<p>I know it's pretty easy for undergrad business students to figure out what the best business schools are because there are rankings for undergrad business schools specifically. But what is the best program for a student interested in government? These options don't seem to be as cut and dry.</p>
<p>I looked at Brown and loved it.. felt right at home and all that sort of thing. So I assumed that would be my top choice college because i really like the open curriculum, Providence, etc. I figured I'd take a variety of courses but concentrate in political science.</p>
<p>But then I toured Northwestern and felt like their School for Education and Social Policy was a little more intriguing because the social policy aspect in particular deals with practical applications of government programs and the like (for instance how successful a certain welfare program is--that type of thing). The research and internship opportunities sounded really good here, but now I'm wondering if similar or better programs exist across the country.</p>
<p>So basically I'm wondering what is the best course of action for a student interested in government/probably going to law school later on? Are there any rankings or schools that are best known for these programs? Am I just as well off doing political science at Brown because I loved it there or is the more practically-applied course at Northwestern the direction I should look in?</p>
<p>According to Alexandre, the best political science departments are found at:</p>
<p>Columbia University
Duke University
Harvard University
Princeton University
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Yale University</p>
<p>The major might not be as strong, but you can never go wrong at a school like Yale or Harvard for Government because of the connections you make. Your classmates will be the leaders of tomorrow, not to mention people like Samantha Power teach Freshman Seminar’s. Also, Tony Blair is at Yale this year.</p>
<p>Many many schools have a semester in Washington Program. Some are better connected than others for internships on the Hill or in a Cabinet Department. But there are lots of stories of kids from lesser known schools finding great jobs and beating out the Ivy kids. Depends on what you want to do with your life. If its working IN government you can take any GS-9 job upon graduation and then work the system…you get promoted EVERY year whether you need it or not…until you hit GS13 then it gets tougher. Some people (an inlaw of mine) made it into the Senior Executive Service (SFS) and he started as a GS-5 in the AirForce. He never served in the military either. And he went to a small western LAC. </p>
<p>The “program” you seek depends on what your interests are…foreign policy/foreign service versus energy issues or tax issues or law enforcement (FBI) or land management (Interior or Agriculture) or whatever. A lot of government offices are seeking engineers and scientists and math majors/computer science majors or obscure linguists in arabic etc. I wouldnt worry about those high falutin programs at Georgetown or Johns Hopkins just yet. Those are better for grad school anyway. I would focus on WHAT you want to do and just getting a well rounded degree in that field.</p>
<p>Good luck. </p>
<p>p.s. the government hires from all sorts of schools. I know someone from Iowa State who had a degree in Russian and he made it BIG in the State Department. Go to a school you really like and dont worry about the prestige.</p>
<p>Wow.. thank you all very much for the help! I thought this thread was dead after the “go to DC” replies haha. I’ll probably apply to American as a safety, but Georgetown just didn’t feel right for me. I don’t know.. I just didn’t have a good gut feeling.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely look into all of the programs you guys mentioned, thanks. Al Gore’s cousin, I have no idea what kind of specifics I’m interested in yet haha. I’ve just always been a social studies student… love politics and history, so i figured a major in political science or double major in PoliSci and History would be right for me. I’m not really sure I want to work IN the government.. maybe just learn as much as I can and go to law school and see what happens after that.. I don’t really know haha.</p>
<p>^ hey, you’re like me! I’m a humanties person, but after research, found that law school isn’t for me. Though I do want to major in politics/history (if business doesn’t work out) and possibly work for the government or some kind of political organization. :)</p>
<p>As a retired Fed, I echo some previous commentators: experience and degrees, not the college, count most for Federal jobs. Do internships that show an interest in the area you want to work in. Once you get in the Federal Government your ability to perform the job, not your college, is what will count.</p>
<p>Everything and anything can be a Fed job. I did non-discrimination investigations for part of my career, but for a while I coordinated local, state, and Federal criminal law enforcement groups. I also worked on crime victim assistance programs aimed at victims of Federal crime (for example, some, but not all, Native Americans.) My wife managed a $400,000,000 program providing mental health grants to the states. Of course there are bunches of jobs, civilian and military, associated with defense as well as positions dealing with law enforcement and compliance; health; lawyering; economics; international relations; engineering. The list is endless. Go to [USAJOBS</a> - The Federal Government’s Official Jobs Site](<a href=“http://www.usajobs.gov/]USAJOBS”>http://www.usajobs.gov/)</p>