Political Science
Student Resources
The Political Science Academy (PSA)
The Political Science Academy (PSA) is a student organization for political science majors and minors, whose purposes are to promote political awareness on campus and to aid the career plans of its members. Every major and minor is automatically a member unless s/he chooses not to be. Professor Kanishkan Sathasivam currently serves as the faculty advisor to the PSA.
The William H. Bates Center for Public Affairs
The Bates Center for Public Affairs, established in 1969 in memory of the late Congressman William H. Bates, is intimately connected with the Political Science Department. In pursuit of its goal to foster academic excellence in the fields of government and politics, the Bates Center sponsors a range of activities including lectures and forums, field trips, internships, and a Bates fellowship. Please contact Professor Richard Levy if you are interested in the activities of the Bates Center.
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC)
The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) of the Political Science Department serves to keep the essential undergraduate education mission of the department current and relevant by regularly reviewing and amending the department's curriculum. The mandate of the UCC includes the task of creating new courses and concentrations and improving existing courses and concentrations as appropriate. In addition to the entire faculty of the department, two political science students are elected to serve as voting members of the UCC at the beginning of the fall semester each year. The department's curriculum is your curriculum. Please feel free to speak with your representatives or with any political science faculty member if you have questions, concerns, or ideas pertaining to the political science curriculum. Furthermore, please keep in mind that any student may attend a meeting of the UCC, though in a nonvoting capacity. Professor Kanishkan Sathasivam currently serves as the chairperson of the UCC.
Student Internship Programs
Several student internship programs exist at the local, regional, and national levels offering students opportunities to engage in practical or vocational activities that supplement their educational experience. Internships provide students with relevant learning experiences in job environments off-campus, and may prove to be invaluable stepping stones along their chosen career paths. Participating in an internship is an option available to all political science majors. Students should contact Professor Richard Levy for further information.
Two specific internship opportunities available to students are:
Study Abroad Programs
Visiting a foreign country and immersing yourself in a foreign culture may be an invaluable part of your educational experience at Salem State College. In particular, students of political science may find that there is no better way to acquire a meaningful appreciation for foreign political, economic, and social systems than through participating in a study abroad program. Courses taken while abroad on a study abroad program may be transferred back to Salem State College for credit. For more information, students should contact Professor Richard Levy or the Center for International Education (CIE).
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
The Political Science Department strongly encourages its students to undertake research projects, either in concert with the department's faculty or in an independent capacity. The Honors Seminar (POL 110H), Capstone Seminar (POL 400), and Directed Study (POL 500) courses as well as other political science courses may offer valuable opportunities for authoring research projects. The directed study course, in particular, allows students to work in greater depth with a specific professor on a one-on-one basis on a topic of particular interest to the student.
[Note: Students must contact the professor with whom they wish to undertake a directed study well in advance of the beginning of the semester during which they plan on undertaking that directed study. This is critically important because students must present to the department's faculty a formal proposal for their directed study at the very beginning of the semester.]
Students may present their research projects at the annual School of Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium, usually held at the end of the academic year. Students may also apply for regional and national undergraduate research grants to support more ambitious research projects. Please contact Professor Kanishkan Sathasivam for information about the SOAS Undergraduate Research Symposium.
The Salem State College Honors Program
The Political Science Department energetically participates in the mission and activities of the Salem State College Honors Program, including through the offering of an honors course (POL 110H). Please contact Professor Elizabeth Coughlan or Professor Kanishkan Sathasivam for more information.
Pi Sigma Alpha (ΠΣΑ) – The National Political Science Honor Society
Salem State College hosts the Rho Sigma Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society. Political science majors who graduate with a GPA of 3.0 or better in political science and who are in the top third of their graduating classes are eligible for induction into Pi Sigma Alpha. Please contact Professor Richard Levy for more information.
Career Options for Political Science Graduates
In light of the facts that today's college graduates are likely to have five careers (not just five jobs) and that many specific job skills are learned in the early period of employment, Political Science majors are well prepared to face this changing world of employment. Many employers look to Political Science majors because of their skills in comparative and critical thinking as well as writing. As a result, Political Science majors are well equipped to find employment not only in the expected fields, i.e., government, teaching, non-governmental organizations and law (following, of course, law school), but also in a wide range of other fields. Recent Political Science majors have also found employment in areas such as the media, travel and computers as well domestic and international business firms. If you are concerned about the employment possibilities for a Political Science major or for your own interests, please feel free to talk to any of the Department faculty.
Additional Resources
Useful political science links page
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