UMBC Political Science

Students who major or minor in Political Science can expect to receive excellent instruction and training from the Political Science faculty, both on the main campus and on our campus at Shady Grove. Our students excel in the classroom and are involved in many different extracurricular activities, such as internships, research, study abroad, and participation in our clubs. Upon graduating our alumni have worked for local and state governments, the federal government, legal offices, and in the civil service. Others have gone on to law school or graduate school for some aspect of political science or public policy. Some alumni become teachers, with several beginning their teaching careers with the Teach for America program. We also have an excellent record in statewide and national competitions. For example, Political Science students from UMBC have served as the University of Maryland student regent, have received Fulbright grants for teaching and research around the world, and have won the highly selective Truman Scholarship for outstanding public service leadership. Furthermore, Political Science students have led UMBC’s Mock Trial team to national prominence and have placed exceptionally well at Model United Nations conferences. We also provide opportunities for students to interact with each other in the Department through the Council of Majors, politically-oriented clubs, and Pi Sigma Alpha, the national honor society for Political Science. Beyond regular coursework, there is a lot to do in the Department and we are proud that our students are leaving their mark in various ways both while at UMBC and after graduation.

Our faculty represent most of the subfields in Political Science, from political philosophy to American politics and public policy to law, international relations and comparative politics. Political Science faculty conduct innovative research and have written books and articles for top publishers and journals in the field. They have also won or been nominated for numerous teaching awards. We are known as being strong teachers and researchers at UMBC and, along with our wonderful staff, we enjoy working with our students both in and out of the classroom.