Political Economy

The Political Economy major is designed to study the relationship between government, society, and the economy in a holistic manner from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Political Economy majors investigate how real-world market systems are embedded in both politics and society. They graduate with a mastery of a broad range of contemporary analyses as well as a deep understanding of classic works of political economy.

The study of political economy is both scientific, with its rigorous attention to social science methodology, and normative, with its concern for the big questions of how best to organize politics, society, and the economy. Political economy seeks to examine the role of the state in the economy and to assess which government policies and market institutions can move us toward a better society.

The major focuses on contemporary problems while building on a strong historical foundation. Students can choose to study such topics as economic development, trade and investment, global inequality, climate change, resource distribution, gender relations, financial systems, information technology, or health policy.

Some of the issues addressed in the major and its courses include, but are not limited to:

• How rising consumer demand impedes efforts to combat climate change;

• How different national or subnational varieties of capitalism serve diverse priorities;

• How public and private sector institutions affect economic performance;

• How democratic and authoritarian political systems operate differently;

• How interdependence may undermine the efforts of national governments to cope with urgent national issues such as unemployment, inflation, health, and housing;

• How social, political and economic factors combine to exacerbate economic inequality both within and across countries;

• How political interests can impede the pursuit of public purpose both domestically and internationally.

Declaring the Major - Political Economy is a “High-Demand Major” 

I - Students Admitted to UC Berkeley in Fall 2023 and after as First-Year Admits must follow the policies for declaring a high-demand major as explained on this website: https://ls.berkeley.edu/ls-high-demand-majors-first-year-students. 

II - All other students who declare Political Economy must meet the eligibility requirements listed below:

Political Economy is a “High-Demand Major” with two different sets of policies predicated upon when a student was admitted to UC Berkeley and whether they entered as a first-year or transfer student. All students who declare Political Economy must meet the eligibility requirements listed below:

1. Must have a cumulative UC Berkeley grade point average (GPA) of 2.7 or higher.

2. Must have completed GLOBAL 45 or POLECON C45  with a grade of B- or higher on the first attempt. Students who repeat GLOBAL 45 or POLECON C45  in order to achieve a grade of B- or higher will not be eligible to declare the Political Economy major.

3. Must have completed ECON 1 or ECON 2 with a grade of C or better (may be repeated only once to achieve a grade of C or better), completed the equivalent at another college, or received AP scores of 4 or better or IB score of 5 or better on both the microeconomics and macroeconomics exams.

4. Must not be in their final semester of undergraduate work.

5. Are encouraged—but not required—to have completed at least two semesters of college-level foreign language courses or the equivalent at the time of declaring the major.

6. Complete the online major declaration workshop (link found on the Political Economy website).

7. Complete the major application found on the Political Economy website.

Honors Program

To graduate with honors from the group major in PE, students must enroll in the two-semester honors seminar, GLOBAL H102 (fall only) and POLECON H195 (spring only) and must obtain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.6 in the major and 3.5 in overall UCB coursework. All upper-division major courses will be used to calculate the major GPA. A student MUST have completed and received a grade for at least FOUR upper-division major courses — including having completed POLECON 100 before enrolling — to be considered for the Honors Program. The honors seminar (POLECON H195) is taken in addition to a student's regular course work for fulfilling requirements for the major and culminates in the writing of a senior thesis. To qualify for POLECON H195, students must be recommended by the GLOBAL H102 instructor. The thesis is read by the POLECON H195 instructor and at least one other faculty member who is selected by the student in consultation with the thesis instructor. Please consult a program advisor about honors eligibility.

There is no guarantee that students accepted into the honors program will graduate with honors. Honors recommendations are made after graduation and are based on a number of factors including (but not limited to) major GPA, grades received for GLOBAL H102 and POLECON H195, and faculty adviser recommendations.