The Politics Dept. Major, Oxy

T h e M a j o r

The clearest and most obvious goal of the Politics major is to teach students how to think about and analyze political issues. This is a challenging task, because in this major, we have the whole world to cover. Many students seek to focus mainly on international relations, and they may choose to major in Diplomacy and World Affairs (DWA). Others wish to focus primarily on American politics, and they may choose to be Urban and Environmental Policy majors.

But many choose to major in Politics, because they can sample so many areas of political studies;

To be sure, international relations, and American politics; but also national security issues; Constitutional Law (Issues of The Constitution, such as possible limits on the First Amendment);
Comparative politics and area studies ( what is happening in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America? And how can we make sense of it?)
Political philosophy (what do mean by illusive words such as freedom and equality? What do mean by the word democracy, and what must we do to invigorate democracy? What can we learn from great political thinkers such as Socrates, Thucydides, Locke, Burke, and John Stuart Mill?)

If you study politics at Occidental, however, you will probably not remain just in the classroom and on the campus. We estimate that three quarters of our majors do off campus internships -- that is, get out in the real world -- at one time or another. In addition, we offer an Oxy-in-Washington program in which students can go to Washington, D.C. and learn from both an intership and regular classes. Politics majors can also join the Oxy-at-the-United Nations program offered by the DWA Department. And we even offer some real world experience in California with Oxy-in-Sacramento. We actively encourage students to take advantage of Occidental's internationasl studies program in China, Engalnd, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain.

The question most often asked by students goes something like this. "I love studying about politics, but what can I do with a Politics major after college?" First, you will have the skills employers most cherish -- you will be able to read, analyze, and write clearly. No matter where you go after Occidental, these skills -- developed in small classes and working right with professors and not teaching assistants, as would be the case in big universities -- will enable you to do just about anything you choose.

Second, many politics majors go to law school, although one can go to law school from virtually any major, and a student from any major can certainly sample the legal profession by taking courses in Constitutional Law. The Politics Department has sent students to the finest law schools in the country -- Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley (Boalt), Columbia, Georgetown, UCLA, and so forth. In fact, we have a program with Columbia University in which one spends three years at Occidental and three years at Columbia, and receives a B.A. from the former and a law degree from the latter. Third, many graduates decide to work for a member of Congress or for a representative in the state of legislature, or perhaps for a group working for its view of the public interest. Finally, some students every year decide to pursue graduate study in politics, and in recent years we have sent graduates to Ph.D. programs at Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Columbia, Cornell, Oxford University, the London School of Economics, Occidental ranks the tenth in producing graduates who go on to receive a Ph.D. in Political Science and/or International relations.