Political Science

About

Our degree programs will bring you face-to-face with the issues and concerns of living in a complex world where some measure of public action is necessary to make life livable. No matter which degree option you choose, you’ll have the opportunity to get hands-on experience through an internship. Our graduates enter the fields of law, public administration, teaching, political staff work and public relations.

Why Study Political Science at Eastern?

We are committed to excellence and student success.


Affordable Education

You don't have to sacrifice quality to get an education you can afford.

Internship Programs

Get hands-on, practical experience with local political and governmental agencies.

Excellent Job Opportunities

Our graduates have a great record of finding employment soon after graduation.

Careers in Political Science

Earning a degree in political science from Eastern Washington University leads to many career opportunities:


Intelligence Analyst

Policy Analyst

Political Campaign Staff

Political Consultant

Public Relations Specialist

Student Organizations

Pi Sigma Alpha is a national honor society for graduate and undergraduate college and university students majoring in Government or International Affairs. Eastern’s Nu Gamma chapter was established in 1982, in order to unite students and professors who show a common interest in government and politics.

Pi Sigma Alpha sponsors a number of social and intellectual programs for students and faculty, and, with its help, the department attempts to maintain contact with its graduates to make available to students their experiences and insights into the value of an education in government.

Benefits

  • Members receive a certificate of membership and permanent enrollment
  • Guaranteed a higher entry level when entering government service
  • Entitled to wear a medallion at graduation
  • Compete for grants, scholarships, and awards with other schools and members
  • More frequent interaction between student and faculty, on a higher level

Qualifications

  •  Must be junior or senior class level at EWU
  •  Completion of at least 15 credits in Political Science or International Affairs
  •  Maintain a 3.0 or higher cumulative grade point average in major courses
  •  Payment of $30 application and membership fee
  •  Payment of $10 quarterly membership fee

If you are interested in learning more about Pi Sigma Alpha at EWU, please contact the Political Science Department at 509.359.2362.

UNESCO Chair in Environmental History

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights.

UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes; international science programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional and cultural history projects; the promotion of cultural diversity; translations of world literature; international cooperation agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage and to preserve human rights, and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide. UNESCO’s aim is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development, and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication, and information.

In 2014, Eastern Washington University partnered with the University of Arizona, host of the UNESCO Chair in Environmental History. UNESCO Chair goals will be two-fold with research-based initiatives and applied activities. In both arenas, the emphasis will be on policy-building that is inclusive and allows all stakeholders a voice. Inherent in policy research and development is the value given to traditional knowledge and lifeways, for example, water delivery systems such as qanats or the falaj that have been sustainable. Policy research will draw from a number of disciplines including but not limited to history, political science, Native American Studies, natural resource economics, law, biology, and hydrology.

This proposal is designed to establish a UNESCO Chair in Environmental History at Washington State University. Partnering with Eastern Washington University, the first five-year research and teaching project of the Chair will focus on “Water and Indigenous Peoples.” The research component of the project will center on the historical trajectories that have defined the relationship between water and indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and indigenous and marginalized peoples in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, China, and Central and South America. The teaching component will focus on the creation of a distance education platform that will offer training in water management/governance to our regional and global network partners. This research/teaching network incorporates “poles of excellence,” including existing UNESCO Chairs and UNESCO Category II Water Centers, to create a structured “north-south-south” collaboration that will generate symposia for researchers, government and non-government policy actors, and the private sector; as well as an exchange of faculty and graduate students. Consistent with the goals of the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation (2013), the “Water and Indigenous Peoples” project seeks a comparative and collaborative understanding of water development pressures in post-colonial and national settings, as well as the recovery, preservation, and extension of indigenous water practices to the benefit of marginalized populations around the globe. Consistent with UNESCO priorities, the “Water and Indigenous Peoples” the project pays particular attention to the experiences and challenges of women and the marginalized peoples of Africa.