Political Science

About the Department

Lisa A. Bryant, Department Chair
McKee Fisk Building, Room 244
559.278.7612
socialsciences.fresnostate.edu/polisci/

Courses offered by the Department of Political Science are intended to help all students become more effective participants in a democratic society, both as makers of public policy and as individuals affected by those policies. Students study voting, elections, the structures of government institutions, and how governments around the world differ and interact. They also explore local, national, and global issues.  We prepare our majors for a wide variety of careers in government, education, business, journalism, the nonprofit sector, and international affairs, as well as law school and graduate school.

Students may elect to concentrate on American government and politics, international and comparative politics, legal studies, or public policy. Detailed course and career information on each of these optional tracks is available. For those who achieve a high measure of proficiency in their undergraduate program, the department offers advanced work leading to the master’s degree in public administration.

Interesting Classes You Might Take

• Presidential Politics
• Constitutional Law
• Water Politics and Policy
• Campaigns and Elections
• State and Local Government
• International Law and Organization
• American Foreign Affairs

What You Can Learn About

• Political parties; citizen political advocacy; election of public officials; political institutions
• Military and economic power; political violence; democratic peace; international organizations; globalization; nationalism; imperialism; environmental politics; foreign policies of specific nations
• Freedom and individual rights, democracy, majority rule, equality, law and authority, power, constitutional foundation of American government, social class and structure, revolution

Career Opportunities

Political Science is the study of who has the power to make laws for society, the institutional structures that guide how this power is used, and the impact of public policies on society.  Our graduates have gone on to serve in Congress, in the state legislature, as city managers, as urban planners, as city council members, as lawyers and judges, as mayors, as union leaders, as business owners, as educators, as non-profit managers, as military officers, as civic organizers, and more. Numerous leaders in the San Joaquin Valley are our graduates.

What You Can Do

• Manage political campaigns
• Pursue a career in public office or law
• Advocate for policy change
• Join the Peace Corps or Foreign Service

Programs

• Political Science, B.A.

• Public Administration, M.P.A.
• Public Administration, M.P.A. (Continuing & Global Education)

• Political Science, Minor
• Public Administration, Minor