How strong is Political Science at Ann-Arbor?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>I have heard really good things about, but I just wanted to confirm what everyone has been telling me. How does it stack up?</p>

2

<p>I've always seen it earn a top 3 ranking in PoliSci</p>

3

<p>From what I hear the Ann-Arbor environment is unique and would be better than going to DC to Georgetown or George Washington. However it's a lot farther from home and I doubt I would receive scholarship money. I've always been a Wolverines fan though and I really want to go to a great Political Science. Thanks for replying. I'm a junior and have just recently been looking indepth at UM's program breakdown. So I'd be applying to the LSA right?</p>

4

<p>Georgetown has a good International Relations / polisci department however if your looking to go to law school Michigan would be the better place as its polisci program is a better pre-law type deal. Strengths more towards the American legal system. A lot of graduate schools recognize Michigan as a top polisci school.</p>

5

<p>Michigan's Political Science department is one of the top 3 in the nation. Georgetown's Poli-Sci department is good but not great. Georgetown's SFS (International Relations) is amazing, but International Relations is not the same as Political Science.</p>

6

<p>They are closely related though, and courses often overlap...Many polisci either double in international relations or switcht their major to it. It all depends on what aspect of government your interested in. International - Georgetown, Domestic = Michigan.</p>

7

<p>Actually Guapocarlos, for International Politics, Michigan is one of the top 4 or 5 in the nation...Georgetown isn't. However, for Diplomacy and Intenrational Relations, Georgetown is unbeatable. I agree that Poli-Sci and IR are related, just as Economics and Business or Physics and Engineering are related...however, the two fields are not that close.</p>

8

<p>Where did you get that International Politics ranking? Or any of the other polisci rankings different from the US News. I am interested to see how some of the schools I got into stack up.</p>

9

<p>My International Politics ranking is also from the US News & World Report. Here are a few rankings related to Political Science:</p>

<p>USNWR POLITICAL SCIENCE OVERALL:</p>

<h1>1 Harvard University 5.0/5.0</h1>

<h1>2 Stanford University 4.9</h1>

<h1>3 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 4.8</h1>

<h1>4 Princeton University 4.7</h1>

<h1>5 University of California-Berkeley 4.6</h1>

<h1>5 Yale University 4.6</h1>

<h1>7 University of California-San Diego 4.4</h1>

<h1>8 Duke University 4.3</h1>

<h1>8 University of Chicago 4.3</h1>

<h1>10 Columbia University 4.2</h1>

<h1>10 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4.2</h1>

<h1>10 University of California-Los Angeles 4.2</h1>

<h1>13 Ohio State University 4.0</h1>

<h1>13 University of North Carolina 4.0</h1>

<h1>13 University of Rochester 4.0</h1>

<p>USNWR AMERICAN POLITICS:</p>

<h1>1 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>2 Harvard University</h1>

<h1>3 Stanford University</h1>

<h1>4 Princeton University</h1>

<h1>5 Ohio State University (not a typo! LOL)</h1>

<h1>6 University of California-San Diego</h1>

<h1>7 University of California-Berkeley</h1>

<h1>8 Yale University</h1>

<h1>9 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill</h1>

<h1>10 Duke University</h1>

<p>USNWR COMPARATIVE POLITICS:</p>

<h1>1 Harvard University</h1>

<h1>2 University of California-Berkeley</h1>

<h1>3 University of California San Diego</h1>

<h1>4 Princeton University</h1>

<h1>5 Stanford University</h1>

<h1>5 University of California-Los Angeles</h1>

<h1>7 Columbia University</h1>

<h1>7 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>9 Yale University</h1>

<h1>10 Duke University</h1>

<p>USNWR INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:</p>

<h1>1 Harvard University</h1>

<h1>2 Stanford University</h1>

<h1>3 Columbia University</h1>

<h1>3 Princeton University</h1>

<h1>5 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>6 University of California-San Diego</h1>

<h1>7 Duke University</h1>

<h1>7 University of California-Berkeley</h1>

<h1>9 University of Chicago</h1>

<h1>10 New York University</h1>

<p>USNWR POLITICAL METHODOLOGY:</p>

<h1>1 Harvard University</h1>

<h1>2 Stanford University</h1>

<h1>2 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>4 University of Rochester</h1>

