<p>Is the program for political science good and well-known?
Also same for IR?</p>
<p>allycat92, the Political Science program at Rochester is ranked 15th in the country according to US News. Of course, rankings don’t mean everything. What I found particularly great about the Poly Sci. program as a student was the ability to take graduate level courses as an undergraduate. I took a course on the History of the Modern Senate and had the opportunity to produce research on parliamentarians in the Senate. You can also intern with a Member of Parliament in London or with an MP at the European Union parliament in Brussels. The Chair of the UR department, Gerald Gamm, teaches the PSC 202 course required of all majors. I didn’t take the course, but I’ve heard great things about his teaching and accessibility. Over the past few years, two students have gone on to the Harvard poly sci. PhD program, which is pretty remarkable. Harvard only accepts ten per class. Perhaps the biggest reason to choose UR Poly Sci. is the ability to do higher-level research on the undergrad level.</p>
<p>As for IR, that’s a relatively new major that combines courses from a variety of departments. </p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>What types of careers do Poly Sci students pursue after graduation? I am interested in the econ program, though poly sci would be a subject I would like to study as a minor as well. Both disciplines seem to go together pretty well, specifically as a public policy type of study.</p>
<p>Poly Sci. students do a wide variety of things. Many of my friends have gone on to Law School while others have gotten directly involved with campaigns or as legislative aides. The Economics program is about as strong as the Poly Sci. program nationally – it’s consistently ranked in the top 20 or so among graduate programs. As I said with poly sci., undergrads have access to the graduate-level work which is rare at most of UR’s peer institutions. The Chair of the Econ. department remarked in a meeting that Wash. U. modeled it’s Economics department after UR and the University of Chicago. Perhaps UR’s most famous Economist is Stanley Engerman, an Emeritus Professor who is most famous for his book “Time on the Cross,” which revolutionized the study of slavery. He was one of the first to view it from an economic perspective. Currently, Steve Landsberg is a favorite among students who publishes a bi-weekly column on Slate.com. Most recently, he came out with a book called “More Sex is Safer Sex.” Needless to say, his lectures are quite interesting. For more information on what students pursue after graduation get in touch with Burt Nadler, the Director of the Career Center. I can’t say enough about what he did for me, even after I graduated.</p>
<p>@dweinerman: thank you so much! your information really helped me! I will probably go
to UR, and I am very excited about it! : )</p>
<p>Allycat92, that’s wonderful news! A lot of people don’t know how strong the Poly Sci. and Econ. departments are at UR. I guess one of my goals is to help change that here on CC!</p>