Bachelor of Political Science at Saint Louis University

Political scientists study power, politics and a variety of political processes, systems and behaviors. Politics can be understood broadly as the process by which groups of people decide how they will live and act together. Political action is the essential underpinning of all human communities and social life.

The discipline of political science covers many topics, from campaigns and elections in the United States, to economic development and democratization around the world, to diplomacy and globalization. Political science majors learn to address big questions, such as what makes a government legitimate or what constitutes a good society. They also come to understand causes and mechanisms for addressing significant global challenges like terrorism, poverty, climate change and war.

Saint Louis University's political science major can prepare students for advanced study in various areas: law, public administration, international relations, urban affairs, business and political science. Political science students pursue jobs in government, international organizations, nonprofit organizations, education, law, journalism, diplomacy, survey research and fields related to the promotion of social justice.

Additional program highlights include:

• Undergraduates can start taking graduate classes before earning their B.A. in Political Science and quickly finish an M.A. in Political Science as part of the accelerated M.A. program.
• The political science program at SLU is distinctive in its commitment to preparing students to become engaged citizens both locally and globally. Students grapple with some of most important social justice problems of the time, from racism and poverty at home to war, persistent underdevelopment and oppression abroad.
• The SLU political science department is big enough to offer a wide range of classes and small enough that students get individual attention from faculty.

1. Graduates will be able to identify the structure and operation of political systems in the U.S, across a variety of countries, and in multinational organizations.
   • Madrid campus: Graduates will be able to identify and compare political systems in the Western world, international trends at the global level and multinational organizations.
2. Graduates will be able to distinguish among various approaches to studying political phenomena.
3. Graduates will be able to read carefully and evaluate and construct analytical arguments in clear and logical prose.
4. Graduates will be able to identify and gather information from credible primary and secondary sources.
5. Graduates will be able to design original research to test arguments and hypotheses with qualitative and/or quantitative approaches.
6. Graduates will be able to assess the effects of various social and political structures and public policies to determine which are more likely to promote equality, justice, freedom, or other values important to them.
   • Madrid campus: Graduates will be able to use knowledge of other cultures and languages to one's own in order to conduct culturally-sensitive analyses of local, regional, global and international issues.
7. Graduates will be able to use their knowledge of political systems to engage effectively in political and social life.