Political Science

Students in political science courses study questions about justice, conflict, social institutions, and all aspects of collective decision-making in political entities. Courses cover politics in the U.S. and most regions of the world, and address countries’ internal politics as well as interactions on a global level.

www.bucknell.edu/politicalscience

Related Student Organizations and University Programs

  • Global Residential College
  • International Relations/Model United Nations
  • Pi Sigma Alpha (political science honor society)

In addition, Bucknell is home to a range of cultural, social and political organizations. See the Campus Life section of our website for more details.

Career Paths

Political science provides the background students need for careers in law, journalism, government service, international organizations, teaching and business. Recently, graduates of Bucknell’s political science program have secured the following positions:

  • Client Development Analyst, Capital IQ – Standard & Poor’s
  • Editorial Assistant, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  • Manager, World Market
  • Marketing and Resource Associate, self-employed
  • Operations Analyst, Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Selected Faculty Publications

Bucknell’s political science faculty members’ scholarship has recently appeared in the following journals:

  • American Journal of Political Science
  • India Review
  • Journal of Conflict Resolution
  • Political Research Quarterly
  • Swiss Political Science Review


Faculty members’ scholarship has also appeared in the following books:

  • Deliberative Democracy and the Plural Polity (Michael James, author)
  • State-Building in Russia, Laying the Foundations for the Post-Yeltsin Era (Andrea Stevenson-Sanjian, contributor)
  • Legislative Women: Getting Elected, Getting Ahead (Atiya Stokes-Brown, co-contributor)
  • The Patient (Amy R. McCready, contributor)
  • Understanding East Asia’s Economic Miracles (Zhiqun Zhu, author)

Graduate and Professional School

Many political science graduates attend law school, business school or graduate school in public administration, international relations or political science. Some go directly to graduate school; others enter graduate school after they’ve had some experience in the field. Recent alumni of the program have gone on to:

  • Benjamin Cardozo School of Law
  • Dickinson School of Law
  • Harvard University
  • Indiana University
  • Cornell University
  • University of Denver
  • Villanova University

Resources

  • Political science students can apply to study in Washington, D.C., where programs include the Washington Semester at American University and the Washington Center.
  • Bucknell is a member of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), which gives both students and faculty access to an immense data bank drawn from all around the world.

Study Abroad

Students can earn political science credit through approved study abroad programs in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. About half of our majors study abroad, and in recent years have studied in, among other countries:

  • Ireland
  • Austria
  • United Kingdom
  • Egypt
  • China
  • Brazil
  • Italy
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Spain
  • South Africa

Related Programs

Two faculty members in the Department of Political Science also have appointments in the Department of International Relations, and others are involved with the degree programs in Latin American Studies, Comparative Humanities, and Women’s and Gender Studies. Political science faculty members also participate in the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy.

Program Details

  • Bucknell’s political science program deals with internal and global politics in the United States and in other societies around the world.
  • In addition to the required courses, political science majors are encouraged to take related courses in other disciplines to complement and strengthen their study.
  • The political science major leads to a bachelor of arts degree.
  • Majors take one core course in each of four subfields: American politics, comparative politics, political theory and international politics.
  • Five political science minors are offered: American politics, comparative politics, international politics, political theory and general political science.
  • Students learn to think critically about options, form well-reasoned arguments and express ideas lucidly and persuasively in verbal and written form.
  • Related interdisciplinary majors such as Latin American studies or international relations give students more options for study.

Faculty

Bucknell’s political science department is considerably larger than those of most liberal arts colleges, providing students with a wide variety of courses and broad exposure to scholars with diverse areas of expertise.

Andrea Stevenson Sanjian - Chair - (Ph.D., Indiana University) - Post-Soviet Politics; Politics in East - CentralEurope; West European Politics; Comparative Politics

John Doces - (Ph.D.,University of Southern California) - Political Economy and Public Policy

Chris Ellis -  (Ph.D., University of North Carolina) - American Politics, Political Behavior andResearch Methods

R. Douglas Hecock - (Ph.D., University of New Mexico) - Comparative Politics, Latin America, and the Political Economy of Development

Michael James - (Ph.D., Duke) - Contemporary Political Theory, Politics of Cultural and Ethnic Pluralism, Constitutional Law, and Legal Theory.

Tansa (Tony) Massoud - (Ph.D., New York University) - International Relations, War, Peace, the Middle East, Peace Studies Coordinator

Amy McCready - (Ph.D., Chicago) - Political Theory, Legal Thought, Ethics

David Mitchell - (Ph.D., Syracuse) - International Politics, Comparative Foreign Policy, National Security, Foreign Policy Decision Making

Scott Meinke - (Ph.D., Ohio State) - U.S. Congress and legislative politics, judicial politics, American Presidency

Gregory Sanjian - (Ph.D., Indiana) - International Relations; U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security Policy; Positive Theory

Atiya Stokes-Brown - (Ph.D., University of Maryland) - American Politics, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Campaigns and Elections, and State politics

Zhiqun Zhu - (Ph.D., University of South Carolina) - Chinese politics and foreign policy, East Asian international relations.

Undergraduate Research

Bucknell’s political science students often engage in independent research projects in close collaboration with a faculty mentor. Select students can work on honors projects, also with guidance from a faculty mentor. Recent research and honors projects include:

  • U.S. Senators: Can They Keep a Promise? (honors)
  • Faces of Development: An Exhibition of Life in Benares, India as a Result of the Neoliberal World Order (honors)
  • Youth Bulges and Democracy: Considering Non-linear Effects

Courses Offered

The Departments of Political Science and International Relations cross-list many of their courses, offering additional opportunities for political science majors.

Core Courses
American Politics
Comparative Politics
International Politics
Political Theory

Electives
The American Congress
American Foreign Policy
American Judicial Policy Making
American Political Parties
The American Presidency
American Public Policy
The Arab-Israeli Conflict
The Atlantic Alliance
Civil Liberties and the Constitution
Constitutional Law
Contemporary Democratic Theory
European Politics
French Foreign Policy Since 1945
Government and Politics of the Middle East
History of Western Political Thought I: Ancient and Medieval
History of Western Political Thought II: Machiavelli to Bentham
History of Western Political Thought III: Burke to Rawls
International Law
International Organization
International Political Economy
International Relations of the Caribbean
International Relations of Europe
International Relations of Migration
Introduction to Public Policy
Latin American Politics
Local and State Politics
Nationalism East and West
Peace Studies
Politics of Economic Development
Public Opinion
Race and American Politics
Research Methods in Political Science
Russian Politics
Seminar in American Politics
Seminar in Comparative Politics
Seminar in International Politics
Seminar in Political Theory
Sex and Social Order
State and Local Internship Program
Third World Politics
Topics in Legal Thought
Topics in Politics
Topics in Social and Political Ethics
Twentieth-century American Legal Thought
U.S. and the Middle East
U.S. National Security Policy
War
Women and Politics

Internships

Bucknell’s political science department has its own program of state and local internships through a course that integrates in-class work, independent research and real-world work experience. The Career Development Center also helps students pursue internships. Recently, students have interned at:

  • East Buffalo Township
  • Lewisburg Borough Council
  • Union County Commissioners
  • Union County Conservation District
  • Union County District Attorney
  • Union County Public Defender's Office
  • Union County Red Cross
  • SEDA-COG
  • Central PA Chamber of Commerce
  • American Continental Group
  • Union County Probation
  • Office of U.S. Representative Tim Holden
  • Office of the White House Liaison – Department of Commerce
  • Office of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter

Quick Facts

  • Number of full-time faculty: 12
  • Average number of majors per class year: 57