<p>how strong is the government department?</p>
<p>As a parent of a future Smithie, I believe it’s one of their strongest majors and largest departments, but perhaps a current student or a recent grad can provide a more detailed answer.</p>
<p>I concur with CarolynB: government is strong at Smith. My D took one government course her first year and will be taking another her senior fall, simply because of the excellent reputation of the professors. She is not a government major.</p>
<p>Government is one of the most popular majors at Smith because of the quality of instruction.</p>
<p>D was a double major, Government and Math, and I thought the Gov department was superb. D’s focus was American politics but I understand that IR is pretty strong too. </p>
<p>One marker: D was taking one of the early Gov classes from one prof, the <em>department chair</em> was the prof for the <em>discussion section.</em></p>
<p>MWFN: my D felt the same way about the Econ department as a non-major. </p>
<p>On a tangentially related note, I got to meet Bill Schneider today. Woo-hoo! Neat guy. And this within minutes of having Wesley Clark take the seat in front of me…chatted to <em>him</em> for a couple of minutes when the panel was over as well.</p>
<p>Wow, TD! That’s really exciting you had a chance to meet Bill Schneider and Wesley Clark! Why were they at Smith?</p>
<p>oh, gomen nasai, CB. I didn’t meet them at Smith, I met them at UCLA. That’s why it was a tangential remark, tenuously connected to “Government,” not “Smith.”</p>
<p>Wow, TD. That’s the amazing thing about being associated with a college or university. The range of speakers is often amazing, and you get to rub elbows with them. I once was seated between John and Alicia Nash (A Beautiful Mind) for dinner, and I kept thinking, “I can’t believe I’m talking to these people!” Note: again, this was NOT at Smith.</p>
<p>As for Smith, I have been consistently impressed with the quality of the education – and I’m pretty demanding on that front. The government classes my daughter has/will take are international; she is completing a minor in East Asian studies and decided that she’d like to round out her knowledge with more government instead of literature. For her, that’s HUGE since she loves literature.</p>
<p>Yeppers about being near a significant college or university.</p>
<p>And, MWFN, another mirror image: D really liked English lit but wound up taking three Econ classes instead, with lit and bio being the opportunity costs, I think. The one lit class she did take was terrific, she talked about it for months afterwards.</p>
<p>Our Ds have similar experiences. 
Mine has taken a few English classes and loved them all. Now that I think of it in terms of actual classes, her education has been remarkably well-rounded, especially for a science major.</p>
<p>I took a Gov class at Smith as a local high school student. it was great! my professor used to be Tom Daschle’s legislative aid.</p>
<p>also, the internship program, Praxis, regularly places students in college-funded internships with members of congress. I don’t know the specifics but two people from my class did it.</p>
<p>A science major is golden. A well-rounded science major is platinum.</p>
<p>Being able to write well and to draw upon a broad range of perspectives is wonderful.</p>