<p>What are the top political science programs out there? USNWR says Harvard, Stanford, and UM. I'm thinking about applying to UM now, and I might major in pol. sci. Does anyone know anything about it?</p>
<p>Um...Columbia</p>
<p>Rankings (Research Based, I think)
<a href="http://www.politicalstudies.org/pdf/psr/hix.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.politicalstudies.org/pdf/psr/hix.pdf</a></p>
<p>Anyways, it's
1. Columbia
2. Harvard
3. Stanford</p>
<p>erikjc...what do you want to do with your political science training?</p>
<p>knowing your goals will help when giving out advice.... also remember that most students change majors while in collage so don’t just look for your major interest but also the over all feel and fit of the school….</p>
<p>I know, it's not the only major I'm thinking about, but it's my first choice. That list seems to differ from the one I was looking at (it only has 3 w/o subscription). The highest school on the list that I'm applying to is Chicago. Thanks for the input, I don't need anymore replies.</p>
<p>A few schools with top-notch programs that aren't as impossible to get into include Bowdoin, UC-San Diego, Virginia, and William & Mary. The DC schools (esp. Georgetown and GWU) are also obvious options, given their location and proximity to internships.</p>
<p>I'm also interested in political science with a pre-law goal. Anyone who can link to rankings would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Columbia would be really good for political science with a pre law goal.</p>
<p>Polisci with pre-law? No lie, but look at this list - any school in the top 15-20 is great for that.</p>
<p>Other than that, all I can say is that for undergraduate its not worth differentiating between individual departments.</p>
<p>OSU Political Science is very solid. I am currently a senior in political science. Feel free to shoot me any questions</p>
<p>Political science? Personally I love that field but I find it 'usually' pointless to study it, because most politicians dont major in political science, they do somethign random and then become lawyers or go study some science field and become big businessmen and then go for elections (Michael Bloomberg =D)</p>
<p>SUNY Binghmaton is pretty good in pol.sci. though i heard</p>
<p>"Political science? Personally I love that field but I find it 'usually' pointless to study it, because most politicians dont major in political science, they do somethign random and then become lawyers or go study some science field and become big businessmen and then go for elections (Michael Bloomberg =D)"</p>
<p>-Unless one wants to be a <em>gasp</em> political scientist????? </p>
<p>Oh, and let it be known that.... Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and several others studied political science, so I don't think you know what you're talking about.</p>
<p>The London School of Economics and Political Science provides a global ranking of the top 200 departments in Political Science. Their rankings are considered to be the most objective and accurate:
1. Columbia
2. Harvard
3. Stanford
4. Ohio State University
5. EUI (Italy)
6. UC San Diego
7. UC Irvine
8. Indiana University
9. Princton
10. Yale</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry a ton about rankings for political science. It's such a 'core' major and there are so many strong programs that you would probably have a hard time to find a <em>bad</em> poli sci department.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The London School of Economics and Political Science provides a global ranking of the top 200 departments in Political Science. Their rankings are considered to be the most objective and accurate:
1. Columbia
2. Harvard
3. Stanford
4. Ohio State University
5. EUI (Italy)
6. UC San Diego
7. UC Irvine
8. Indiana University
9. Princton
10. Yale
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Hm... these don't seem like very accurate rankings. It names UC Irivine, Ohio State, and Indiana University, but not Georgetown or Johns Hopkins? They are usually regarded as powerhouses when it comes to political science.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree--the data was quite surprising, but as the research indicates, rankings in Political Science departments have always been very subjective and based on peer assesment (U.S. News and World Report) and therefore, biased towards "prestige" rather than concrete evidence of academic performance. Read the data on the link supplied by post #3 above. By the way, Georgetown is ranked #16 in the world, and Johns Hopkins is #28.</p>
<p>Georgetown's top political science kids probably actually major in International Relations, which could cause the disparity.</p>
<p>Catfish has it right. A LOT of schools have outstanding poli sci programs. You have to ask the professors and see if you fit into their program and agendas.</p>
<p>It matters more where YOU would be happy than a silly ranking system based on a lot of bogus information.</p>
<p>The tip top have traditionally been:</p>
<p>Harvard
Michigan
Berkeley
Stanford
Chicago</p>
<p>and a few others.</p>
<p>I have a really hard time swallowing the LSE rankings given the acceptance/rejection patterns I have seen for the top students which indicate that the above schools and maybe a couple of others are tops.</p>
<p>But as someone said, there are many good grad Poli Sci programs....</p>
<p>I agree - Johns Hopkins and Georgetown should be on this list of top places for international relations/political science departments.</p>