done to learn about Political Economy in your time at UC Berkeley? (300 words).
- Describe how you plan to use your degree after you graduate OR explain how you see this major helping improve your life goals after graduation. (150 words)
(If you are a double major or simultaneous degree applicant, you are required to answer the following question in your statement. When planning courses, please keep in mind the overlap policies and consider how you would plan around time conflicts for required courses. )
- Why are you choosing to pursue two majors, and how will they together prepare you for a possible career? (100 words)
IMPORTANT Note: If you have a prerequisite GPA of 2.7 or below, or you got a grade of C+ or lower in GLOBAL 45 or POLECON C45, you must explain the reasons in the last paragraph of your statement of purpose. If you have questions, please contact Associate Director Alan Karras at karras@berkeley.edu.
Concentration Statement
Fill out the Concentration Approval form, and then identify four courses that relate to a problem in Political Economy that you plan to study. Begin by identifying a question that interests you, and that is related to Political Economy, and then pick four courses that will help you answer your question. In narrative form, describe how each course contributes part of the answer and then explain how the four courses together will help you to explain the subject of Political Economy to skeptical friends and relatives. (no more than 300 words).
Resume or CV
The purpose of submitting your CV or resume is to demonstrate your interest in and relationship to Political Economy. The resume can include involvement in student organizations, residential life, and paid or unpaid experiences that may relate to your interest in Political Economy. The review committee would like to see what opportunities you have had to this point. Please don’t turn in more than a page and do indicate if you have any foreign language experience.
The Berkeley Career Engagement Resume page is a good resource for learning how to enhance your resume. There are career workshops and appointments available to students.
Academic Records
You will be required to include copies of your unofficial transcripts to show confirmation that you have completed and met the requirements for the prerequisite coursework. Students cannot apply to the major if prerequisites are incomplete or in progress.
Accepted types of academic records are listed below; we may ask for information if something is not clear:
- Unofficial copy of your UC Berkeley transcript (an unofficial transcript [Academic Summary] from CalCentral or screenshots of your CalCentral are sufficient)
- Unofficial transcripts from other institutions (if using towards prerequisites)