Program Overview
Political Science prepares students to understand and participate in the processes whereby policies are made in local, state, national and international political systems. Students learn the factual and theoretical ways in which governmental and non-governmental actors interact. In the process, students develop analytical and communication skills.
Political Science courses are an essential part of a liberal arts education because many disciplines come together in political analysis. Moreover, political science courses are useful in a variety of majors such as history, sociology, pre-law, business, public administration, economics, education and international studies. Students who would like hands-on experience in the political realm may sign up for an internship administered by the Political Science Department. SLCC students have interned in Washington D.C. and Salt Lake City, volunteered on political campaigns, conducted exit polls, hosted a variety of national and local political figures and participated in nationwide foreign policy simulations. Political Science subfields include American, Comparative, International and Public Administration.
Career Opportunities
Teaching, Government, Policy Analytics, Public Relations, Political Consultation, Media, Data Analysis, Law, Academic Leadership, etc.
What You Will Learn
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge regarding:
- The founding of the U.S government and the development of American political institutions.
- The meaning and implications of participatory democracy.
- Three of the following four areas of specialization: International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Ideologies, Public Service.
- Speak and write effectively about political processes.
- Analyze how political institutions emerge, how they operate, how they interact with their external environment, and how they shape individual and collective behavior.
- Identify the different approaches to the study of politics and be able to apply these to contemporary political problems and political behavior.
- Identify, formulate and construct logical arguments about political phenomena and evaluate these through empirical and theoretical methods.
- Demonstrate information literacy by finding, analyzing and contextualizing appropriate source material in the library or online (primary documents, case studies, journal articles, etc.,) and provide thorough attribution while also sorting and weighing the value of various perspectives to inform their own conclusions.
- Interpret and use information represented as data, graphs, and tables to analyze political behavior, public policy, the historical development of the U.S. political system or modern political ideologies, and/or other topics in Political Science.
- Work with others in collaborative projects as well as through participation in live and/or on-line discussions and demonstrate the ability to engage a diversity of viewpoints in a civil and constructive fashion.
- Analyze and discuss how identity—with its deep roots in culture, language, religion, race/ethnicity, geography and relationship to power—affects processes, institutions, decision-making, outcomes and attitudes related to politics at whatever level.
- Make connections between seemingly distant public policy choices and their more immediate impact and, thus, develop an understanding of how politics both shapes and is shaped by the social, political, economic activities of individuals who act collectively.
- Establish awareness of how political science courses connect to a General Education framework through the upload of signature assignments in student e-portfolios as well as through assignment reflections, which demonstrates an understanding of content and methodological overlap of political science courses with other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities.
Career Outlook
Some careers shown require further education beyond this program.