Political Science

The Political Science major general program that focuses on the systematic study of political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in political philosophy, political theory, comparative government and politics, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, political research methods, studies of the government and politics of specific countries, and studies of specific political institutions and processes.

Please consult the UMW Undergraduate Catalog for specific and up-to-date major requirements.

Thinking About This Major?

The Center for Career & Professional Development has many tools and resources available to help you choose your major. Below are three of them:

Focus 2: A series of reliable, intuitive, career and education decision-making assessments to help students select a major, explore occupations, make informed career decisions, and take action in their career development.

Skills developed as a Political Science major (via Focus2): Decision making, listening, managing time, reading comprehension, reasoning, social perceptiveness, speaking, writing and authoring.

What Can I Do With This Major: Learn more about what you can do as a Political Science major! Some areas of career options are government, law, politics, international affairs, business, nonprofit, media, and education.

Handshake: UMW’s online career management platform that includes the latest jobs from employers hiring at your school. You can search for organizations based on major, location, job type, and many other categories.

Political Science – Current Job Opportunities

Note: Job & Internship opportunities are pulled from UMW’s online job and internship database, Handshake, and update every 12 hours. Log into your UMW Handshake account to find hundreds of other opportunities and events.

Marketing & Administrative Coordinator

Associate, Client Service, New York, 2024

Associate, Client Service, US/Asia Transfer, Hindi Speaker, 2024

Associate, Client Service, Asia International Team, Hindi Speaker, 2024

Associate, Client Service, Asia International Team, Mandarin Speaker, 2024

Political Science Graduate Data

Note: Undergraduate outcome data is collected by the UMW Career Center each year. The data is then broken down by major in order to determine how many graduates in each major are employed, attending graduate school, or pursuing a different path within 6 months of graduation.

• “knowledge rate” defines the percent of graduates for which the institution has reasonable and verifiable information concerning the graduates’ post-graduation career activities
  
• “career outcome rate”  is the number of graduates who have landed in any of the employment categories (full-time, part-time, internship) in addition to service, military, and continuing education divided by the total number of students for whom an outcome is known.

Political Science Alumni (2018-2022)

Total Graduates: 211

Knowledge Rate: 82%

Career Outcome Rate: 87%

• Employed Full-time: 54%
• Employed Part-time: 11%
• Grad School: 18%
• Military: 2%
• Seeking Employment: 9%
• Waiting on Grad School: 3%
• Volunteer Service: 2%

Where do our alumni land?

 

Alumni Success Stories

UMW alumni are excited to help current students and other alumni succeed in their fields. Below are stories from alumni about their experiences at UMW and after.

STAY TUNED for our Alumni Success Stories.

Professional Associations