Our lives, our communities, and our world are to a considerable degree shaped by political events. Political science provides students with an understanding of the multifaceted ideas, structures, and processes of politics in the United States and abroad. Courses are designed to accomplish three principal objectives: to help the student acquire and establish habits of critical and creative thinking about public issues; to enlarge and broaden the students understanding of significant data, major ideas, and activities regarding politics; and to prepare students for careers in law, government, journalism, and education.

Our concern is with the ideas, structures, and processes of politics in the United States and around the world. It is a very large subject, and we understand that different students will be attracted to different aspects of it. Some students, perhaps aiming for law school, may be drawn to a course in Constitutional Law. Other students, thinking of the international marketplace, may choose The United States in an Age of Globalization. Still other students, considering a career in government, may take Urban Public Policy. And some students, entranced by the play of ideas, may select Modern Political Thought. In a typical semester, we offer nearly two dozen different courses.