The program of courses offered by the Political Science Department is designed to enable students to acquire an understanding of political processes, governmental institutions, and theories of politics.

As one of the liberal arts, political science enables students to develop skills in communication and problem solving that are useful in a wide variety of careers including those in federal, state and local governments, law, business, international organizations, nonprofit associations and organizations, campaign management and polling, journalism, precollegiate education, electoral politics, research, and university and college teaching.

About 30 percent of our graduates attend law school or graduate school.  Others are found at work in a wide range of professional settings, including the U.S. and Minnesota legislatures, various electoral campaigns, many local governments and numerous private sector organizations in Minnesota and across the country.

Students graduating with a major in political science have a broad overview of the discipline, as well as substantive familiarity with at least two of the four political science sub-fields:

• American politics
• comparative and international politics
• law and judicial politics
• political thought

Majors also develop a wide variety of skills, including those related to the carrying out of research projects, the interpretation of empirical data, and the presentation of their work to a wider audience.

A number of POLS courses also contribute toward other majors and minors, including Environmental Studies, Women's Studies, International Studies, Justice and Peace Studies, Social Science (major), and Legal Studies (minor).

Some courses also fulfill general education requirements, including:

POLS 104, American Government in Comparative Perspective, fulfills the Social Analysis requirement of the core curriculum

POLS 205, Introduction to the American Public Policy Process, fulfills the Computer Competency Requirement

POLS 352, Third World Politics and Government, fulfills the Human Diversity Requirement

Students majoring in Political Science must take a minimum of twenty-four credits in political science at St. Thomas.

“Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year.  And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.”

--Sir Winston Churchill

To find out more information about the admissions process, click here.