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  • Department of Political Science

    The Department of Political Science is devoted to the study of politics and government, domestically and abroad. 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; and the interactions between and among nation-states and transnational organizations that shape patterns of trade and development, conflict and cooperation, war and peace.

    At the undergraduate level, political science majors will be exposed to political inquiry across a broad array of substantive topics, while also concentrating in one of the following areas: American Politics & History, Law & Politics, Political Economy, Political Participation & Mobilization, Global Governance & Foreign Policy, Political Violence & Conflict, Public Policy, Parties & Elections, Comparative Politics, Citizenship & Democracy, or Political Thought & Philosophy.

    At the graduate level, 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 & Policy, Law & Courts, or Security Studies.

  • Commitment to Inclusion

    The Maxwell School stands in support of all who are demanding change in the face of racism, violence, and hate speech. We are committed to making our school, our university, and our communities more inclusive and just for all.

    There is absolutely no place for behavior or language that degrades any individual or group’s race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, disability, or religious beliefs.

  • Upcoming Events RSS Feed

    Due to public health concerns around COVID-19, all in-person public events are postponed or canceled until further notice.

  • Political Science News

    Thompson discusses 19th century distrust of nuns in Global Sisters Rpt

    In the 19th century, immigrant nuns were viewed with profound hostility by members of the Protestant establishment. To suspicious Protestants, women religious were obvious stand-ins for Catholicism, says Margaret S. Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. "They are highly visible, there are more of them than priests, they wear habits, they look different, which is highly suspicious, and they don't marry. They give women options outside of marriage. So, in that sense, they are dangerous," she says. Thompson was interviewed for the Global Sisters Report article, "At America's Door: How nuns, once suspect, won the heart of non-Catholic America."

     

    Maxwell students named Class of 2022 Senior Class Marshals

    A longstanding tradition honoring two exemplar seniors, the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience announces today the selection of Ava Breitbeck, a political science major, and Morgan Storino, a citizenship and civic engagement major, as the Class of 2022 Senior Class Marshals. In this role, Breitbeck and Storino serve as the all-University representatives for their graduating class and will lead Syracuse University’s 168th Commencement ceremony.

     

    Gadarian speaks to City & State about NY State Sen. Rachel May

    As a representative, Sen. Rachel May is responsible for balancing the competing ideologies and perspectives in the 53rd district, which includes the City of Syracuse. She made her case as a candidate to push for progressive legislation typically associated with downstate Democrats, while also representing parts of rural Central New York. "There are appealing things about the progressive agenda that May and others have that speaks to the economic struggles of places in the City of Syracuse," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science. "That may be less appealing to people, say in the far suburbs, north of the city." Read more in the City & State article, "Rachel May, a different kind of upstate Democrat."

     

Department of Political Science
100 Eggers Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244-1020
Phone: +1.315.443.2416