I didn’t get into my top choice so I have committed to VCU. I am worried that I won’t be academically challenged and the low graduation rate kind of threw me off. So now I am looking for ways to make myself stand out after graduation to employers or top graduate programs.
I know I want to major in Political Science because it has always interested me but I don’t know exactly what career I want. So basically here are my choices.
1 : I can do a Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a concentration in one of the following: Civil rights, Comparative politics, Human security, International relations, Political theory and methodology, Politics and government, Public policy and administration, U.S. government
I’m leaning towards international relations but not sure if that would be the most useful
OR
2: Accelerated Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science and Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.). This is a program in which highly qualified undergraduate students can earn both degrees in a minimum of five years by taking approved graduate-level courses during the senior year of their undergraduate programs.
So like I said I am looking to really challenge myself. I have always had A’s in high school and I really thought I was going to end up at a ‘prestigous’ school but that didnt work out, so I want to make the best out of the education I will get at VCU.
Which path would you advise? If I go with path #1 I want to take up a Minor…any suggestions for that? (no journalism)
First, the name of your school and its perceived “prestige” are much less impactful to your post-college options than what you do in the school you attend.
Give yourself some time to experience college and explore your passions before making this decision. You’ll be well-positioned to stand out if you excel in your undergrad work, get involved with professors, and participate in internships.
I’d definitely encourage you to look into the combined Poli Sci /MPA program, particularly if you think you might want to get a government job. But you don’t have to decide now – I checked VCU’s web site and see that you can’t apply to the accelerated program until after you have completed 90 credit hours. Just keep up your grades and familiarize yourself with admission requirements for the Wilder school so you have that option. Also find out how competitive the 5-year program is for acceptance- often those combined programs take very combined BA/MPA students because in general MPA programs prefer to have students with several years of work or field experience.
Both of my kids have BA’s in Poli Sci & MPA’s; different schools and time frames, but both worked for several years before enrolling in their respective MPA programs.
Political science is a major that gives you a lot of flexibility in looking for a job, but it won’t get you the job without work experience. So you need to build up experience through work & internships during school. Fortunately it’s also a field where there is an abundance of volunteer & internships opportunities, via various NGO’s and political organizations. (Paid internships/jobs are a little harder to find, but not impossible).
As far as a concentration goes, choose what interests you. My daughter had an IR concentration and her first job post college involved working with the UN – so exactly the path she would have expected --but she since has shifted to different sort of work. Her MPA is in nonprofit management.
I don’t know whether my son had a concentration for his poli sci degree but he has always been interested in political advocacy, mostly focused on environmental issues, and he did a Congressional internship for one semester. Post MPA, he got a job with a state agency in a function closely tied with his MPA capstone.
Whatever you call it (doesn’t really matter) you need to approach Poli Sci like the social science that it is. Which means double down on statistics (with programming) so that you demonstrate the ability to work with large datasets, develop your analytical and quantitative skills, write a thesis which involves an original topic with research, analysis and a conclusion borne out by data.
The new grads with poli sci degrees who struggle in the job market are the ones that focus on content (conflict resolution, international, etc). A grad who has focused on analytical skills (regardless of the content area) will do fine. Banks, Insurance companies, any government branch or agency whether federal state or local, infrastructure companies, energy or tech companies, etc. all need folks with strong social science skills.
My oldest son is plugged into a rather large social network of ~recent college grads.
He says the single biggest factor he sees in early career outcomes isn’t the prestige of the college, it’s the internship experiences. My suggestion? Major/concentrate in what you like, but try to pick up one or two “hard” skills (e.g. accounting, software development, applied math/econometrics, a foreign language), then apply them in internships with at least 1 company or federal agency where VCU students have had good experiences.
I totally agree with the last two comments. I have a kid who is a sophomore and has been going through the process of searching for summer internships. She’s an econ/politics double major. Most of the job or internship listings say that they require or give preference to someone with data analytical and quantitative or programming skills.
