Departmental Activities
The Political Science Department works closely with the Louis Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, whose recent symposia have featured outside speakers on such topics as "NAFTA Who Wins, Who Loses?"; "The Status of Women in National Politics"; "The American Judicio-Legal System: A Case for Reform?"; "Economic and Political Issues in the West Bank and Gaza"; "Clinton's Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity"; and "Civil Rights and Liberties: Contemporary Reflections."
Majors occasionally attend (and sometimes co-author presentations at) professional conventions sponsored by such groups as the Center for the Study of the Presidency, the American Political Science Association, the International Studies Association, and the Latin American Studies Association. In most instances, the Department, with support from the Student Government Association, the President's Office, and the Goldstein Program, is able to underwrite the cost of student participation.
The Department takes full advantage of the College's proximity to Washington, D.C. by arranging field trips to visit government institutions such as Congress and the Supreme Court, international agencies like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the OAS, or to view special exhibits at one of the capital's many museums.
The Department houses the local chapter of the national honor society in Political Science, Pi Sigma Alpha. Students who have taken a minimum of three upper level courses in political science with an average grade of "B" or higher and who rank in the upper third of their class are eligible for membership.
The Department's majors tend to be enthusiastic participants in extracurricular activities of a political nature, such as the Student Government Association, Amnesty International, the International Relations Club, the International Studies Council, College Democrats, College Republicans, the Maryland Student Legislature, various Model UN programs, the student newspaper, and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance.