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.