DEPARTMENT HOME
  

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
  

GRADUATE PROGRAMS
  

FACULTY AND STAFF
  

HONORS, AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS
  

ADVISING AND CAREERS
  

INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS
  

INSTITUTE OF GOV'T AND POLITICS
 

POLITICAL SCIENCE NEWS
 

COURSE PAGES
 

INTERNSHIPS
 

ALUMNI AND FRIENDS
  
       


Undergraduate Programs

WMU's Political Science Department takes pride in its students' achievements. Many students are in the Lee Honors College or the Political Science Department's own Honors Program. Students regularly participate in special programs such as Mock Trial, the Model Arab League, the Pre-Law Society, the student organizations affiliated with political parties, and such organizations as Amnesty International, Students for a Sustainable Earth, Students for Gender Equality, and more. (For a list of student organizations registered at WMU, see the Student Life and Resident Student Organization pages.

WMU's 2005 Mock Trial Team

Degree Programs

The Department offers six majors and two minors. For more detail, click on the links below:

Student Research Opportunities

The ability to conduct research is a valuable skill. We have a whole page devoted to student research.

Student Internship Opportunities

Internships are a wonderful way to experience one of the possible careers that grow out of a political science degree. We have a page on internships too.

Why Choose WMU Political Science as Major or Minor?


Program

We have a lot to offer you. There are five options for you to choose from:

  • Standard Major: In addition to a number of required courses, you can select any three elective courses to take in the department to fulfill the major.

  • International and Comparative Politics: Students in this program are interested in international affairs and thus complete two years of a foreign language and often participate in the Study Abroad semester. Also, the department has a Model Arab League program as well as Model United Nations in selected years.

  • Public Law: This is a very popular program with most students planning to attend law school upon graduation. There is a very intensive Mock Trial Program which enters various competitions each year. A number of Public Law students are team members each year.

  • American Public Policy: This program concentrates on U.S. politics and policy, while also providing an introduction to other subfields in the discipline. Many students in this program complete a Public Policy Internship to get experience grappling with policy problems in various governmental agencies or in legislative affairs.

  • Secondary Education Major: More than ten percent of all our students in political science are in this program. There are elective credits available within this major so that a Secondary Education student can select courses that will be of most interest and best future application in the classroom.
Michael Schreuder, International and
Comparative Politics (1997) is a
Foreign Service officer with the
Department of State, currently
serving in the North Africa/
Middle East region.

The department's five majors are very popular with students. The number of majors in the department is more than 500 and the number of minors is well over 100. There are a number of scholarships that students can compete for but most are not available until junior or senior years. The department prides itself on its individualized advising system where each major and minor is assigned to a faculty member who then follows that student throughout his/her time at Western. Our Institute of Government and Politics regularly offers speakers and other programs that undergraduates are invited to attend. The department encourages prospective students to contact the Political Science office at 269-387-5680 and make an appointment to visit with one of our faculty members.


Faculty

The twenty faculty members in the Political Science Department have established solid records of research, teaching, and service. Their books have been published by major university presses, and their articles have appeared in the top general and specialized journals in the discipline. Faculty conduct field research around the world. Several have received funding for their research from the National Science Foundation. You can learn more about the faculty here.


Placement

As a traditional liberal arts major, students in Political Science pursue a wide range of career paths in business, teaching, law, government, and politics. The department sponsors one of the largest undergraduate internship programs in the state. Examples of interships that political science students at Western have completed include:

Local: City Managers in 13 different cities; various internships ranging from Assessor to Personnel, to Planning and County Development, to Purchasing, to Recreation, to Zoning (and 23 others) in a number of cities; in addition there are internships at the Village, Township, and County levels of government. Also, internships with elected officials/campaigns, health and human services, and judicial placements.

