Educating Curious and Engaged Citizens.
Our undergraduate and graduate degree programs train students for successful careers and civic engagement.
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.
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Undergraduates
Students can pursue a major, minor, or fast-track master's in political science.
Graduates
Our department offers Ph.D., master's degree, and graduate certificate options.
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Research
Our researchers expand boundaries and bring their knowledge to the classroom.
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Administration
Find contact information for our Department's administrators and staff members.
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News
- IIREP MA Student to Present at NEPSA Annual MeetingGregory Franklin, Jr. will present a paper at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the New England Political Science Association (NEPSA) in April.Posted on January 30, 2023
- Bianka Adamatti Wins 2023 CSGS Master’s Thesis AwardsAdamatti will be presented with the award at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools annual meeting in March 2023.Posted on January 26, 2023
- Faculty Achievements: Late Fall 2022Christine Sylvester spoke on “Memorialized War Women in the USA, Vietnam, and the UK” at a program on Gender, Sexuality, Memorialisation held at York University on September 13, 2022. On October 24 she spoke on “The Present Re-dux, Re-IR’d, and Maybe Re-curating”, at Central European University in Vienna. Finally, Dr. Sylvester spoke on “Who Owns […]Posted on November 8, 2022
Upcoming Events
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Feb
8
Human Rights Graduate Research Forum: Imge Akaslan on "Global Labor Rights Enforcement in Small and Medium-Sized Textile Firms"2:00pm
Human Rights Graduate Research Forum: Imge Akaslan on "Global Labor Rights Enforcement in Small and Medium-Sized Textile Firms"
Wednesday, February 8th, 2023
02:00 PM - 03:30 PM
Storrs Campus The Dodd Center for Human Rights Lounge
The Human Rights Graduate Research Forum provides an opportunity for graduate students in any discipline or school doing human rights-related work to receive feedback from peers and faculty in an informal and supportive environment. These forums occur once per month during the academic year. Each session is split between the student researcher's presentation and time reserved for questions and feedback.
For our first session, Imge Akaslan, Ph.D. student in Political Science, will present "Global Labor Rights Enforcement in Small and Medium-Sized Textile Firms."
For more information and registration: http://s.uconn.edu/hri-graduate-research-forumContact Information: humanrights@uconn.edu
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Feb
8
UCHI Fellow's Talk: Hind Ahmed Zaki3:30pm
UCHI Fellow's Talk: Hind Ahmed Zaki
Wednesday, February 8th, 2023
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus Humanities Institute Conference Room
Research talk by Hind Ahmed Zaki with response by Britney Murphy.
Register to attend virtually:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_34DgOpOkS7WPKH44PfGCmgContact Information: uchi@uconn.edu
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Feb
21
Night at the Museum Faculty Dialogue5:30pm
Night at the Museum Faculty Dialogue
Tuesday, February 21st, 2023
05:30 PM - 07:00 PM
Storrs Campus The William Benton Museum of Art
UConn faculty Alexis L. Boylan (Africana Studies and Art and Art History), guest curator of Seeing Truth, and Sandy Grande (Political Science and Native American and Indigenous Studies), will discuss the Night at the Museum franchise and representations of Indigeneity, art, and museums. Positioned as a light, family-friendly comedy, the films use the American Museum of Natural History as the backdrop for antics about a night guard and objects and people that come to life in the museum after dark. Yet amidst the humor are in fact some very complicated and dark suggestions about the authority of museums, historical memory, and the role of Indigenous peoples and their participation in contemporary culture. The discussion will suggest how we as audiences might resist and reimagine traditional thinking about museums and knowledge making.
The exhibition, Seeing Truth: Art, Science, Museums, and Making Knowledge, and related public programs are generously supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
Speaker bios:
Alexis L. Boylan is the director of academic affairs of the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute (UCHI) and a professor with a joint appointment in the Art and Art History Department and the Africana Studies Institute. She is the author of Visual Culture (MIT Press, 2020) and Ashcan Art, Whiteness, and the Unspectacular Man (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). Her next book focuses on the visual culture of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in the 20th century and how art and science antagonize and inspire cultural dialogues about truth, knowledge, race, and authority.
