The Political Science Department at Rutgers is a center of excellence in research, teaching, and service. Rutgers Political Scientists do path breaking research on the causes and consequences of political inequalities based on gender and race, on political psychology and voting behavior, on the causes of war, on democratization and autocratization, and much more. Our graduate program is the only one in the nation to have a major field of study in Women and Politics. Our internationally renowned faculty are leaders in their fields and winners of some of the most prestigious awards in the discipline. Our faculty are also frequent contributors to public debates, providing expert analysis and sharing academic knowledge with the public and policymakers.
We are one of Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences' largest departments, with over 600 undergraduate majors and over 6,000 students per year enrolled in our courses. We also offer undergraduate minors in Political Science, Critical Intelligence Studies, PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics), and Business and Politics. We train our undergraduates not only to analyze politics using the most sophisticated tools of social science, but also to be active global citizens who can think critically about contemporary issues. Our graduates gain analytic and communication skills that prepare them for a wide variety of career paths in public service, the law, nonprofits, and the private sector.
Our PhD program trains students to combine cutting edge quantitative, qualitative, and experimental methods, preparing them for careers in academia and research in other sectors. Our MA program in United Nations and Global Policy Studies (UNMA) trains students for careers in international affairs. Our department hosts the Research In Political Psychology Laboratory (RIPPL) (rutgers.edu) and the Center for Critical Intelligence Studies and maintains close ties to many other research centers at Rutgers including the Eagleton Institute of Politics, and the Center for American Women and Politics.
