Specifically, political scientists study the determinants of such distributions, including political parties and voters, public opinion, interest groups, bureaucracies and administrative behavior, public law, international relations, international law and organizations, national security, intergovernmental relations, political behavior, political philosophy, comparative politics, public policy, and conflict.

Be interdisciplinary. Our department is closely involved with centers and institutes around the campus. Our faculty work with the Global Studies Institute, the Center for Human Rights and Democracy, the Center for Middle East Studies, the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, the Transcultural Conflict and Violence research initiative, the Chinese Studies research initiative, and the Judicial Politics research collaborative.