What school's have good political science departments?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Besides the obvious such as georgetown, michigan, and american (don't include any ivies).</p>

2

<p>UChicago, Stanford, Berkeley, UC San Diego, George Washington. Not an exhaustive list, of course, just some suggestions.</p>

3

<p>Thanks 10char</p>

4

<p>U Rochester has a stronger political science program than several Ivies, isn’t extremely difficult to get into, and offers hefty merit scholarships.</p>

<p>(Incidentally, GWU is quite weak in political science. IR is its strong point.)</p>

5

<p>Michigan of course.</p>

6

<p>I’m studying political science, and I wanted to go to Michigan…</p>

<p>Believe it or not, most good state schools are far superior in political science than most good private schools, with a few obvious exceptions. The bigger the faculty, the more diverse the faculty, the better equipped they are to teach political science.</p>

<p>However when push comes to shove, political science is something that every school offers, and I seriously doubt that the experience of a poli sci major is going to be any different at a LAC than it would be at Harvard or a small Baptist college. You’ll find that poli sci departments are incredibly well networked and the most important part of your education will come from collegiate mock legislatures that many states offer, getting internships at state capitals, and so on. </p>

<p>To that extent, location is everything. If you’re more than 100 miles away from a state capitol there won’t be many opportunities for real world experience. Less than 100 miles, and there will be tons of opportunities for you to take advantage of. And of course, being in DC is far superior than any state capitol…</p>

7

<p>[Rankings</a> - Political Science - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-political-science-schools/rankings]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-political-science-schools/rankings)</p>

<p>I know, I know… those are grad school rankings. But I think it’s a good indicator of how strong a given political science program is at the undergrad level as well.</p>

8

<p>UNC-Chapel Hill, UVA</p>

9

<p>At the graduate level according to USNWR. </p>

<p>Michigan 4
UNC 13
UVA 33</p>

10

<p>Right, but the poster asked for choices besides Michigan, American, and Georgetown, which is why I listed two different schools.</p>

<p>I would also add Wisconsin and Northwestern.</p>

11

<p>The London School of Economics ranked Bowdoin College’s Government Department as being the best in the world on the undergraduate level.</p>

12

<p>Stanford, Berkeley, Chicago, Michigan, Northwestern, Hopkins, UCLA, NYU</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>… 30 seconds on the internet yielded an entirely other statistic.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.politicalstudies.org/pdf/psr/hix.pdf[/url]”>Political Studies – Social Science;

<p>Bowdoin is ranked 173, BTW. It’s highest… for a “small college”.</p>

14

<p>^^</p>

<p>Great link, seems to answer the OP’s question quite comprehensively.</p>

15

<p>thanks a lot everyone, is there an updated version Ray192</p>

16

<p>The London School of Economics ranking is in fact way off. Below are some excellent Political Science (not International Relations) departments:</p>

<p>Duke University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New York University
Northwestern University
Ohio State University-Columbus
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-San Diego
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Rochester
University of Texas-Austin
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Washington University-St Louis</p>

<p>Some LACs with good Political Science departments:
Amherst College
Bates College
Bowdoin College
Claremont McKenna College
Clark University
Colby College
Colgate University
Colorado College
Connecticut College
Davidson College
Haverford College
Kenyon College
Macalester College
Middlebury College
Oberlin College
Pomona College
Swarthmore College
Trinity College (CT)
Union College
Vassar College
Washington and Lee University
Wesleyan University
Williams College</p>

17

<p>I see a lot of rankings being posted like it’s nothing. So…I’ll chime in with a set of rankings that I feel is relevant to this discussion.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-confidential-cafe/731586-only-reputable-set-rankings-us-colleges.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-confidential-cafe/731586-only-reputable-set-rankings-us-colleges.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;