Home | Political Science | West Virginia University

Check out our Graduate Program!

You’ve completed your undergraduate study. Now what? The political science graduate program at WVU is a great choice! Many of our doctoral students have gone on to earn tenure track positions at universities, including the University of Pittsburgh, Longwood University and Monmouth University. Is teaching not your thing? We’ve also had graduates earn positions with government agencies and non-profit institutions, such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Foreign Service in the U.S. Department of State.

Open up your mind to Political Science!

Want to study political science at WVU? You won’t be disappointed. With a staff containing years of combined experience and a curriculum designed to challenge students to think critically about current societal issues, a degree from the WVU Department of Political Science prepares students for a variety of career opportunities including legal studies, politics, international relations, comparative politics and national security.

Model UN

It takes a firm hand in diplomacy, an understanding of different cultures and an eye for compromise to deftly navigate the foreign policy landscape. The members of the Model UN team at West Virginia University have shown it has those skills in spades. Model UN students assume the role of ambassadors from UN member states to debate current issues on the organization’s agenda.

Faculty & Staff

The faculty and staff in the Department of Political Science at West Virginia University will challenge students to be their best by taking an interest in each individual student. Many of our professors have taken personal time to give students educational experiences such as trips to Washington, D.C. Our faculty will challenge long-held perspectives to allow students to think freely and openly, while having a passion towards issues each student finds important.

What is Political Science?

When it comes to answering these questions, Political Science is built on the core aspects of the great liberal arts tradition. Our strengths are logic, appropriate data, analysis, and communication. Explaining the outcomes of political processes and events involves developing theories, using scientific methods to gather relevant evidence and test those theories, and then using strong communications skills to explain the research. Honing these skills, and learning the knowledge that is shared in our classes, prepares graduates of our department for careers in law, politics, government, the military, academia, private enterprise, and non-profit service.

American Politics examines questions related to the activities of all the branches of the federal government (legislative, judicial, executive), as well as all the levels of government (local, state, and federal).

Comparative Politics examines the differences between states. Why do some states achieve high levels of economic growth, while others fall behind? Does the process used to seek justice after conflicts have an influence on whether people think justice was achieved? In short, why do similar states turn out very differently (and why do different states turn out similarly)?

International Politics is about the interactions that states have with each other. From overlooked but critical activity like international trade and finance, to rarer and more violent interactions like war and coercion, this part of political science seeks to understand the forces that cause states to behave like they do to each other.

Political Theory is examines the moral and ethical questions surrounding politics. What is the best form of government? What is justice? What are the moral reasons for us to prefer democracy to other forms of government? This part of political science has links to philosophy, and asks similar questions, just with a directly political focus.