What can you do with your Political Science Degree?
Do you find yourself intrigued by current events? how leaders obtain and maintain power, or how Government, among institutions, are run?
If you want to learn more about any of the concepts mentioned above, political Science degree is what you need. Majorly, Political Scientists study the parallel structures of government globally, formulate public policy and study the impact of the policy on both economic and social status of the population, as well as how laws are made, among other areas.
What is Political Science Degree?
Fundamentally, political Science revolves around the the state and the systems of government as well as the analysis of political behavior and activity. It is a field that deals with politics and power from a comparative , international ad domestic perspective. It involves understanding political ideologies, institutions, processes, policies, institutions and behavior of diplomacy, war, strategy, social classes, government and so on.
Students learn about the allocation and transfer of power, the roles and the systems of governance, public policies and behavior, as well as how to measure the success of the specific policies and governance by evaluating various factors such as stability, peace, public health, justice, material wealth, and so on.
Political Science is offered as a social science in most universities under a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) program.
What do you need to obtain a Political Science Degree?
Requirements for entry into political science degree programme varies depending on region and the institution you wish to enrol in. However, you need a credit pass and understanding of English language, government, civic education, economics, statistics, mathematics, computer science.
What are the key skills for political Science:
as a political scientist, you need the following skills:
- Planning and development skills from decision-making and conceptualizing and implementing projects
- Research and quantitative skills which involves developing research designs and models, programming and systems analysis, employing survey research techniques, among others.
- analytical skills for interpreting data, understanding and synthesizing elements of complex issues, among others.
- Verbal and written communication skills for presenting ideas, influencing or persuading people, public speaking , among others.
Types of Political Science degree and specialization
Political Science is a versatile field with numerous options for specialization. The first year of a political science course will focus on equipping students with a general overview and foundation of the course. Students gets to delve deeper into specialized branches of the field later on.
List of topics you are most likely going to cover a a first year political science student are:
- Introduction to political science
- Research methods
- Laws, politics and justice
- Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
- Early and modern political thought
- Local, regional and international political systems
- History
- Global Governance
- Nationalism
- Politics and mass media
- International conflict and negotiation
Some areas of specialization include:
- American politics
- Comparative Politics
- International relations
- Political theory
- Political methodology
Career Options for Political Science Majors
Besides the myriad of opportunities of political science jobs or jobs in politics, there abound numerous other career options to consider as a political science major.
Policy Analyst
Policy analysts are responsible for influencing political and social events as well as raising public awareness on various issues. They conduct research, evaluate current policies, analyze the effects of proposed legislation and report on findings.
Legislative Assistant
Legislative assistant work under the lawmaking branch of the government. their role centers around making changes to existing laws, drafting and editing rules including bills and other items. they also develop ideas for legislation, write speeches to introduce new laws, among others.
Public Relations Specialist
These professionals are responsible for establishing and maintaining good working relationships between the public and an organization or government. They act as the point of contact by communicating an organization’s stand to the public and creating press releases to shape the public opinion of the organization or government while increasing public awareness of its objectives and work.
Social Media Manager
Social media managers oversees the general planning, implementing, managing and monitoring of and organization’s social media strategy to increase brand awareness and improve both sales and marketing efforts. Social media managers with a political science major can help political candidates, interest groups, officials and parties in shaping the opinion of the public as well as monitor the public views of the constituents about current affairs and the administration.
Marketing Research Analyst
marketing research analysts are responsible for conducting research and collecting data to assist an organization to market its products and services similar to how political science majors evaluate the market and analyzes the organizations’ competitors including their marketing techniques, prices and sales.
Political Consultant
Political consultants support the election of particular candidates by devising strategies to influence voters and gain support for their campaigns. They create campaign strategies, coordinate campaign staff, organize meetings to publicize the candidates as well as act as managers, public relations specialists and sales people.
Attorney
Attorneys or lawyers represent clients in civil and criminal litigation as well as other legal proceedings, prepare legal documents, mange or advise clients on legal transactions. Lawyers working for political institutions assist in drafting and editing language for bills,research about legislative and policy issues as well as evaluate the legal proceedings for pending legislation.
Intelligence analyst
Intelligence analysts are responsible for collecting and evaluating information from different sources such as intelligence networks, law enforcement databases, geographic information systems, surveillance. They use this information to forecast and prevent organized criminal activities. You can work for a National Security Agency and provide information about particular groups that pose a potential threat to security, evaluate patterns of leadership or power and the widespread support systems.
Political Campaign Staff
Political campaign staff are responsible for formulating and implementing strategies required to win an election. They work to build a suitable public image for a particular candidate by evaluating a voters’ reaction to a candidate’s cause. Similar to communications officers, political campaign staff duties revolve around acting as the liaison between the candidate and the public and ensuring the candidate’s brand remains top of mind.
Diplomats of Foreign Service Officer
Diplomats are responsible for representing a country’s interest, foreign policy and service delivery overseas. Generally, foreign service officers are in charge of dealing with issues revolving around conflict resolution, trade and investment, climate change, human rights, counter-terrorism, among others.
