Political Science Major

Welcome to the Political Science Website.  

Thank you for visiting.  Please explore our website to learn more about the people and opportunities in political science at USM.

Political Science is the systematic study of politics and government and is widely recognized as one of the core disciplines within the liberal arts curriculum.

The study of Political Science provides substantive and analytic background that can lead to a variety of professions; it is not intended to prepare students directly for any specific career.  Most obviously it serves those with an interest in entering politics and government.

Political Science majors go on to become civic leaders, town managers, city planners, budget specialists, foreign service officers, policy researchers, and to hold a variety of management positions in local, state, national, and international organizations.

Beyond government, a political science degree leads naturally to graduate training, including law school. Many journalists and broadcasters were political science majors. Business has recognized the analytic and management skills obtained through training in political science.  Some studies have estimated that perhaps one third of undergraduate majors undertake careers in business.

Political science training is useful in other rapidly developing fields such as polling, communications, campaign management, consulting, private and public interest group activity, and data analysis. College teaching has also been a traditional career for a political scientist.