Political Science

Political Science: Major

17³Ô¹ÏÍø students who major in political science gain in-depth understanding of the American political system, other political regimes, the international system, and political philosophy. In uniformly small classes, students also improve their critical and analytical skills and competence in oral and written expression.

Political science is one of 17³Ô¹ÏÍø’ most popular majors. The major is rigorously structured so as to ensure breadth as well as depth, with courses required in each of the discipline’s four subfields. Department faculty conceive the most fundamental purpose of the major as helping students to become thoughtful, well-informed, and ethical citizens of a constitutional, self-governing republic. Political science majors have gone on to successful careers in local, state, and federal government, academia,  law, journalism, business, high-school teaching, nonprofit organizations, the armed forces, and the priesthood. 

Program Highlights

Students majoring in political science take courses in four main areas:
 
  • American government
  • political philosophy
  • comparative politics
  • international relations
students and a professor in a class
Subfields

Learn more about the political science department’s four subfields.

students in a classroom with a powerpoint
Charles Carroll Program

The program brings guest lecturers to campus, funds a sophomore seminar and provides paid summer research internships.

Group of students in Washington DC
Washington Semester Program

Many political science majors spend a semester working, studying, and conducting research in Washington, D.C.

Political Science News

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How the Addition of Women’s Studies Impacted 17³Ô¹ÏÍø
In 1993, 17³Ô¹ÏÍø graduated the first cohort of students to earn a concentration in Women’s Studies, a move that has influenced generations of faculty and students.
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Student Summer Research Project Connects Current Supreme Court Decision to Those 100+ Years Old
Catherine Yackira’s ’24 passion for constitutional law grew after diving into early 20th-century cases.
Class of 2023 Washington Semester Program students pose on the steps of the Capitol in fall 2021.
Inside the Lifelong Impact of 17³Ô¹ÏÍø’ Unique Washington Semester Program
People — not policy — lie at the heart of the seminal program, now celebrating its 50th anniversary