The Political Science curriculum at 澳门老奇人论坛 will give you a broad background in the field while allowing you the ability to specialize in your particular area of interest. The major and minor requirements are designed to develop your critical thinking, information literacy, written and oral communication, citizenship, ethics, problem solving, diversity fluency, and ability to collaborate.
We help you build those skills through the study of law and government. The Political Science curriculum at 澳门老奇人论坛 studies those areas from the local to the global perspective. Political Science also fits within the REAL Curriculum in all of its aspects. Courses with the R designation will analyze data to understand international conflict, or voting behavior. Courses with the A designation will explore the diverse cultures of the world and how to live inclusively in that world. Courses with the E designation will examine political philosophical and ethical thought throughout history and today. Courses with the L designation will allow you to apply what you learn into real-world scenarios.
Students can choose two degree paths as a major. The primary difference between the two degree choices is focus: the Bachelor of Science degree is great for students who are quantitatively minded and want to use data and analytics in the future. The Bachelor of Arts is more qualitative, with requirements for foreign language classes and philosophy.
Our department provides students with an immersive, complete college experience. High-impact practices are established techniques professors use to enhance their classrooms by creating that immersive environment, such as:
The department is putting new emphasis on internships. Each year, several students complete internships in governmental institutions. Recent interns have placed in numerous political campaigns, law firms, at the CIA headquarters and State Department鈥檚 Ukraine bureau.
Students secure their own internships so they can align the work with their career goals. If you're interested in seeking an internship, start with our internship page for details on seeking and securing an internship as well as procedures to receive course credit for it.
Many POSC classes use simulations to put students into the shoes of diplomats or decision makers. Dr. Daniel Reed鈥檚 Political Parties class simulates national party nominating conventions. Dr. Rackaway's American Government class simulates the process of getting a bill through the legislature. Dr. Paige Tan鈥檚 international relations classes simulate international diplomacy, often putting students in the shoes of United Nations or European Union diplomats. Dr. Tay Keong Tan鈥檚 INST 101 students engage in simulation exercise designed to bring the world back from the brink of collapse. Dr. Tay Keong Tan's INST 101 class held and in class debate over the use of drones in military strikes.
In Dr. Yankle鈥檚 POSC 233 class, students conduct an implicit bias assessment using local police traffic stop policies as the background issue.
Dr. Tay Keong Tan鈥檚 World Poverty and Global Sustainability class developed an award-winning Anti-Poverty Toolkit for the United Nations using research they conducted in class.
The success of the Anti-Poverty Toolkit resulted in another faculty-student research project undertaken by Dr. Tay Keong Tan and student Anna Ogan to develop a United Nations PRME Sustainability Mindset Repository. This is a repository of open, universally accessible, multimedia materials for scholars in the field of global sustainability and sustainable development (accessible at: ). It has some over 100 artifacts and is currently being used by some 150+ international scholars of the PRME Working Group on Sustainability Mindset.
In Dr. Yankle鈥檚 POSC 438 class, the Constitution Day Project required that students create an informative poster that asked groups to provide the details about a Supreme Court case background, a look into the decision, as well as providing greater political and social context for the decision. Students commented on other groups鈥� posters as well as responded to comments on their group poster.
Students in classes across the major present their work at Political Science Days, the Wicked Festival, and Undergraduate Research events.
Students in Dr. Yankle鈥檚 Big Questions in Political Science class developed concept studies to take more in-depth looks at policy issues discussed in class. Students worked in teams to develop a complete policy background brief.
Students in Dr. Rackaway's State and Local Government class created a campus-wide strategic voter registration, education, and mobilization plan for Highlanders Vote
Students in Dr. Paige Tan鈥檚 terrorism class do policy recommendations to the US and other governments on how to fight terrorism. Students in dictatorships offer policy proposals to help protesters overcome non-democratic regimes.