Welcome to Political Science
As Aristotle famously wrote, “man is a political animal.” In other words, politics involves every aspect of human society. Consequently, to understand politics, we must understand society in all its dimensions. At the same time, politics shapes all other aspects of society. If you are looking for a good minor to compliment a major in the one of the social science disciplines, political science is a good choice. Even outside of the social sciences, the study of politics can be useful for careers in business, education, and agriculture, to name a few endeavors.
Chadron State College offers a wide variety of courses in Political Science. You will be able to take courses in American government, political thought, comparative politics, and international relations. Within the study of American politics, more specialized courses are offered in political institutions, public opinion and behavior, and occasional special topics. Please see Course Schedules for more details.
The mission of the Political Science program is to develop awareness of the importance of politics to our lives and critical knowledge of governmental institutions and political processes, both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, the program seeks to advance insight into the nature and purposes of politics. In doing so, students will develop their intellectual skills, including critical thinking, research, and communication faculties. Students will also have the opportunity to explore their own research interests through independent study and engage in community service learning
Career Options
Some of the many different career tracks for students of Political Science include:
- working for the government in different capacities such as policy making, program administration, regional planning, city management, intelligence, foreign service and public service
- researching politics as a consultant for a private firm, reporter for a newspaper and analyst for a think tank
- teaching politics at a community college, which requires a master's degree, or at a university, which requires a PhD
- advocating on behalf of various organizations, such as non-profit businesses, humanitarian organizations, political parties or corporations