Shape the Future of Politics and Governance

Political Science Department

Understand the people, policies, institutions and organizations that shape public life. As a student of political science, you will gain essential analytical and organizational skills that can be applied to exciting careers in government, law, business, international organizations, nonprofit organizations, survey research, journalism and teaching.

The Political Science Department is devoted to the study of politics and government; this includes the study of:

political institutions that exercise government authority, including legislatures, courts and administrative agencies;
political organizations through which individuals and groups seek to reshape the political landscape, including parties, interest groups and social movements;
public policies that reflect governmental efforts to regulate the actions of individuals and corporations, including civil rights, immigration and environmental policy;
the interactions between and among nation-states and;
transnational organizations that shape patterns of trade and development, conflict and cooperation, war, and peace.

full-time faculty teaching and conducting research in political science

66%

of Maxwell faculty conduct research focused outside of the U.S.

graduate students in residence; fewer than 12 admitted each year

Undergraduate Studies

Studying political science will help you understand the workings of political life at the local, national and international levels and will prepare you for a lifetime of active and informed citizenship. The Department of Political Science at Syracuse University has more than thirty full-time faculty that teach a wide variety of courses in multiple subject areas. We will guide you as you explore the world of politics and hone your skills as a researcher, analyst and writer.

Graduate Studies

Master’s and doctoral students receive broad training in quantitative and qualitative methods of social science research, while also concentrating in two of the following substantive fields: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, public administration and policy, law and courts, or security studies.

I am Maxwell.

Civic engagement is a core value for me. I have always aspired to help the communities I’m from.” Mazaher Kaila, a Maxwell alumna and third-year student at Syracuse University's College of Law, moved with her family from Sudan to Central New York when she was four years old. “I realized that to make meaningful change in society, I needed to understand the systems that power it—government and politics—and that’s insight I would gain by studying political science.”

Mazaher Kaila ’19, L’22

political science, law

Read Kaila's story, “A Powerful Voice for Justice”

Maxwell's Political Science Department faculty members publish award-winning books on a wide range of topics. Scroll a sample of recently published works below, or visit the Maxwell Faculty Bookshelf for more.

Who Tells Your Story? Women and Indigenous Peoples Advocacy at the UNFCCC

Takumi Shibaike, Bi Zhao

Cambridge University Press, 2025

Climate Change, Environment, Non-governmental Organizations

Book cover titled "The House That Fox News Built?" featuring an image of the United States Capitol, addressing issues of representation, political accountability, and the rise of partisan news.

The House that Fox News Built? Representation, Political Accountability, and the Rise of Partisan News

Kevin Arceneaux, Johanna Dunaway, Martin Johnson, Ryan J. Vander Wielen

Cambridge University Press, 2025

Media & Journalism, Political Parties, U.S. Elections, United States

The Shadow Gospel: How Anti-liberal Demonology Possessed U.S. Religion, Media, and Politics

Whitney Phillips, Mark Brockway

MIT Press, 2025

Political Parties, U.S. Elections, United States

Russian Politics: A Very Short Introduction

Brian Taylor

Oxford University Press, 2024

International Affairs, Russia, United States

stonecash-jeffrey-m-transformation-of-the-republican-party

The Transformation of the Republican Party

Jeffrey M. Stonecash

Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2024

Political Parties, United States

The Invented State: Policy Misperceptions in the American Public

Emily Thorson

Oxford University Press, 2024

Federal, Media & Journalism, State & Local

Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism

Jenn M. Jackson

Penguin Random House, 2024

Black, Gender and Sex, Social Justice, United States

hern-erin-explaining-successes-in-africa

Explaining Success in Africa: Things Don’t Always Fall Apart

Erin Hern

Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2023

Africa (Sub-Saharan), Government

rasmussen-dennis-the-constitutions-penman

The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter

Dennis Rasmussen

University Press of Kansas, 2023

Government, United States

BaoBao Zhang Joins First Cohort of AI2050 Early Career Fellows

One of only 15 scholars chosen from across the U.S., Zhang will receive up to $200,000 in research funding over the next two years. Zhang will use the funding to partner with the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for New Democratic Processes to test whether public participation in AI governance is increased through the creation of public assemblies, known as “deliberative democracy workshops.”