Explore the power relationships, institutional arrangements, social-economic conditions and ideological commitments that shape public policy, political action and public argument in a diverse and globally interdependent society.
Political science is a dynamic field of study that explores dimensions of power and the ways in which governmental systems shape and reflect ideas, norms, institutions, cultures and political behavior.
A commitment to engaged democratic citizenship--locally, nationally, globally--is core to the mission of our program. A majority of students engage in long or short term study abroad experiences and/or a wide variety of internships--volunteering for political campaigns, interning in legal offices and courts of law, or working for nonprofit organizations on issues such as immigration, reproductive rights and educational equality.
The program equips students with research concepts, theories and methods and tangible leadership qualities required for effective engagement in a globalized, interdependent world. All students undertake independent research in close mentoring relationships with program faculty.
Our classes explore the most critical questions facing the contemporary world through student-focused inquiry. Why do states and nations struggle to develop? What is democracy and what are its challenges? How do public policies create and reflect ideas, norms and culture? How do social, economic, and political inequalities promote or hinder justice? How do individuals and groups participate in the political world? What causes political change? Why do institutions matter?
Our faculty are nationally recognized in the discipline of Political Science; their teaching and research include expertise in public opinion, sustainability and environmental studies, public health, public education, international relations, area studies, feminism and the study of gender, peace and conflict studies, critical race theory and theories of war and justice.
The renowned Institute of Public Opinion gives students hands-on experience in collecting and analyzing data that shape political discourse and civic action.
Two Muhlenberg faculty members led their peers on an international expedition in an effort to promote global education back in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Brigid Deegan ’19 spent the summer immersed in meetings and negotiations at the United Nations on behalf of the Republic of Palau.
A summer internship in her representative’s office allows this rising junior to work on the issues she cares about most.
In their words
I think of people I know who work in the community and how getting that information to the people I know can literally reach thousands.
You can learn about the government in a classroom, but there really was something that could only be understood having worked there.
A Muhlenberg faculty panel will offer their analysis of the recent violence and political turbulence that is marking the transition to a new U.S. presidential administration.
