The Spring 2025 deadline for Joint Concentration applications is Friday, February 7, 5 p.m. EST.
Applications are accepted at the beginning of each semester. Please email completed applications to Karen Kaletka.
General Information about the Government Joint Concentration
A joint concentration is a combined pursuit in which the student develops a program that integrates two fields in a coherent plan of study; it is not the equivalent of majoring in one subject and minoring in another. Any student wishing to create a joint concentration of Government with any field must submit an application to the Undergraduate Program Office for consideration by the Faculty Concentration Committee. The committee reviews applications once each semester; the deadline is a couple of weeks before Add/Drop Day. This review process is intended to ensure that you have given careful thought to both the opportunities and potential problems that may accompany being a joint concentrator. It will help you to identify more clearly why you wish to pursue a joint concentration and what will be involved in fulfilling your objectives. In general, the most persuasive petitions come from students with excellent grades whose proposed plan of study has been endorsed by a faculty member in the Government Department.
Policies & Requirements for the Government Joint Concentration
Before applying for a joint concentration, please take note of the following rules, which have been updated as of January 2025:
- You must be at least a first-semester junior. Joint-concentration applications are not accepted from sophomores. Sophomores interested in Government and another field should declare a double concentration and then apply for the joint concentration later on.
- You must have taken (or be enrolled in) at least 2 Government Department classes. We recommend you complete numerous classes relevant to your proposed area of study before applying because a key part of the application is an explanation of why a joint concentration is a good fit for your academic interests.
- Joint concentrations in Government are ordinarily restricted to the following fields:
- African and African American Studies (AAAS)
- Classics
- Computer Science
- East Asian Languages and Civilizations (EALC)
- History
- Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC)
- Philosophy
- Religion
- Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Statistics
- Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (WGS)
Application Process
You should take the following steps if you plan to apply for a joint concentration:
FIRST: Review the rules above to ensure that you are eligible for a joint concentration.
SECOND: Discuss your plans with Dr. Sergio Imparato, the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in Government. He will be able to give you some perspective on the special burdens placed upon joint concentrators, as well as the intellectual rewards of joining disciplines.
THIRD: Fill out the Joint Concentration Application and submit copies to both the primary and allied concentrations by the respective deadlines (check with the concentrations for deadlines).
Decisions will be sent out by the Add/Drop deadline (Fifth Monday) so that students have the opportunity to adjust their courses accordingly. Again, successful petitions usually require that students have excellent grades and have the endorsement of a faculty member in the Government Department.
The following charts describe the Government Joint Concentration requirements.
Joint Concentration Requirements for Government Primary
| Sophomore Tutorial: Gov 97 | One 4-credit course | 1 |
| Gov 50 (or Stats 100 or 104) | One 4-credit course | 1 |
| Subfield Requirement | One 4-credit course in each of four subfields: a) Political Theory b) Comparative Government c) American Government d) International Relations | 4 |
| Undergraduate Seminars | Two 4-credit seminars, ordinarily a research practice course (Gov 51, Gov 62, or Gov 63) and at least one Gov 94 undergraduate seminar. Students may substitute a second Gov 94 seminar for the research practice course. On petition to the DUS, one seminar may be from the allied field. | 2 |
| Senior Tutorial (Gov 99) | Two 4-credit courses | 2 |
| Additional Gov courses | One additional 4-credit course in Government | 1 |
| Senior Thesis | Required | |
| TOTAL | 11 |
Joint Concentration Requirements for Government Allied
The Government Department has recently updated the requirements for the joint concentration with Government as the allied field. These changes are designed to provide stronger preparation for students in conducting research for and writing their senior honors theses, a cornerstone of the joint-concentration program. These changes will be implemented starting with the Class of 2027; current juniors and seniors are not affected.
Requirements for the Class of 2027 and beyond:
| Sophomore Tutorial: Gov 97 | One 4-credit course | 1 |
| Gov 50 (or Stats 100 or 104) | One 4-credit course | 1 |
| Subfield Requirement | One 4-credit course in each of four subfields: a) Political Theory b) Comparative Government c) American Government d) International Relations | 4 |
| Undergraduate Seminars | Two 4-credit seminars, ordinarily a research practice course (Gov 51, Gov 62, or Gov 63) and at least one Gov 94 undergraduate seminar. Students may substitute a second Gov 94 seminar for a research practice course. | 2 |
| Senior Tutorial | Students are expected to enroll in the relevant senior tutorial in their primary field. | |
| Senior Thesis | Required | |
| TOTAL | 8 |
Requirements for the Classes of 2024-2026:
| Sophomore Tutorial: Gov 97 | One 4-credit course | 1 |
| Gov 50 (or Stats 100 or 104) | One 4-credit course | 1 |
| Subfield Requirement | Two 4-credit courses in each of two subfields: a) Political Theory b) Comparative Government c) American Government d) International Relations | 4 |
| Senior Tutorial | Students are expected to enroll in the relevant senior tutorial in their primary field. | |
| Senior Thesis | Required | |
| TOTAL | 6 |