What is the Point of a Political Science Degree?

Abstract

Political science majors are down nation-wide as a proportion of all degrees and as a proportion of social science degrees. To explain to undergraduate students why they ought to major in political science, we should emphasize what they can do with the degree rather than reflecting from our own past experience or the wide range of careers one can get with such a degree. I argue for three models of political science education that focus on what students can do with the degree, including the researcher, activist, and leader models. I posit that the third, which should involve instruction in career preparation, ethics, and conflict resolution, is the most flexible and useful and should be emphasized in political science curricula.

Keywords:

• Civic engagement
• political socialization
• retention

Notes

1 Whether the concern for financial stability rather than affecting political change persists with potential attitudinal shifts due to the generational change from millennials to generation “Z” is an open question. See Seemiller and Grace (2016) for insights into the learning styles of generation “Z” students.

2 I thank Shawn Williams of Campbellsville University for stimulating my thinking on this argument.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Josiah Franklin Marineau

Josiah Marineau is an assistant professor of political science at Campbellsville University. He received his PhD in 2016 from the University of Texas-Austin. At Campbellsville, he teaches courses in comparative politics and international relations, and leads the Model Arab League program. He studies the effect of foreign aid on taxation, and has published papers in Conflict Management and Peace Science, Journal of Political Science Education, and PS: Political Science and Politics.