Welcome to the University of Delaware Department of Political Science and International Relations (POSCIR). We are excited about what's happening here, and we think you will be as well.
Our faculty are nationally and internationally recognized scholars and teachers who publish with top book presses and journals, and who regularly win awards for their research and teaching. We focus on four primary fields in our graduate and undergraduate programs: International Relations, Comparative Politics, American Politics, and Political Theory. Much of our work is interdisciplinary, including special strengths in global governance, political psychology, gender and politics, and inequality and social justice.
Graduate students major in one of four fields, and have the opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary second field if they so choose. We have close ties with the Department of Communication's new Ph.D. track in Political Communication. Our highly diverse graduate student community adds particular vibrancy to the department, and we remain committed to recruiting the best US and internationally-based graduate students.
POSCIR graduate students work closely with faculty and regularly present their work at regional and national conferences. We regularly provide advanced graduate students with opportunities to teach their own courses. After finishing their degrees, most of our doctoral students go on to faculty positions at universities in the US and around the world, while some work at research institutions or government agencies.
Our undergraduate program is one of the largest at Delaware, and our students routinely win accolades for their work within and outside of the university. While offering two majors, Political Science and International Relations, we are adding new course offerings including opportunities to study the politics of social justice and political psychology. We now house the Legal Studies minor and provide leadership to the European Studies program. We are also partners in the UD Center for Political Communication and offer a Political Communication minor, giving students even more ways to connect across fields. Students outside of our majors can minor in Political Science.
UD Political Science and International Relations faculty are committed teachers and mentors. Undergraduate majors in the department are much more likely than College and University averages to graduate in four years. We also show significantly lower disparities in graduation rates across different groups of students. This commitment to students is at the core of what we do as faculty, and is especially reflected in our very hands-on approach to advising.
We appreciate your interest in our department and the University of Delaware. We hope you will visit us in person, as well as through our website. Located in Newark, Delaware, UD is centrally positioned between Philadelphia and Baltimore, Washington, DC and New York City. Our beautiful campus beckons. Please stop by and see us in 347 Smith Hall, or explore our website to learn more about all that we have to offer. I think you'll agree that UD POSCIR is on the move, and you'll want to be part of these exciting times!
