B.A. in Public Affairs

OVERVIEW

Students who have a Public Affairs pre-major catalog term of Spring 2023 or thereafter, or who are admitted to the Public Affairs major Spring 2023 and thereafter, must complete 6 major preparation requirements and 10 upper division major requirements. For detailed information about the Public Affairs Major requirements and resources for planning your degree, visit the Overview of the B.A. in Public Affairs webpage.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS MAJOR PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS

The Public Affairs major preparation coursework consists of the following 6 major preparation courses totaling 28-29 units. All major preparation courses must be completed with a minimum C grade. All major courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Required: 6 courses/28-29 units

• Three core major preparation courses:
  • PUB AFF 40. Microeconomics for Public Affairs (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 60. Using Data to Learn about Society: Introduction to Empirical Research and Statistics (5 units)
    • Note: Effective Fall 2023, Public Affairs 60 is not open for credit to students with credit for Economics 41, Political Science 6, Statistics 10, 12, 13, or 15. If you have completed one of these courses, contact the Public Affairs Undergraduate Program to discuss your eligibility to petition for a course substitution. 
  • PUB AFF 80. How Social Environments Shape Human Development (4 units)
• Three additional major preparation courses from:
  • PUB AFF 10. Social Problems and Social Change (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 20. Power, Politics, and Policy Change (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 30. Comparative Analysis of Wealth, Policy, and Power (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 50. Foundations and Debates in Public Thought (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 70. Information, Evidence, and Persuasion (4 units)

You can view course descriptions on the UCLA Registrar’s Office website and the quarterly Schedule of Classes. Visit the Public Affairs Enrollment Procedures webpage for a list of the current academic year course offerings.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS MAJOR UPPER DIVISION REQUIREMENTS

The Public Affairs major upper division coursework consists of 10 upper division courses totaling 44-45 units. You must complete the major upper division requirements with a minimum 2.0 GPA. All major courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Required: 10 courses/44-45 units

• Theory Courses (2 courses, 8 units): Select two courses from the following list:
  • PUB AFF M109. Introduction to Cities and Planning (4 units)
  • PUB AFF 110. The Urban Revolution: Space and Society in Global Context (4 units)
  • PUB AFF 111. Microeconomics: Market Failures and Inequality (4 units)
  • PUB AFF 112. Social Movements (4 units)
  • PUB AFF 113. Policy Analysis: Approaches to Addressing Social Problems (4 units)
  • PUB AFF 114. People, Organizations, and Systems (4 units)
• Methods Courses (2 courses, 10 units)
  • PUB AFF 115. Using Quantitative Methods to Understand Social Problems and their Potential Solutions (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 116. Using Qualitative Methods to Understand Social Problems and their Potential Solutions (5 units)
• Capstone Requirement (3 courses, 15 units): Visit the Experiential Learning webpage to learn more about the capstone requirement.
  • PUB AFF 187AX. Experiential Learning Capstone (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 187BX. Experiential Learning Capstone (5 units)
  • PUB AFF 187CX. Experiential Learning Capstone (5 units)
• Elective Courses (3 courses, 12 units)
  • Elective courses for the Public Affairs major are selected from Public Affairs (PUB AFF) courses numbered 100-199 that are not already being used to satisfy the theory requirement, methods requirement, and capstone requirement.
  • Elective courses can also be selected from Urban Planning (URBN PL) 100-199, Social Welfare (SOC WLF) 100-199, Public Policy (PUB PLC) 100-199, and Gerontology (GRNTLGY) 100-199.
  • New electives are added every year. Please visit the Public Affairs Enrollment Procedures page for the most up to date listings.

You can view course descriptions on the UCLA Registrar’s Office website and the quarterly Schedule of Classes. Visit the Public Affairs Enrollment Procedures webpage for a list of the current academic year course offerings.

