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 The
Political Science program at Maryville offers a variety of approaches to
understanding government. Students study the institutions, processes and
policies of American and foreign political systems. Courses in international
relations, political philosophy and contemporary political problems are
presented, as are classes in world and national political history. Offerings
in public law and Public Policy are also components of the Political Science
curriculum.
What is public policy?
Public Policy students use
the tools of government, economics, philosophy, and political science to
evaluate government (federal, state, or local) programs and policies. In
each area of government policy, students ask the same basic questions: 1) Is
this policy economically feasible, and what are its costs and benefits to
society? 2) Is this policy morally defensible? and 3) Is this policy
politically viable?
The
range of issues studied by students is unbounded. Students have focused on
subjects as diverse as crime, domestic violence, economic development,
education, the environment, health care, Social Security,
transportation, gay rights, gun ownership, and terrorism.
How does public policy differ from Government and Political Science?
Government
courses generally focus on the process of making government
decisions, while Public Policy focuses on the outcomes of government
decisions and evaluating them from a variety of perspectives. Public Policy
is a subset of Political Science. However, where Political Science focuses
on much of the political activity required to make laws and influence
activities through a political goal, Public Policy attempts to remove the
political aspects and focus on the results of these actions utilizing
objective analytical analysis. |
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Maryville Political Science students are able to see, hear and actually meet
the “makers and shakers” of both domestic and international politics.
Recent visitors to Maryville include journalist
Jeff Greenfield, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, journalist Bob Woodward, and former
British Prime Minister John Major. |
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Political Science majors at Maryville University have the opportunity
to earn additional academic
credit in two special programs, Maryville's Study Abroad Program and the
Washington Center Program.
Both are open to qualified students in political science. Maryville
Political Science students have studied in Britain, Spain, France, Germany,
Japan and Russia, and have have also attended the American presidential
inauguration and the major parties' national conventions.
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Political Science graduates rank among the highest wage
earners when compared to other full-time employed college graduates with
only a bachelor's degree, and many graduates
continue their educations in law and/or graduate school after their
undergraduate days are over. In recent years, Maryville Political
Science majors have been admitted to the Political Science graduate program
at the University of Chicago, Pepperdine University, the Harvard Law School
and other prestigious national graduate programs. Over the years, dozens of
Maryville Political Science graduates have gone on to study Political
Science, Public Policy and Law at the many fine local and regional
universities, including Saint Louis University, Washington University and
the University of Missouri.
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 Bachelor
of Arts
Minor in Political Science
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To earn a degree in Political Science, a
student must complete a minimum of 128 credit hours. This includes Liberal
Studies requirements. It is also a requirement that students choose a
minor.
A student majoring in political science must complete a minimum of 30 credit
hours including American Government (PSCI 101), Comparative Politics (PSCI
108) and Introduction to Political Ideologies (PSCI 110), America and the
Contemporary World (PSCI 103), and Introduction to Public Policy (PSCI 215).
Minor in Political Science
A minimum of 15 credits is required. |
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