Political Science

Our mission is to cultivate faculty whose research and teaching interests cross the traditional boundaries that divide many political science departments into separate groups. Our goal to to provide students with a holistic approach to political science that gives full attention to studies in American government, international relations, political theory, and comparative politics in an interdependent global system. 

Political science is the study of government, individual and institutional behavior in the public sector, relations among nation-states, and theories of politics. Political science addresses fundamental issues confronting modern society - globalization, war, inequity, poverty, the environment - and seeks to evaluate the processes, policies, and theories that have been devised to deal with them. The Political Science program provides  courses in theory, methods and case studies within the four sub-fields of political theory, comparative politics, international relations and American politics, as well as many courses that cross subfields. 

The political science major emphasizes the development of skills in effective writing and speaking, as well as creative problem solving -- some of the most useful skills in a wide variety of careers in the public, non-profit and private sectors. These skills are also crucial to success in graduate school. Our small classes and abundant individual attention from faculty give students ample opportunity to hone those skills. Political Science is also an excellent choice for students planning to  study politics, public policy or law at the graduate level.

The department also offers Political Science majors the opportunity to select all of the EDU secondary education certification courses (listed below) as their electives in order to become middle or high school teachers (grades 7 - 12) in the area of social studies.

Pre-Law Emphasis

The pre-law emphasis allows students interested in studying law to receive special advising and to develop a liberal arts program of study appropriate as preparation for admission to law school and success in the legal profession,and careers and jobs in various areas such as government, media, business, international affairs, foreign service,non- government organizations and teaching. The study of law involves many aspects of social life and integrates many fields of study. Judges and lawyers are expected to handle different litigations, ranging from social to medical, environmental and other applications. Thus, law schools encourage students to have diverse undergraduate majors. UNE students who are majoring in any department can take advantage of the pre-law program.

Although the choice of major is open, law schools expect students to have acquired skills that enable them to think critically, reason logically, and speak and write effectively. The Pre-law Advising Committee will help students build their interdisciplinary program of study that includes not only humanities courses, but also courses in biology, environmental studies, psychology, and management.

Secondary Education Certification

The department offers Political Science majors the opportunity to select all of the EDU secondary education certification courses (listed below) as their electives in order to become middle or high school teachers (grades 7 - 12) in the area of social studies. While providing a solid foundation in social studies, this program includes extensive coursework in education, which, when combined with the secondary teaching internship, will result in State of Maine teacher certification upon completion of the degree program. This program is approved by the State of Maine Board of Education.

Note: students preparing for social studies certification should also complete 24 credits of associated grade 7 - 12 courses they may teach. Although no specific courses are required, students should select courses that are primarily history, with at least one course in psychology, sociology and economics. 

At the completion of this major students will:

1. Have developed a mature political imagination which includes an ability to envision what constitutes an important political question/issue and to understand the various ways in which a political scientist might address such a question/issue.
2. Have mastered essential facts relevant and necessary to the study of global political life. This involves a working knowledge of the key actors, structures, institutions and historical dynamics that constitute the contemporary political order. It also includes a broad familiarity with the historical roots of that order.
3. Be able to think critically, analytically and rigorously about the world of politics.
4. Have an informed sense of the historical dimension of the various political issues, developments, trends, theories and forms of inquiry relevant to the students’ interests.
5. Have an enlightened understanding of the multicultural nature of global (but especially American) political life.
6. Be able to convey information, analyze results and persuasively argue, in both written and oral form, clearly and effectively.
7. Be able to conduct sound and rigorous social inquiry using a variety of methodologies and techniques.
8. Be able to compete successfully for placement in graduate programs or employment relevant to the field of study.

Direct Measures of Student Learning:

1. Capstone Course
2. Senior Thesis 
3. Oral defense of Senior Thesis 
4. Internship supervisor evaluations  
5. Symposium Presentations 
6. Annual departmental review of graded assignments and exams and samples of student writing 
7. Performance on exams

Indirect Measures of Student Learning:

1. Admission rates into graduate programs  
2. Alumni and employer satisfaction 
3. End-of-course student evaluation forms

A student with a major in another department may minor in Political Science with the approval of the Political Science Department Chair. 

The Political Science Department offers another minor in Health Law and Policy.

We offer qualified students the option of participating in our Honors Program and graduating with Honors. This includes significant research, scholarship or creative activity under the direction of a faculty member.

See Undergraduate Admissions.

See Undergraduate Admissions.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for subsequent years may vary. Other expenses include books and housing. For more information regarding tuition and fees, please consult the Financial Information section of this catalog.