NTU Dept. of Poli-Sci Graduation Credit Structure & Frequently Asked Questions

1) Graduation credit formula (regular students)

(a) Total required for graduation: 128 credits

= Common Core Courses (College Chinese & English) + Liberal Education Courses (LE) + Departmental Required Courses + Required Elective Courses + Designated Electives (within the Dept. of Poli-Sci) + General Electives (outside the Dept. of Poli-Sci) + Service-Learning + Physical Education (PE)

(b) Double majors

= credits required for your home department (128) plus all required and designated electives of the double-major department.

(c) Minors

= credits required for your home department (128) plus the credits required by the minor department.

2) Common Core + LE = 24 credits

• Common Core includes: College Chinese (3 or 6 credits), English (6 credits), and Advanced English I & II (0 credits).
  • Overseas Chinese and international students are placed into Chinese according to the Mandarin placement test. The Chinese credit load is 3–6 credits. Please pay close attention to your placement.
• Liberal Education (LE) is 12 or 15 credits so that Common Core + LE = 24 credits.
  For LE areas, the Department’s designated areas are A1, A2, A3, A7, A8.
  • If you take 15 LE credits: choose at least one course in 3 of the 5 designated areas; the rest are free-choice LE.
  • If you take 12 LE credits: choose at least one course in 2 of the 5 designated areas; the rest are free-choice LE. Complete the total credit count accordingly.
• LE–Chinese offset rule. “3 credits of College Chinese may offset any one of the LE areas A1–A4 (mutual substitution, max 3 credits).
• Two valid combinations for Chinese & LE
  • 6-credit Chinese + 12-credit LE (meets 2 designated LE areas).
  • 3-credit Chinese + 15-credit LE (meets 3 designated LE areas).

  ★ If you take extra University Chinese beyond the required amount, the excess counts as electives.

• Relationship between LE and Electives
  • Courses labeled with only an A-number without an asterisk (e.g., A7, A13) count only as LE. Any LE beyond 15 credits in this category does not count toward electives and does not count toward graduation credits.
  • Courses labeled with an A-number with an asterisk (e.g., A8*, A23*): these may count either as LE or as electives. LE beyond 15 credits in this starred category will count toward electives. No application is required.
  • Courses offered by the Department of Political Science (e.g., Introduction to Political Science, Introduction to International Relations, Global Liberal Education Lecture Series) and your required courses (e.g., Principles of Economics; for the Political Theory Division, General Psychology) cannot be taken for LE credit and cannot be counted toward graduation as LE
• Communication and Career Development Course courses (formerly Basic Competencies), labeled AB: may be credited as LE for up to 6 credits, but do not belong to any area. Credits beyond 6 count toward general electives.
• Freshman Project and Freshman Lecture Series count toward electives.

3) Departmental Required Credits (for students admitted in AY 113)

• Political Theory Division: 42 credits
• International Relations Division: 44 credits
• Public Administration Division: 40 credits

★ For the full list of required courses by each division and year, and rules on substitutions, see the myNTU “Academic Program Required Courses & Credits Inquiry” (complete version) or the department website (brief version).

★ Substitutable courses (examples):

1. Introduction to Western Political Philosophy ↔ Western Political Philosophy I & II
2. Introduction to Chinese Political Philosophy ↔ Chinese Political Philosophy I & II
3. Economics B I & II ↔ Principles of Economics I & II or (Microeconomic Principles + Macroeconomic Principles)
4. Social Statistics ↔ (Statistics with Lab + Intro Econometrics with Lab) or Statistics in Psychology and Education I & II

4) Department-designated Required Electives

• Political Theory Division: 6 credits
  Choose 2 of 6: Introduction to Historiography, Anthropology, Sociology, General Psychology, Basic Logic, Economics
• International Relations Division: 10 credits
  • Choose 2 of 6 for 4 credits total from: Economics B I, Economics B II, Issues in International Economics & Trade, International Political Economy, Political Economy, Seminar on East Asian Political Economy.
  • Second Foreign Language: two courses, 6 credits (both semesters must be the same language**)
  if you are from a non–English-speaking country, you are exempt from the 6-credit second language requirement. Instead, you may choose any electives—either within or outside of our department.
• Public Administration Division – 8 credits
  Choose 4 of 11 for 8 credits total from: Local Government and Management, Human Resource, Management in the Public Sector, Fiscal Management, Public Management, Non-Profit Organization, Management, Digital Government for Public, Management, Public Opinion Survey, Cost-Benefit, Analysis, Applied Regression Analysis, Seminar on Program Evaluation, Seminar on Communication Policy and Media Law

