• It focuses on the way people are governed and govern themselves in a wide variety of settings—including the state, the workplace, schools, and the family—and the way in which governance in those settings affects their life chances and shapes their sense of self.
  • Students who elect this major examine, among other things, the relationships between law and political institutions, economic and political power, and culture and political identity.
  • They develop the analytical, interpretive, and critical methods necessary to understand these relationships at local, national, regional, or international levels, and thus, to act as responsible citizens at those levels. They also learn to write well. In short, political science is central to a well-rounded liberal arts education.
  • Political science also provides excellent preparation for careers in law, government, teaching, journalism, business, and the nonprofit sector.