State: These internships are all based in Lansing. Many internships are available with State Representatives and State Senators; with all departments of state government including Dept. of Civil Rights, Dept. of Community Health, and Dept. of Education; internships in the Governor’s Office; in the Judicial area; with legislative organizations including the House Democratic Policy staff, House Republicans Programs and Research, the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies, the Legislative Service Bureau, the Senate Majority Policy Office, and the Senate Democratic Caucus. A number of other state level internships are in the areas of lobbying, research, consultants, and non-profits.

National: Internships in Washington, D.C. have included work with the lobbying firm of Kinghorn, Hillbert and Associates; the National Milk Producers Association; U.S. Representatives including Representatives Conyers, Ford, Hoekstra, Knollenberg, Siljander, Wirth, and Wolpe; and U.S. Senators including Senators Levin and Riegel.

International. Students have served in internships in the German Bundestag, German state parliaments, and development NGOs in India and South Africa.

These internships are very popular with students and the department has sponsored interns for more than 30 years. Some students are able to directly convert an internship into a job upon graduation, while others are able to continue in their internships throughout the summer. Internships are always a very good experience in regard to networking and on-the-job training. Examples of JOBS that political science graduates from Western have attained include:

Local: City and village managers; legal profession, nonprofit organizations such as Red Cross, Loaves and Fishes, Ministry with Community, airport administrator; secondary education teachers; community college instructors; journalists; planning departments; personnel departments; assessor; various businesses.

Alumnus Michael Riedel (rt) is a Foreign
Service officer based in New Dehli,
India. He is pictured in Sri Lanka
during a working visit.

State: Lobbyists such as Persuasion, Inc. and Weiner Associates; staffers in State Representative and State Senate offices; Senate Majority Policy Office; Michigan Association of School Boards; University professors; Chief Counsel Senate Judiciary Committee, Peace Corps; various businesses including the public relations firm of Rossman, Martin & Associates.

National: Defenders of Wildlife; Office of the Inspector General; House Commerce Committee; Chief of Staff for Congressman Tom Feeney of Florida; SCM Associates (fundraising consulting firm); AFL-CIO (Association of Flight Attendants); Computer Sciences Corporation Federal Sector (FCC Programming Services Contract); Berkshire Mortgage Finance (Vice President and Loan Originator); Department of State (Foreign Service); Congressman Buck McKeon; Senator Christopher Dodd (Deputy Press Secretary); American Jewish Committee; U.S. Department of Agriculture (in the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India; The Gerontological Society of America; Department of Justice.

International: Foreign Service positions in Colombia, Thailand and India; the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe, numerous development NGOs in developing countries.

In political science, a large number of students continue onto law school. In recent years, students have attended many different law schools. For a listing of some of these law schools,  click here:

Many students continue to work toward graduate degrees once they complete their undergraduate requirements. For example, a number of students continue on to study for a Masters degree, or enter the M.A./Ph.D. program, or enter the Peace Corps Option of our Master's of Development Administration, or continue on to work for a graduate degree at another university.

The University

WMU is a major research university with nearly 30,000 students, including 6,000 graduate students, making it one of the 50 largest universities in the country, WMU is a Carnegie-designated Doctoral/Research-Extensive university, one of only 102 public research universities to be included in this top classification, and is ranked among the top 100 public universities according to U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of the nation's over 3,000 colleges and universities. The University is best known for its outstanding fine arts and education programs. In athletics, WMU is in the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference (MAC).

The Community

Kalamazoo is the fifth largest city in Michigan, with a county population of more than 220,000 residents. The city is located midway between Chicago and Detroit, 140 miles from each 2.5 hours driving time on I-94. Kalamazoo offers commercial transportation by train, bus, and major airline.

Visit the Department

The Political Science department is located on the third floor of Friedmann Hall on the main campus (near Waldo Library). If you are considering applying to or attending WMU and you would like to set up a classroom or department visit or schedule a phone call to discuss Political Science at WMU, contact the department chair, Dr Kevin Corder. You may contact him by phone (387-5684) or email (j.kevin.corder@wmich.edu)