The purpose of the political science major is to educate students to become informed citizens and to move into careers in public service or political leadership. As a B.A. program, the political science major is solid general education as opposed to professional training. The program is flexible enough to allow students to take it in the particular direction they desire. In our courses we deal with intellectual and ethical issues of the exercise of political power and with government policy and citizenship as they apply to us as people of the United States and as members of the global community.
Political science majors at Nazareth take courses in each of the four major subfields of political science: political philosophy, U.S. government, comparative politics, and international relations. They also study the two major approaches to political science, namely, the traditional historical/philosophical approach and the behavioral approach.
Graduates of the program pursue careers in law, government service, politics, journalism, and education.
Students seeking initial certification at the childhood and middle childhood levels may double major in Political Science and Inclusive Childhood/Middle Childhood Education. Students are required to have a GPA of 2.7 before moving into INCL 440/441 and the Professional Semester (student teaching).