<p>Which department/academic programs is better for a political science major?</p>
<p>Also, NYU vs UCB vs UCLA vs UPenn</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure John Hopkins falls short for anything other than pre-med, but my knowledge of JHU is entirely based on stereotypes/word of mouth lol.</p>
<p>^ I didn’t attend Johns Hopkins, but your statement really indicates why you shouldn’t be listening to stereotypes. Johns Hopkins has the best biomedical engineering program in the country. It is also highly rated in International studies.</p>
<p>@psychodad10 yeah no surprise there. I mean biomedical engineering makes sense too, but never would’ve guessed international studies. like i said, my knowledge wasn’t exactly 100% ;)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that is the one problem with this website. There are so many stereotypes and unfounded rumors about so many schools.
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<p>The differences will matter more at the graduate-level; at the undergrad level, you shouldn’t be overly concerned about the “best political science department” unless you have a very specific interest in a unique specialization (for example, national security) that the other two universities don’t have. As a recent Duke grad, I consider all three universities peer-institutions, despite what others will say on this board. At the undergrad level, your engagement in your area of study matters more so than the department’s graduate program ranking. You should be considering the graduate program ranking once you graduated from college and only if you are thinking about pursuing a master’s or PhD in political science.</p>
<p>If you are considering public policy, Duke has an entire school dedicated to it- the Sanford School of Public Policy, and it seems like Hopkins has a similar institute that offers bachelor’s and masters degrees in public policy ([Institute</a> for Policy Studies - Johns Hopkins University](<a href=“http://ips.jhu.edu/]Institute”>http://ips.jhu.edu/)). I don’t know much about Northwestern’s program, but both Duke and Hopkins appear to have strong political science programs.</p>