• Exterior view of Oak Hall.

The UConn Department of Political Science studies how the political process shapes the choices we face as a community.

We offer academic programs that bridge the humanities and social sciences. Our cutting-edge research reflects our commitment to methodological and intellectual openness and diversity. Our community provides a bedrock for academic exploration and intellectual engagement at the University.

 

Learn more about our department

Quick Links

Students in a large lecture hall laugh at a joke

Undergraduates

Students can pursue a major, minor, or fast-track master's in political science.

 
View Programs

Students in a small graduate seminiar

Graduates

Our department offers Ph.D., master's degree, and graduate certificate options.
 
View Programs

A professor lectures at the front of a class.

Research

Our researchers expand boundaries and bring their knowledge to the classroom.
 
View Research

The UConn sign on a sunny fall day.

Administration

Find contact information for our Department's administrators and staff members.
 
View Directory

News

  • Student Successes: Late Fall 2024
    Arianna Estrella (‘28) won a free passport and support through the application process from EGL’s Global Passport Project.    Gianna Socci (‘25)’s research was featured in the UConn Today article, “‘It’s Alive!’ (and Guilty?): Student Considers Whether Frankenstein’s Monster Could Be Held Liable in Court Of Law”    In October, James Shiang (’25), Mariam Vargas […]
    Posted on December 6, 2024
  • Alumni Notes: Late Fall 2024
    Dr. Rhea Debussy (Ph.D ‘18)’s article, entitled “LGBTQ+ Voters in These 4 States Could Swing the 2024 Presidential Election“, was published in “The Conversation”.    Emily Luna (CLAS ‘17) graduated from Western New England University School of Law with a J.D in May 2024. She recently joined Diana, Conti & Tunila, LLP in Manchester, CT […]
    Posted on December 6, 2024
  • Faculty Achievements: Late Fall 2024
    Dr. Pressman – along with co-authors Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, and Jay Ulfelder – recently published “Protests in the United States on Palestine and Israel, 2023–2024” in Social Movement Studies. The article characterizes the movements based on their Crowd Counting Consortium data. For example, the article addresses size, frequency, and the largely non-violent protestors. It […]
    Posted on December 6, 2024

Upcoming Events

  1. Feb 7 2025 CATIC Symposium 8:00am
  2. Feb 22 Kinds of Cognition Graduate Conference 9:00am
  3. Apr 25 Parcells Lecture: Lisa Tessman (Binghamton University) All Day
All Events »

Follow us on Instagram!


 

The schedule builder that many students use when picking classes will now be taken off Student Admin by December 5th 2024. A replacement will be coming soon but until then please access the link below if you need help

https://kb.uconn.edu/.../10758194570/Academics+(Students)

Listed below are POLS courses that have open seats for the Spring Semester!! If you have any questions please refer to the advising page on our website and for more information and to pick the courses please access Student Admin

In need of a one credit class? There won't be any sections of the one credit pop up UNIV 3088s offered in the spring! If you need one credit, you might try these following Spring 2025 courses. If you're interested in something that's currently closed, keep checking Student Admin, ...people will be adding and dropping all the time.

We're excited to announce our first-ever Political Science t-shirt design contest! If you enjoy graphic design, we'd love your help creating a t-shirt for our graduating seniors. If interested, please email pols@uconn.edu to submit your designs by December 1st.

Here is a list of Political Science 2024 winter classes!! Some are online blended while others are online asynchronous so please check before registering!! For more information see the winter session website

https://wintersession.uconn.edu/

The application for the Political Science Awards has opened today!! The deadline to submit is February 1st. Use the link below for more information and for the application form.

https://polisci.uconn.edu/awards/#undergraduat

We hope you will join us Thursday, 11/21 for an event on Direct Action Environmental Justice! The event will take place at 12:30PM, in SHH 408 and via WebEx.

About the Event:
Joseph Brown (UMass-Boston). Social movements mobilize to fight climate change, water pollution, and ...biodiversity loss with a variety of direct action tactics. What is the best way to understand these campaigns? This book argues that the "environmental" framework fails to capture the importance of race and Indigenous sovereignty in intersectional "environmental justice" movements. The importance of intersectionality emerges in months of participant observation fieldwork inside Atlanta's Stop Cop City movement and the Wet'suwet'en Nation's resistance to the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Dozens of interviews illuminate the political and social pathways to direct action, as well as the controversies that arise over strategy and tactics. Given its "insider" research approach, the book sheds light on the subjective experience of direct action, including the highs and lows, triumphs and traumas, hopes and fears of those engaged in frontline environmental justice struggle.

Join UConn Political Science faculty for a debrief on the 2024 Election Results to discuss implications for policy and politics in the next administration. After a brief roundtable discussion, students and members of the broader University community are invited to ask questions and participate in ...discussion.

Happy Election Day! Here is UConn POLS at the POLLS! If you haven't voted yet... you have until 8pm today! Students please see our story for voting resources.