5) Electives

• Political Theory Division: 53 credits = Departmental electives 10 + General electives 43
• International Relations Division: 47 credits = Departmental electives 10 + General electives 37
• Public Administration: 53 credits = Departmental electives 10 + General electives 43

• Departmental electives = Designated electives offered by the Department of Political Science. The course numbers starting with PS and course IDs beginning with 302 or 322. Hence, Second Foreign Language, General Psychology, Sociology, Second Foreign Language courses, etc., are not in‑department electives.
• Excess departmental electives may be reclassified as general electives, and credits may be split; e.g., for a 2‑credit departmental elective, you may count 1 credit as departmental elective and the other 1 credit as general elective.

5) Electives

• Political Theory Division: 53 credits = Departmental electives 10 + General electives 43
• International Relations Division: 47 credits = Departmental electives 10 + General electives 37
• Public Administration: 53 credits = Departmental electives 10 + General electives 43

• Departmental electives = Designated electives offered by the Department of Political Science. The course numbers starting with PS and course IDs beginning with 302 or 322. Hence, Second Foreign Language, General Psychology, Sociology, Second Foreign Language courses, etc., are not in‑department electives.
• Excess departmental electives may be reclassified as general electives, and credits may be split; e.g., for a 2‑credit departmental elective, you may count 1 credit as departmental elective and the other 1 credit as general elective.

6) Service-Learning

• Department students may take service‑learning outside the department (any service course offered by other departments, student clubs, or administrative units on campus is acceptable).
• How many courses? For students with IDs B08 and later: complete any two service‑learning courses before graduation. Course title does not matter (Service‑Learning I/II/III or A/B). You may take two courses with the same title

6) Service-Learning

• Department students may take service‑learning outside the department (any service course offered by other departments, student clubs, or administrative units on campus is acceptable).
• How many courses? For students with IDs B08 and later: complete any two service‑learning courses before graduation. Course title does not matter (Service‑Learning I/II/III or A/B). You may take two courses with the same title

7) Physical Education (PE)

• Must include one course in Health Related Physical Fitness and three courses in sport‑specific groups.(Details: PE Office – Instruction Division, 3366‑9513.)
• Sport‑specific courses may be repeated with the same title (e.g., Volleyball—Intermediate taken twice counts as two separate sport‑specific PE courses).

8) Rules for Double Majors

• You must complete your home department’s 128 credits, plus all required and designated electives of the double‑major department. No need to repeat the double‑major department’s other categories (e.g., LE, PE, Service‑Learning).
• Required and designated elective credits from the double‑major department may count toward your general electives in Political Science.
• Where a Political Science course and a double‑major required course are substantially similar, double counting is allowed (both sides receive credit).
  • If you are a Political Science major and also major in Economics. Econ’s Principles of Economics and Statistics are similar to Political Science’s Economics B and Social Statistics. Take the higher‑credit version; the Political Science side double‑counts. No make‑up course or application needed. (The same logic applies if your double major is Sociology and you take Social Statistics, Social Science Research Methods, or Research Methods.)
  • If you are not a Political Science major but double‑major in Political Science, please consult your home department for its double‑counting rules.

9) Rules for Minors

• Credits for a minor must be taken in addition to the minimum 128 required by your home department, and may not be double‑counted.
• Thus, required and elective credits for the minor cannot be counted toward your Political Science credits; they are fully separate.
• If a Political Science course is similar to a minor required course, no double counting is permitted — you must make up the credits in Political Science.
  • Example. You are a Political Theory student minoring in Sociology. Sociology requires Social Statistics (4) and Research Methods (8), which are similar to Political Science’s Social Statistics (4) and Social Science Research Methods (2). Take Social Statistics in either department and take Sociology’s Research Methods (higher credits). For your Political Science requirements (4 + 2 credits), make up 6 credits with departmental electives. No application is needed.
  • If you are not a Political Science major and are minoring in Political Science, and encounter overlap with your home department, choose different courses within the minor to avoid overlap.

