<p>Which department/academic programs is better for a political science/government major?</p>
<p>Michigan does not have a Government major, but it has one of the better Public Affairs program. Cornell’s Government department is in fact quite strong, but not nearly as practical as the Ford School of Public Policy at Michigan. Michigan is slightly stronger than Cornell in Political Science. Both will serve you well either way.</p>
<p>Michigan does not have a Government major, while Cornell does not have a Poli Sci major. What is the difference between the two majors (I thought they were the same, just different names)? You also compared Cornell’s government department/programs to that of the Ford School of Public Policy. I am less interested in the practical applications of public affairs/policies, so I’m guessing political science would be more aligned to my intended field of study?</p>
<p>I think the Government major at Cornell is more “hands on” than the Political Science major at Michigan. But like I said, overall, both universities are stellar, and both will serve you well in your field of study. When it comes to Political Science, Michigan has only a slight edge over Cornell. But it is not enough of a difference to make Michigan a clear cut choice in this case.</p>
<p>If you do go to Michigan, this may appeal to you.</p>
<p>[Michigan</a> in Washington | University of Michigan](<a href=“http://www.lsa.umich.edu/michinwash]Michigan”>Michigan in Washington Program | U-M LSA)</p>
<p>Also, how does Michigan compare to NYU, UCB, UCLA, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and UPenn?</p>
<p>Those are all peer institutions. It comes down to preference. They are each very different from the other. You really should research the various universities on your own. there are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of pages online on each university. Explore them individually. When it comes to Political Science, they are all good. According to the latest graduate rankings:</p>
<p>Michigan #4
UCB #6
Duke #10
UCLA #10
NYU #15
Cornell #19
Northwestern #21
UPenn #28
Johns Hopkins #40</p>
<p>Living in DC I’d recommend going the Ivy route. Prestige and status are wildly important to the political sect. Not saying there aren’t a lot of Michigan grads here, there are, but the Ivy degree carries a status that your Michigan won’t really have unless you pair it with a grad degree from an elite law or graduate school. (Of course people on this forum–who don’t live anywhere near DC–will claim I’m wrong.) But if you do go Michigan route it isn’t a bad choice. And chances are you will have tons of friends here because probably 4,000 new Michigan students and alums move here every summer.</p>
<p>edwardr is a mere 16 years old, at least he is according to his current profile. Please keep that in mind Yoloswag2014 when you take in his worldly advice.</p>
<p>I live in DC, attend one of the best prep schools in the beltway, Dad is a lawyer my brother and sister both work on K street…but yes, only 16. What makes you an expert in this regard rjk in Novi Michigan?</p>
<p>@edwardr, thank you for the advice! But actually, I don’t plan on going into politics in that regard, but rather into a prestigious law school. </p>
<p>and @rjkofnovie, thanks for that comical aside lol, but there is truth in what edwardr is trying to say</p>
<p>Well Cornell has the ILR (aka pre-law) school…which basically means 1/7 of Cornell is solely dedicated to political sci/government, not including those programs in the school of Arts & Science. IMO it’d kind of be like debating which has a better nursing program: Cornell or Michigan? Clearly Michigan as it has a school of nursing and Cornell doesn’t. (I am exaggerating but you get the idea). However, the good news is you can’t go wrong with either. :)</p>
<p>BUT if you asked me which school I’d rather attend…well… (GO BLUE!)</p>
<p>@cakebatter, I don’t understand what you mean by ILR being pre-law. I mean the name of the school implies a program/department related to industry and labour. Can you explain to me how this translates to a legal field? And by the same token, how is ILR solely devoted to political science/government?? From my understanding, ILR is essentially a business school that focuses on human resource management and employment… I’d also like to mention that law and poli sci are two different areas of study, although interrelated</p>
<p>You are quite right Yoloswag. The School of ILR focuses on preparing students to work in HR functions such as Labor Relations, Compensation & Benefits, Organization Development, Staffing and Recruiting etc… I am not sure why cakebatter said that the program has anything to do with Political Science. But many ILR graduates (I would estimate over one third) end up getting law degrees.</p>
<p>Well I guess I don’t know enough about the topic and differentiation between the 3 (yeah political science was a wrong assumption lol). It’s just that, if I’m not mistaking, from your other posts I’ve seen that you want to go pre-law and I guess I was trying to get the point across that ILR is even more pre-law than a regular political sci/govt. major (so I’m told).</p>
<p>I have 2 siblings at Cornell and my step-mom attended and they all say that ILR is essentially pre-law. Around 30% of ILR (or something like that) goes to Law School and on campus it’s just known as being the pre-law kids, although not everyone goes into law of course. I don’t know the details of the education, I just know the reputation. I was actually looking into ILR myself (for pre-business) and ultimately gathered that it best prepares one for a career in law so I opted out. Hopefully that helps…</p>
<p>If you want to do political science, Michigan is hard to beat. Keep in mind, though, that the department’s strength is American politics – which, if done well, is fairly quantitative. This may not be what you are looking for, but if you take the math series that would be recommended, it will provide a strong basis for a number of different grad school options.</p>
<p>I don’t want to diminish the theorists in the department, but the reason there is a “Michigan School” of political science like there is, say, a “Chicago School” of economics is the work of Converse, Miller, and Stokes, and their students … and their students … and their students in American politics and political sociology.</p>