Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Illinois Wesleyan University

Political science faculty engages our students in critical thinking about governments, civic processes and political behavior here and around the globe.

The mission of the Department of Political Science at Illinois Wesleyan University is to foster a vital community of citizen scholars committed to the study and understanding of politics. The department nurtures a culture of excellence that helps students to become active knowledge producers and to reach their career goals in the non-profit, public, or private sectors. Political Science students are required to take both a research methods class and a senior seminar. In addition, they publish a research journal annually, join faculty in reading groups, and thrive in the social science lab they oversee. Regardless of their path, IWU political science students learn to take the liberal arts seriously and to strive to make the public good a reality at home and across the globe.

We prepare students to excel, whether they are interested in law school, graduate school, the private sector, or a future in public or nonprofit service.

Recent graduates have received full scholarships to attend graduate programs at Yale University, Washington University, Emory University, Princeton University, Harvard University, and the University of Illinois.

Students gain direct and practical experience through numerous internship programs at all levels of government, or through Illinois Wesleyan's community project-oriented Action Research Center (ARC).

Students regularly study abroad in countries such as Tanzania and Belgium. Several travel courses offer the direct study of politics in different parts of the United States and, most recently, in South Africa and France. Because of these experiences, our graduates frequently pursue advanced degrees overseas. Two members of the class of 2009, for example, attended the London School of Economics and Cambridge University.