Goals of the B.A. Program in Political Science

• To develop in students a substantive body of knowledge about the history and evolution of the discipline including its various approaches and methods.
• To nurture in students specialized and thorough knowledge in American Politics, Area Studies, International Affairs or Legal Studies.
• To help students acquire the capacity to gather and analyze primary and secondary political data, to critique extant studies, to construct creative research proposals and to craft original research.
• To encourage students to participate in service learning activities–local, national and international–that permit access to early job placements and an appreciation for the practice of citizenship.

Major Concentrations

The Department of Political Science offers a bachelor of arts degree in political science with three possible concentrations. Students may choose among curricula related to those concentrations or they can choose the basic curriculum for maximum flexibility.

Student Outcomes

The bachelor’s degree prepares students for employment and for advanced study in doctoral and professional degree programs. Our alumni have earned graduate and professional degrees at DePaul University, Duke University, George Mason University, George Washington University, Harvard University, Howard University, Iowa State University, Stanford University, Tulane University, University of Florida, University of Iowa, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Yale. They are now engaged in careers in public administration, political management and consulting, law, foreign service, journalism, government and academia.

The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute of Advocacy & Social Action, cosponsored by the department, conducts summer seminars on the civil rights movement as a model of participatory democracy.

“Challenging Minds, Changing Lives.”

Political Science majors have a plethora of career options:

• Policy Analyst
• Legislative Assistant
• Public Relations Specialist
• Social Media Manager
• Marketing Research Analyst
• Political Consultant
• Attorney
• Intelligence Analyst