Political Science

Major/Minor

School of Arts, Sciences & Business
History and Political Science Department

Political Science is a preparatory program for those with aspirations of assuming leadership positions in the legal profession, politics, or community activism. The curriculum offers unique perspectives on problems of political violence, terrorism, genocide, and human rights abuses, and provides experiential learning opportunities to grapple with these problems in real-world contexts.

Program Locations

Main Campus

Available Majors

Political Science

Available Minors

Political Science

Additional Study Options

What Makes Our Program Unique

Our program also explores the special relationships of women to law and government—as lawmakers, leaders, and policymakers.

Four-Year Plan

Sample program of study for the political science major. Students should select courses with the assistance of a faculty advisor.

Fall		Spring
First Year
IDS-100 Perspectives in Education	3	POL-202 American Government in Comparative Perspective	3
POL-101 Introduction to Politics	3	Natural Science	4
Foreign Language	3	Philosophy or Religious Studies (200)	3
ENG-101 College Writing	3	General Education/Electives	6
History	3	[16 credits]
[15 credits]
Second Year
POL-103 Introduction to International Affairs	3	Philosophy or Religious Studies (300)	3
ECO-211 Macroeconomics	3	COM-106 Fundamentals of Oral Comm	3
Philosophy or Religious Studies (200)	3	Fine Arts	3
MAT-215 Basic Statistics	3	General Education/Electives	6
English Literature	3	[15 credits]
[15 credits]
Third Year
POL-361 Methods in Research	3	POL-312 Legal Reasoning	3
POL-430 International Organizations	3	HIS-330 European Foreign Relations	3
Philosophy or Religious Studies Values	3	POL-319 or 412	3
Physical Education	1	General Education/Electives	6
General Education/Electives	6	[15 credits]
[16 credits]
Fourth Year
HIS-404 U.S. Foreign Relations	3	POL-401 Political & Economic Globalization	3
General Education/Electives	12	POL-217 Civic Participation & Leadership	3
[15 credits]		POL-456 Senior Seminar	3
		General Education/Electives	6
		[15 credits]

View Course Catalog

What to Expect Studying at Notre Dame of Maryland University

Small class sizes and personal attention provide a climate for individualized learning while custom electives, internships, and study abroad opportunities allow you to focus the major to your own interests and goals.

Alum

Kylie Eldridge

Career Fair Success

Alum, NDMU Class of 2016 Political Science

Kylie came to the spring Career Fair prepared with high hopes of making a connection with potential employers, but didn't know just how big of an impact this one event would have. As a result of her networking that day, she landed an analyst position with the U.S. Department of Defense and she credits her success to her NDMU education. "The liberal arts foundation NDMU provides helped me develop as a whole person as well as an academic. It instilled a strong work ethic in me and I was prepared to do a lot of writing." Kylie also notes the close relationships with faculty and the mentoring she received during her four years as an important part of her career development.

Read story

Research Opportunities

One of the hallmarks of our rich educational environment is the opportunity to participate in research in your field of interest.

Nancy Kreiter Student Research Day provides the perfect forum to showcase your hard work with a formal research presentation to the Notre Dame community.

Additional Opportunities

Our students have conducted research at a variety of institutions, including:

Local and State Government Agencies
Local, National, and International Non-Governmental Organizations
United Nations
Police and Law Enforcement Agencies
Supreme Court
National Security Agency
State Department