Bachelor of Arts - Political Science

Cesar Chavez. Ronald Reagan. Indira Gandhi. Mao Zedong. Sojourner Truth. These are all such different people with different political goals, and yet they all have something in common: they all understood the nature of power and political action, and they used their knowledge to change the world. A Political Science degree from Portland State University (PSU) will give students the tools to understand power and to make changes in the world that they believe in. Maybe these changes will be very small, maybe they will be very big, but the knowledge gained from getting a degree in Political Science will give students what they need to take their vision for their neighborhoods, city, state, country, or world and put it into action.

Classes in the Political Science department will teach students the nature of power in the world through an option of lenses based on the student's interests. There are a wide variety of perspectives so that students can pick the approach that is most interesting to them.

In American Politics classes, students learn about the political system of the United States, as well as the history, culture, and social movements in this country. Classes in this field also engage the local politics of Portland as well as state politics in Oregon.

In Comparative Politics classes, students learn about the domestic politics of other countries. If students wonder about how the Prime Minister is chosen in Germany, how Augusto Pinochet -the former dictator in Chile- overthrew the democratically elected government, or how government restrictions affect the lives of women in Iran, this is the field for them.

International Relations classes teach students to understand how governments interact with one another. This sometimes means the study of war, but more often means learning about the role of international organizations and international law in facilitating negotiation and communication among countries.

Students in Political Theory classes read books that challenge commonly held views of what constitutes politics and how political change occurs. In exploring contending ideas of power, justice, authority, freedom, and so forth, political theory students develop their own theories of politics.