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Undergraduate Political Science Programs

If you major in political science as an undergraduate at SLU, you will grapple with some of the most important social justice problems of our time, from racism and poverty at home to war, persistent underdevelopment and oppression abroad.

SLU offers three variations of a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science:

  • A general B.A. that allows you to pick courses that fit your particular interests.
  • A concentration in international affairs that permits you to study topics such as economic development, international security and political change around the world.
  • A concentration in public law that focuses on law and courts, and the relationship of both to larger issues of justice, social change and democracy.
  • A concentration in public policy that examined the practical application of knowledge to governance and social problems.

SLU also offers a major in international studies, an interdisciplinary program that allows students to take courses in anthropology, economics, foreign language, history, political science and a number of other disciplines.

Minors

The department also offers four interdisciplinary minors, including foreign service, law, religion, and politics, political journalism, and global and local social justice.

The political science minor allows students either to take courses that sample the discipline of political science or that concentrate in a particular subfield.

Undergraduate Opportunities

As an undergraduate student in the political science department, you'll have access to many distinctive opportunities.

  • Co-curricular activities such as the annual Atlas Week or election watch parties help students become engaged citizens.
  • Internships in local and national government, non-profit and community organizations and law offices give students the skills they need to effect change in their own communities.
  • Students interested in law can choose to concentrate in public law, take advantage of many internship opportunities, and benefit from assistance with law school applications from Morgan Hazelton, J.D., Ph.D., or Nathan Carrington, Ph.D., department specialists in law and judicial politics.
  • Students can study abroad at our campus in Madrid or at many other locations worldwide.
  • Class sizes are small. Students can expect individualized attention from their professors and have the opportunity to conduct research, either by assisting professors with their research or by writing an honors thesis.