Transferable Skills from the Political Science and International Relations (B.A.)

Students interested in campaigns and elections in America and elsewhere, in social movements ranging from protests to revolutions, in policy issues from abortion to civil rights to immigration to parental leave to taxes to environmental protection, and in foreign policy from issues or war and peace to trade agreements and foreign aid should consider studying politics at Marymount. Political science delves into the study of governments, public policies, and political behavior. It is a social science which uses both humanistic perspectives and scientific skills to examine how people make group decisions in the United States and around the world.

Political science majors hone the writing, communication, analytical, and data skills that are fundamental to a liberal arts education. Today, students can reasonably expect to change jobs more than once and even have more than one career. An undergraduate education in political science is excellent preparation for flexibility in employment. In particular, this kind of education prepares students to:

• think critically and independently about the logical structure of several kinds of arguments, including empirical arguments that seek to explain causal relationships in the world and normative arguments that make value judgements or support proposals for action,
• research issues effectively, with the ability to evaluate everything from scholarly articles in social science to news sources, archival materials, governments documents, and research produced by think tanks and public advocacy groups,
• evaluate evidence in support of or against a proposition, including qualitative and quantitative evidence, and
• think empathetically, to understand the assumptions and reasoning behind different views on contentious issues.