The Department of Political Science is committed to excellence in research and scholarship, graduate student training, undergraduate teaching and learning, public outreach, and the promotion of responsible citizenship. It contributes to the generation of knowledge about politics and aims to deepen scholarly and public understanding of political institutions and the citizenry. The department seeks to prepare students for successful careers in government, academics, and the private sector. The Department provides training for PhD and MA students in cutting-edge approaches to the empirical study of political science to produce graduates with outstanding research, teaching, and professional skills.