MAJOR WORKSHEETS

For an outline of the B.A. in Public Affairs degree and major requirements, click the links below:

• First-year admits can download the handout “Overview of Public Affairs Degree and Worksheet (Catalog Spring 2023 and thereafter)”
• Transfer students can download the handout “Overview of Public Affairs Degree and Worksheet (Catalog Spring 2023 and thereafter)”

Important Policies for the Public Affairs Major

The following policies apply to the Public Affairs Major:

• The Luskin School of Public Affairs requires the same University, Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, Diversity, and General Education Requirements as the College of Letters & Science.
• All courses for the Public Affairs pre-major and major must be taken for a letter grade.
  • Exceptions due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: While all requirements for the Public Affairs major must be completed for a letter grade, this requirement was waived for courses taken in Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, and Spring 2022. During these terms, students who earned a grade of Pass in a Public Affairs major course must submit a course substitution petition to apply the course toward the major requirements; approval is not guaranteed. Grades of No Pass do not satisfy major requirements. Contact the Public Affairs Undergraduate Program via MyUCLA Message Center for questions about this exception.
• Effective Fall 2023, Public Affairs 60 is not open for credit to students with credit for Economics 41, Political Science 6, Statistics 10, 12, 13, or 15. If you have completed one of these courses, contact the Public Affairs Undergraduate Program via MyUCLA Message Center to discuss your eligibility to petition for a course substitution.
• All upper division courses for the major must be from the Luskin subject areas in Public Affairs, Urban Planning, Gerontology, Public Policy, Social Welfare. Students can petition to use courses outside of the Luskin subject areas but petitions will be considered on a case-by-case basis and approval is not guaranteed.
• Students may only take one elective course outside of Luskin subject areas and the course must be approved by petition. Any student who wishes to take more than one elective from outside the Luskin subject areas should meet with the Public Affairs Undergraduate Program to discuss the petition process. Be advised that approval is not guaranteed.

Declare the Public Affairs Pre-Major

Current UCLA students must petition to declare the Public Affairs Pre-Major. For detailed information about the eligibility criteria and process for declaring the Public Affairs Pre-Major, visit the Public Affairs Major Admission for Current UCLA Students webpage.

Major Application Process for Current UCLA Students

To pursue the Public Affairs major, students who are admitted to UCLA as first-years must apply to the major no later than winter quarter of their second year. The annual application process opens Monday of week 9 of winter quarter and closes Friday of week 1 of spring quarter. Students are notified of their application outcome by week 10 of spring quarter of their application year. For detailed information about the Public Affairs Major application process for current UCLA students, visit the Public Affairs Major Admission for Current UCLA Students webpage.

Transfer students must be admitted to UCLA as a Public Affairs Pre-Major to be eligible to pursue the Public Affairs major. Transfer students are admitted to UCLA as a Public Affairs Pre-Major in the College of Letters and Science. During orientation, transfer students are officially coded as students in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and as Public Affairs majors. This process is automatic and students are not required to submit any paperwork to initiate and complete the process.

Enroll in Courses for the Public Affairs Major

Course Descriptions

You can view course descriptions for all Luskin undergraduate courses (numbered 1-199) on the UCLA Registrar’s Office website. Click the links below to view the course descriptions for each of the Luskin disciplines:

• Public Affairs Course Descriptions
• Urban Planning Course Descriptions
• Public Policy Course Descriptions
• Social Welfare Course Descriptions
• Gerontology Course Descriptions

Public Affairs Course Offerings

You can view the current and tentative lower and upper division course offerings for the current academic year on the Public Affairs Enrollment Procedures page. To view current course offerings, access the Schedule of Classes on the UCLA Registrar’s Office website here (search by term and department). For questions about planning your courses, contact the Public Affairs Undergraduate Program via MyUCLA Message Center.

Enroll in Public Affairs Courses

UCLA undergraduate students enroll in courses through MyUCLA Class Planner. You can learn more about enrollment procedures for Public Affairs and Luskin undergraduate courses (numbered 1-199) on the Public Affairs Enrollment Procedures page. For questions about enrollment in Public Affairs courses, contact the Public Affairs Undergraduate Program via MyUCLA Message Center.

Admission Information for Prospective UCLA Students

High school and transfer students interested in the UCLA B.A. in Public Affairs must complete the general UC application and select Public Affairs as a pre-major preference. For detailed undergraduate admission information for the B.A. in Public Affairs, visit the UCLA Undergraduate Admission website and the Public Affairs Major Admission for Prospective UCLA Students webpage.