Agree that for the most employment options, some quantitative skills can be desirable. Go beyond the undergrad poli sci research methods course (if there is one) to include additional courses such as undergrad econometrics or CS courses where you can learn some software packages useful for analyzing data. These will enhance your employability as an MPA also.
By doing something that is not related to politics - Here is my buddy Dennis. After dropping out of his political science degree from UBC (University of British Columbia), he focused more on electrical engineering. However at the end, he is now a math tutor at StudyPug. This is him in the video lol You’ll see him at 1:04.
Point is like most people suggested, anything to do with statistics or math might be a more realistic choice. Plus if I can give you one final advice, that would be go after what you really want. Dennis is very happy now. I think he found his calling.
As someone who did political science from BA to PhD, I agree completely with what Blossom said above, and others echoed or embellished on. Think in terms of tools and marketable skills: applied stats, economics, and technical skills in coding, use of R, perhaps GIS (look it up if you don’t know about it already), foreign language. Also, use any opportunity to add international travel or work experience to your resume. If you are a good writer or speaker, that is also a plus. It is your skills and experiences that will get you your first “career” jobs – and they will also be extremely helpful if you should choose to attend graduate school.
I agree with comments about analytical skills – but for someone who is also interested in IR, and alternative is to focus on language skills – particularly less common or critical languages
I think the idea of majoring in what you like and figuring a job out later is short-sighted. Sure, sometimes it works out. Better, IMHO, to think about what you want to do and major in something that helps you reach that goal. Maybe minor in what you love.
That being said, I have a BS in Political Science with a minor in History. I work in banking. In the not too distant future I will be adding my teaching credential and teaching HS.
I wish I had cc when I was a kid. Maybe I could have taken my own advice and saved myself a lot of heartache.
I think confusing the concept of a college education and vocational training is short-sighted.
Very few 18 year olds really know what they want to do in life. Part of the value of college is to provide an opportunity to learn and explore. That is why many of the best colleges don’t require students to declare a major until they have completed their sophomore year.
The OP received helpful, informed answers. Nobody said change your major or major in something else, or go into any specific career. Just that certain skills you can pick up in certain classes (stats, programming, foreign languages, etc.) will help to stand out to employers and graduate programs. People answered the question that was asked.
I’m sorry you didn’t get into your top choice school. You may find VCU is a great fit and you love it. But if you still feel you are missing out, then study hard, get great grades your first semester, and work on your transfer application for,spring.
I read a quote from Georgia Tech’s president. It goes kind of like this;
9+1 = 10
But so does 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, and 5+5.
The bottom line. There are many paths to reach your goal.
Hey everyone, thanks for all the answers it made me feel so much more confident about my future and made my decision easier.
So I decided I will get a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in international relations, I want to double minor so let me know if that might not be a good idea to double minor. I was thinking about a minor in Economics and Statistics.
The only thing I am now worried about is learning a foreign language. I am already bilingual (English & Amharic) but I had a really bad experience in high school studying French and Spanish. It was always my hardest class and I dreaded it so much.
Besides that, I chose Stat because I took AP Stat and got a 5 on the AP exam and I seem to get it so easily. I don’t really have a reason I chose Econ it just seemed like a useful general minor. I have not taken any Econ classes in high school and don’t really know anything about the topic so should I be worried about that?
Do not stress out about your final degree/major and future career. You will learn a lot about yourself and the direction to take after you experience college. Do not be afraid to change majors once you have taken some courses. Do not feel you need to be locked into your future path now. Start with courses that will work for your current plans- freshmen need many breadth classes as well as those that help with an intended major. Feel free to take interest/aptitude tests at your college career center. Also explore what can be done with various majors and courses. The PhD political scientist referenced blossom’s post #3- analytic skills… Think about that when planning your schedules.
- Here is my buddy Dennis. After dropping out of his political science degree from UBC (University of British Columbia), he focused more on electrical engineering. However at the end, he is now a math tutor at StudyPug. This is him in the video lol You’ll see him at 1:04.