Undergraduate programs

The Department of Political Science offers B.A. and B.S. degrees in political science. Students may choose the general major or a concentration in International Relations/Comparative Politics or Public Administration. The Political Science minor and Public Administration minor are also offered at the undergraduate level. At the graduate level, the Department offers a Master of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration degree.

Political science is a social science concerned with describing and analyzing political institutions and processes. Political scientists study the origins of and preconditions for government, the rise and fall of governments, and the relations among nations of the world. Political scientists are interested in how governments are structured, how they make decisions, and how they manage social conflicts.  Political scientists also study the behavior of individuals within political systems, both as individuals and as part of groups and organizations.

Finally, political science encompasses normative inquiry into such larger questions as the best form of political order, the optimum relationship between the individual and government and the nature of the public good.

Political scientists today study: 

  • Political parties and voting behavior

  • Interest groups

  • Bureaucratic organizations and administrative procedures

  • National security and international organizations

  • Presidential and gubernatorial politics

  • Legislative behavior, courts and the administration of justice

  • Intergovernmental relations

  • Political socialization, mass movements, revolution

  • Ideologies, political philosophy

  • Community organization and urban politics

  • Public policies