<h1>5 Princeton University</h1>

<h1>6 New York University</h1>

<h1>7 University of California-San Diego</h1>

<h1>8 University of California-Berkeley</h1>

<h1>9 Washington University-St Louis</h1>

<h1>10 Ohio State University</h1>

<p>NRC POLITICAL SCIENCE RANKINGS (1995 ranking):</p>

<h1>1 Harvard University 4.88/5.0</h1>

<h1>2 University of California-Berkeley 4.66</h1>

<h1>3 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 4.60</h1>

<h1>3 Yale University 4.60</h1>

<h1>5 Stanford University 4.50</h1>

<h1>6 University of Chicago 4.41</h1>

<h1>7 Princeton University 4.39</h1>

<h1>8 University of California-Los Angeles 4.25</h1>

<h1>9 University of California-San Diego 4.13</h1>

<h1>10 University of Wisconsin-Madison 4.09</h1>

<h1>11 University of Rochester 4.01</h1>

<h1>12 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3.96</h1>

<h1>13 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 3.95</h1>

<h1>14 Duke University 3.94</h1>

<h1>15 Cornell University 3.85</h1>

<p>GOURMAN REPORT RANKING OF UNDERGRADUATE POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENTS:</p>

<h1>1 Yale University 4.92/5.0</h1>

<h1>2 Harvard University 4.91</h1>

<h1>3 University of California-Berkeley 4.90</h1>

<h1>4 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 4.89</h1>

<h1>5 University of Chicago 4.87</h1>

<h1>6 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4.86</h1>

<h1>7 Stanford University 4.84</h1>

<h1>8 University of Wisconsin-Madison 4.83</h1>

<h1>9 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 4.82</h1>

<h1>10 Cornell University4.80</h1>

<h1>11 Princeton University 4.78</h1>

<h1>12 University of California-Los Angeles 4.76</h1>

<h1>13 Northwestern University 4.75</h1>

<h1>14 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 4.74</h1>

<h1>15 Columbia University 4.73</h1>

10

<p>


</h1>

<p>This may be an ignorant question, but what is the difference between International Politics and International Relations. I mean the names are different, but really.</p>

11

<p>And why has the Big 10 dumped international relations for international studies?</p>

12

<p>Like alexandre said, international relations deals more with diplomacy and working well with other nations in a cultural context, whereas international politics studies the structures and interactions of foreign governments I believe. As for guapocarlos, I do not have a good answer for that question.</p>

13

<p>Based on what I know, if I were to rank the LSA departments, I would say:</p>

<ol>
<li>Political Science</li>
<li>Economics</li>
<li>Psychology</li>
</ol>

<p>Michigan's poli sci program is probably the strongest department within the LSA, and it is among the best when comparing to other schools as well.</p>

14

<p>I would say that at the undergraduate level, LSA quality by department goes as follows:</p>

<p>TOP 5 NATIONALLY:
Anthropology (arguably #1)
History (comparable to Columbia and Harvard)
Political Science (one of the top 3 in the nation)
Psychology (second only to Stanford)
Sociology (top 3 in the nation)</p>

<p>TOP 10 NATIONALLY:
Economics (actually considered better at instruction than research, comparable to Columbia and Penn)
English (barely top 10, but excellent and approachable faculty)
Geology
Mathematics (very strong Math department)</p>

<p>TOP 15 NATIONALLY:
Biology
Computer Science
Physics</p>

<p>TOP 25 NATIONALLY:
Chemistry</p>

15

<p>My friends who were polisci majors went on to Duke, Georgetown, and Northwestern for Grad school.</p>

16

<p>Yeah that does help...my only problem is as a junior in high school right now I'm always worrying about the market for someone who majors in Political Science. I keep thinking maybe I should double major or major in something else and have Political Sci be my minor. I do know a lot of Pol Sci majors go onto law school, but I don't know if I want to do that.</p>

17

<p>Political Science majors at top universities, like Michigan, can find jobs in practically every field other than the technical fields that are reserved for engineers. All you need to do is maintain a high GPA and take initiative. Of course, you can always double major in Political Science and Math or Econ and that will make you a little more marketable. But like I said, a diploma from Michigan, regardless of major, will help you a great deal.</p>

18

<p>So what would you say is a job a Political Science major would enjoy that still pays fairly well?</p>

19

<p>well its great for law school, and lawyers are paid pretty well at the large firms.</p>

<p>Otherwise there are a lot of government jobs that don't pay so well but can be satisfying.</p>

20

<p>A perfect example:</p>

<p>My sister graduates this year with a degree in Art History (she did minor in statistics.) She has a job in the fall at Morningstar Investments.</p>

<p>She told me that when employers come, they don't even look at major, they look at GPA. She interviewed with Goldman Sachs and other top businesses, and some kids in the b-school didn't even get these interviews. If you keep a high GPA and seek out jobs, you can get any one you want.</p>