My son is still in high school and figuring out his interests. He has poli sci/intl relations on the list of possibilities. My husband was a History major and I chose Econ. our paths led to law school / MBA after working for a while in professional jobs that offered little growth.

Are there career paths in poli sci that allow you to live reasonably comfortably without necessarily needing a graduate degree? Unfortunately we cannot fund grad school for him and would prefer he does not need to take on the debt we have endured.

Anonymous wrote:No dog in this hunt but at least at PhD level there is a generational split within PolySci. Older PhDs tend to lecture on the discipline as would a history prof. Younger PhD’s the discipline is akin to a math major - lots of applied math theories, game theory, etc. The latter crowd much more respected. Something to consider as your student will likely search for a mentor Junior/senior year.

Interesting! I was a poli sci major many years ago, and there was not quant path at all. I have looked at my kids’ college poli sci offerings and while there are a few quant type classes, most still fall into the “traditional” category. Are you saying that younger poli sci profs add more of a quant spin on their classes, regardless of the description?

Anonymous wrote:What are some decent schools within 150 miles of DC for Poli Sci or maybe International Relations?

My child does not have the stats for Georgetown.

I don't know if she has the stat's for UVA but my DD recently graduated from there and was in poly-sci. The program is great. There are (unlike my slac), many sub-majors from which to pick in the department. My DD picked PPL (Politics, Philosophy and the Law) and thoroughly enjoyed his experience. Since I was a poly-sci major in my SLAC, I was able to compare experiences: hers was a much better program than mine. Her courses were very interesting and well-taught. A lot of speakers were brought in to address the students. She got two Cap. Hill internships through the program - House and Senate and a position in a Think Tank.. She interned at Larry Sabato's (Crystal Ball) Center for Poilitics. She was active in political debate in one of UVA's clubs and debate teams (all political views welcome). All good. Now at Oxford studying Law.

Anonymous wrote:No dog in this hunt but at least at PhD level there is a generational split within PolySci. Older PhDs tend to lecture on the discipline as would a history prof. Younger PhD’s the discipline is akin to a math major - lots of applied math theories, game theory, etc. The latter crowd much more respected. Something to consider as your student will likely search for a mentor Junior/senior year.

Well to be fair, there was always the qual/quant split.

Many of us went to law school and were more into the qual....

Anonymous wrote:GW Poli Sci strong, strong alumni network. Best choice outside of Gtown. American also good because in DC. If worried about stats and can't make GW or American, Lehigh is pretty good. William and Mary good too but easier if in state obviously. Maryland decent. Temple surprisingly. Catholic because of location. Villanova.

I work in the field.

I was this person and I almost added Gettysburg as well. It depends on stats and you need more schools I would add it.

Anonymous wrote:Washington College has excellent program. Much smaller than Georgetown and not as competitive but excellent history and political science programs. And of course American and GW—really well known and large like Georgetown.

Seconded. In my time the department was extremely strong in international politics, particularly East Asian.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GW Poli Sci strong, strong alumni network. Best choice outside of Gtown. American also good because in DC. If worried about stats and can't make GW or American, Lehigh is pretty good. William and Mary good too but easier if in state obviously. Maryland decent. Temple surprisingly. Catholic because of location. Villanova.

I work in the field.

Curious, what constitutes "the field" of poli sci? Working on the hill or as a lobbyist? Working on campaigns or polling? TIA.

Asst Professor, worked on Hill previously, lobbying, and campaign consulting.

DD is planning a Government major at W&M. It's a popular major as a PP noted and judging by DD's courses so far, pretty rigorous. They have a cool summer program in DC where you can take classes and/or do an internship.

If price is no object, then I agree that G'town, GW, etc. are great choices for this major. But if in VA and price is a consideration, W&M is worth looking at.

FWIW, I was a poli sci major at a top SLAC back in the day and had no trouble finding opportunities for research and internships outside of DC. The key for me was a great relationship with my advisor who helped point me in the right directions.

No dog in this hunt but at least at PhD level there is a generational split within PolySci. Older PhDs tend to lecture on the discipline as would a history prof. Younger PhD’s the discipline is akin to a math major - lots of applied math theories, game theory, etc. The latter crowd much more respected. Something to consider as your student will likely search for a mentor Junior/senior year.

Anonymous wrote:What about Gettysburg because of their Eisenhower Institute?

+1 strong program

What about Gettysburg because of their Eisenhower Institute?

Anonymous wrote:W&M does not list Political Science as a major:

https://www.wm.edu/majorsminors/

(lol.. just something that our tour guide pointed out!)

My kid attends. It would be Government or IR, depending on your focus. Global Policy with a specialization in a part of the world is also a speciality. She says it feel like half the school is IR/Government/Global Studies/Econ, with an eye towards law school, business school, and to a less extent foreign policy, public policy with a specialization, American politics. But I’m sure there is some selection bias there. Largest major is business, then “Politics and Government”. IR and aedon are up there.

Quinnipiac
Marist
Both known for political polling

I do a lot of hiring for my very prominent and very political NGO employer and, of somewhat less competitive schools, AU grads do very, very well. There is definitely an ethos there of making use of internships and they have a lot of new grads who have a major leg up over recent grads moving here after graduating from more prestigious schools. That's where I would look.

Anonymous wrote:W&M does not list Political Science as a major:

https://www.wm.edu/majorsminors/

(lol.. just something that our tour guide pointed out!)

W&M's major is Government, which is a common alternative name to Political Science.