<p>Which top tier university offers the best undergraduate political science program? (and by 'top tier' I mean Ivy league and other, very high ranking colleges that don't qualify as Ivies, such as Stanford)</p>
<p>Harvard<br>
Cal Berkeley<br>
Yale<br>
Michigan<br>
Stanford<br>
Chicago<br>
Princeton<br>
UCLA<br>
Cal San Diego<br>
Wisconsin<br>
Rochester<br>
MIT<br>
Minnesota<br>
Duke<br>
Cornell</p>
<p>very helpful...</p>
<p>could you pinpoint the top 2-3, perhaps?</p>
<p>Georgetown, of course.</p>
<p>Georgetown's political science program isn't that great.</p>
<p>orrican, Bob listed the schools from best to worst, although all have good programs.</p>
<p>The top Political Science programs are:</p>
<p>Columbia University
Duke University
Harvard University *
Princeton University
Stanford University *
University of California-Berkeley
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor *
Yale University</p>
<p>Of course, many LACs and smaller privates have very solid programs, but those above are generally considered to be the best. The ones with * next to them are generally considered the top 3.</p>
<p>ucsd?...ucla?... usually they are almost always considered in the top 10.</p>
<p>Yes, UCSD and UCLA are up there too.</p>
<p>How is USC's poli sci department, just out of curiosity?</p>
<p>USC's Political Science department is decent, but not great. I never saw it ranked in the top 50, but it is definitely not far below that mark.</p>
<p>Someone told me American was pretty high up there with their Poli-sci program, but I don't see anyone else here posting anything about that school, so I'm not sure.</p>
<p>I think George Washington does really well here too.
Though Amherst, Williams, and associated (haha) are amazing for poli sci as well.</p>
<p>People ignorantly assume that DC universities (American, Catholic, GWU and Georgetown) have excellent Political Science and better access to government internships. They are wrong on both counts. None of the DC universities have top Political Science programs. Georgetown is the closest thing to a great Political Science program and they aren't ranked among the top 30 in the nation. If one is talking about International Relations, that's another story. But International Relations and Political Science are the same thing.</p>
<p>Ah, my mistake i was thinking IR haha Sorry!
But the LAC's do very well in Poly Sci, correct?</p>
<p>Alexandre-You're wrong. I was just looking at the rankings and GWU's rating for public policy (which falls under it's political science major) is in the top 25.</p>
<p>The NRC ranked political science programs. Georgetown was 37, GWU was 47, and American was 60. Wait two more years and the new rankings will be out, but I really don't think they've changed that much.</p>
<p>"Ranked tenth nationwide, GWU has again been named by US News as having one of the nations leading schools of public policy, public administration, and public affairs. No other DC area school had such a high overall ranking combined with top twenty rankings for both its public policy and public administration programs. Also, GWU had more specialty subfields ranked in the top twenty than did any other DC area university. It is nice to be recognized year after year as one of the top programs in the nation. The School of Public Policy and Public Administration (SPPPA) in GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) is a focal point for public affairs education, research, and public service at The George Washington University."</p>
<p>"People ignorantly assume that DC universities (American, Catholic, GWU and Georgetown) have excellent Political Science and better access to government internships." </p>
<p>You cannot tell me that USC, UMich and many of the others mentioned have better oppurtunities in DC available to their students then these schools that are actually in DC. I simply don't believe it. I mean, we are talking undergraduate here, so not all of the students are trying to get their masters or something like that. For firsthand experience, you cannot get better then these schools. Maybe the teaching is better, but in people CORRECTLY assume that they have better access to the government.</p>
<p>Poli sci is so broad. You should tailor your search to schools that are strong in political philosophy and thought or schools that are strong in political policy. Whatever you're more interested in. That will change which schools are "stronger" than the others.</p>
<p>You need a combination of things, people. You need as Alexandre will point out, the BEST profs and researchers in the field. Students wont have the same academic quality @ American as they would at Chicago, even if one is outside the beltway. Second, to make an UNDERGRADUATE expierence a worth while endeavor, internships and real world expierences are necessary, which GW and the like will provide (although most schools have DC internships and int'l ones as well). Therefore, find a school that mixes top quality with political events surrounding the campus.</p>
<p>It's called the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The capital hovers over the city and campus. :)</p>
<p>Edit- I also want to add that political science is a degree that should be looked at carefully before diving into a school. If you want to go to law school, which is the overwhelming choice for poli sci majors, you don't NEED a "top poli sci program" because if you learn to read and write, get a high GPA, and high LSAT, you'll do well. It's about balance. There are top schools, or even "good" schools, but at full price it makes no sense in my opinion to pay for a George Washington and others (which I will not name as to avoid having an internet war) when your local state university, or even other cheaper schools have great poli sci departments.</p>