10) About “Programs” (學程)

• All program credits may count toward graduation except one: Teacher Education Program credits do not.

11) LE‑related FAQs

• Q1. How do I tell a “pure LE course,” a “non‑pure LE course,” and an “Communication and Career Development Course” course (AB-labeled)?
  • NTU Course Selection website: Look to see whether the A‑number has an asterisk (*).
    If with * → may count as LE or as electives.
    If without * → pure LE only
  • myNTU Credit Audit: Same rule — A‑number with * → LE or electives; without * → pure LE only.
  • AB‑labeled (Communication and Career Development, formerly Basic Competencies) is general elective. Therefore, it may also count as LE up to 6 credits; not part of any LE area; beyond 6 → counts as general electives.
• How many Common Core (including Chinese) and LE credits must I finish before graduation?
  • Choose either A or C below:
    

    Division	Method	Common Core: Chinese 3 or 6 + English 6	LE	Departmental Required	Required Elective	Departmental Electives	General Electives
    Political Theory	A	12	12	42	6	10	46
    International Relations	A	12	12	44	10	10	40
    Public Administration	A	12	12	40	8	10	46

• Any other limits or cautions about LE?
  • Excess LE with * may be counted as electives, and credits may be split (e.g., 1 credit to LE + 1 credit to electives).
  • If you are graduating in Political Science, any LE offered by the Department (e.g., Introduction to Political Science, History of Statistics, Global LE Lecture Series) and any courses designated as Political Science requirements (e.g., Principles of Economics; General Psychology for the Political Theory Division) do not count as LE, and do not count toward graduation as LE
  • Overseas Chinese and international students: Chinese placement determines 3–6 credits — please check carefully.
  • As for LE areas, the Department’s designated list is A1, A2, A3, A7, A8.
    If you take 12 LE credits (Plan A): choose at least one course in 2 of these areas; the rest are free-choice LE.
    If you take 15 LE credits (Plan C): choose at least one course in 3 of these areas; the rest are free-choice LE. Complete the totals accordingly.

12) Other FAQs

• Were courses taken at NTNU or NTUST (via the NTU System) count toward graduation?
  • Yes, except for the following three categories:
    1. PE courses (do not count)
    2. Required courses must be taken at NTU (NTNU/NTUST versions do not count)
    3. Courses with the same title as an NTU course (do not count).
• How do I know what credits I still lack before graduating?
  • First, use myNTU → 學士班修課檢視表 (in Chinese system only) to view your course status and any missing required credits (shown in red).
  • Note: This system is a general reference built by the Office of Academic Affairs and cannot perfectly reflect certain fine‑grained rules (e.g., A5* – East Asian Democratization should be counted as departmental elective rather than LE for Political Science students; Micro/Macro Principles cannot be counted under LE or general electives). Therefore, each Oct–Dec, the Department and the Office of Academic Affairs manually re‑audit the graduation credits of all prospective graduates (including double‑majors, minors, and students delaying graduation) to capture and correct such edge cases. These are annotated on your Graduation Course Audit Form and, in January, the Office of Academic Affairs makes this form downloadable on myNTU for your reference.
  • Before your graduating semester, if you have questions when reading the 學士班修課檢視表, please consult this document and the Department website first. If questions remain, email Ms. Kuan at kuanlh1124@ntu.edu.tw (screenshots welcome) for case‑by‑case guidance.
• How should graduating students use the Graduation Course Audit Form, and how can I know what courses/credits I still lack?
  • The Graduation Course Audit Form summarizes your record up to the end of the previous academic year (e.g., an audit conducted in 113.1 reflects courses through AY 112). It groups your completed courses into Common Core, Departmental Required, Departmental Required Electives, Departmental Electives, and General Electives. The rightmost column, “Audit Result,” lists any remaining courses and credits you still need. Next, cross out items you will complete in the current semester (113.1). The remainder shows precisely what you still lack before graduation.