Should I retake Trig for a PhD in Political Science?

[2016PhDHopeful]

I am currently a junior double majoring in international affairs and economics. I currently have a 3.5 gpa (which has been pretty steady throughout my college career), am writing an honors thesis, and plan on taking the GRE this summer. I plan on applying for Political Science PhD programs and a few masters, with my anticipated subfields being international relations and comparative government. I want to do research on either the development of communist states or religious conflict. My problem is that my math classes are not that strong. I clepped College Algebra, received a C in Pre-Calc, received a B in a 2000 level Statistics course, and am now going to fail Trig (which I took pass/fail). I am however doing well in my economics courses (All As except for one b and have met all the math requirements to graduate. My question is should I retake Trig or another quantitative course to bolster my resume, or should I move on and just focus on my political science and economics courses? 

Edited December 11, 2014 by 2016PhDHopeful

[Crucial BBQ]

If I remember correctly, political science majors score the highest on average with the GRE.  I would imagine a decent background in math would be a good thing for your application.

 

I am not sure how pass/fail reflects on your GPA, but I would suggest retaking it for grade.  You can move onto another math course and attempt to argue that you were only auditing the trig course.

 

Another math course to look into would be something along the lines of a calculus for business/social science majors if your school offers it, which is essentially an easier version of calc I (calc I is easier than trig, in my opinion) and more-than-likely will be a terminal course if you choose not to retake. 

 

You can also post this question here, as I am sure they will be more knowledgeable than I:

 

http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/36-political-science/

Edited December 11, 2014 by Crucial BBQ

[orangeglacier]

I don't think trigonometry or calculus has too much relation or use to political science.  I would instead maybe take a statistics/data science course, that can both be useful to your future studies and help you appear quantitative to admissions committees.  Just make sure to review the material that appears on the GRE before you take it.

[rising_star]

I wouldn't worry too much about trigonometry, unless you're planning to go into modeling or game theory or something like that. Definitely focus on statistics and doing well in those classes. Usually polisci programs have a required year-long quantitative methods sequence, so you'll want to be decently equipped for that. Trig won't usually help, though it does matter for the GRE.

 

Given your interests, you might want to consider sociology programs in addition to political science programs...

[Guest]

I'm in the Political Science/International Affairs field as well, and my program does not require Trig. But, it seems that many undergraduate programs to require Statistics and even Economics for International Affairs. So, focus on those.

 

However, I started off my undergrad as a Computer Science major and Trig was indeed required. I took it and made a 'B'. How? I don't know. The class was a bitch, and I totally understand your frustration with it. Trig is something for engineering and Computer Science majors..it's weird that Political Science/International Affairs or Economics fields would require for it.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Guest