Sandy Grande is a Professor of Political Science and Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Connecticut with affiliations in American Studies, Philosophy, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Across her work, she aims to produce more nuanced analyses of the colonial present. She was recently awarded a Fellowship through the UConn Humanities Institute for a project on Indigenous Elders and aging. She was also a recipient of the Ford Foundation, Senior Fellowship. Her book, Red Pedagogy: Native American Social and Political Thought was published in a 10th anniversary edition and a Portuguese translation is anticipated to be published in Brazil in 2023. In addition to publishing numerous articles and book chapters, she is a founding member of New York Stands for Standing Rock. As one of their projects, they published the Standing Rock Syllabus. In addition to her academic and organizing work, she has provided eldercare for her parents for over ten years and remains the primary caregiver for her 94-yr. old father.Contact Information: benton@uconn.edu
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Feb
22
PSGSA Coffee Hour11:30am
PSGSA Coffee Hour
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023
11:30 AM - 01:00 PM
Storrs Campus Oak 438
We would like to hold a series of coffee hour events by using the UConn catering service where graduate students can stop by and get to know each other and discuss current events.Contact Information: san.lee@uconn.edu
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Feb
22
UCHI Fellow's Talk: Sandy Grande3:30pm
UCHI Fellow's Talk: Sandy Grande
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus Humanities Institute Conference Room
Research talk by Sandy Grande with response by Joseph Darda.
Register to attend virtually:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b4iwCCSNQbOjPEUBKeya0gContact Information: uchi@uconn.edu
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Please join us for our upcoming event, “Immigration Law: Insights From an Immigration Lawyer & POLS Alumna”. Attorney Meghann E. LaFountain (UConn ’07 and UConn Law ’11) will be joining us via Zoom on Feb. 17 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm to talk about her experiences as an immigration lawyer and to answer your questions! Scan the qr code above or join at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88600781859?pwd=QlhJMzZSN3pEM3hJY0JjMXNXeHhGZz09 to attend! ...
Attention to all those who are interested in pursuing a career in law! Please join us for the Pre-Law/POLS Student-Led Info Session! This event presents the opportunity for prospective law students to have their questions answered by Pre-Law advisor Mrs. Diane Whitney. The event will be student-led, meaning that students can ask any questions they may have about a law career. Student's questions can range from anything from the law school application process to law-related internships, to UCONN classes that are helpful for Law School. We are looking forward to your questions! ...
Please join us for the January Political Theory Workshop!: "Theorizing Racial Caste with W.E.B. Du Bois," Hari Ramesh, Government, Wesleyan University with commentary by Altan Atamer, Political Science, UCONN. January 30th, 12:15-1:30, Oak Hall 438 or by Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85436713662 pwd=Z005cmJZOWZsclMwODNrSWRjYkQxdz09
Meeting ID: 854 3671 3662
Passcode: 365380 ...
*DATE CHANGE!*
BOOK TALK:
Divided Not Conquered: How Rebels Fracture & Splinters Behave, Evan Perkoski
In his newly published book (Oxford University Press), Perkoski analyzes how armed groups fracture and how breakaway splinter groups behave. Perkoski examines the specific disagreements that cause groups to break apart, like those over ideology, leadership, and strategy, and how these disputes uniquely shape the behavior and survivability of emerging splinters. The book studies fragmentation among republican militants in Northern Ireland, Basque militants in Spain, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and cross-nationally using an original data set.
Dr. Evan Perkoski is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Marine Corps University’s Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare. He earned a Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to the book, he has published work in International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, and other outlets.
The talk will be held Thursday January 26th in Oak 438 from 12:20-1:25pm. It will also be streamed at https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/meet/mas07010 ...
Happy second week of classes! We hope that everyone is settling into their new schedules comfortably.
With a new semester, comes plenty of new changes to our department- including our new Department Head, Professor Oksan Bayulgen, and Director of POLS Undergraduate Studies, Professor Evan Perkoski!
From professor Bayulgen: "I wanted to write to say hi and wish you all a wonderful new semester! Hope you are all coming back rejuvenated and excited to start learning again.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions and/or if you want to introduce yourself and chat about our department, your classes and politics in general. I will have an open door policy Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, from 1:30-4. My new office is in OAK 412. You can also email me and get an appointment to meet. I will do my best to respond to your emails on a timely manner but please be patient if you don’t hear back immediately. Also, for your information, I will not respond to emails on Fridays (my research day of the week) and the weekends (family time). But beyond those, I will do my utmost best to be accessible to you all.
We are planning a lot of interesting events for you this semester. Our new director of undergraduate studies, Prof. Evan Perkoski, will reach out to you often to let you know of upcoming events. We will also keep you updated with our weekly digest (PWB), departmental newsletter, and of course our social media. I hope you can get involved as much as possible and feel an important part of our political science community" ...
The application for the 2022-2023 POLS Department Undergraduate Awards is now available. Visit the link in our bio for descriptions of the available awards and for the link to the application. The application has to be completed in one sitting, so take a look before you begin and make sure that you have all the necessary information ready to go. The deadline to apply for these awards is February 1, 2023. ...
Avoid the finals week rush, submit your financial aid application! The 2023-2024 FAFSA and Institutional Aid Applications are now available. UConn's on time filing deadline for maximum aid consideration is Wednesday February 15, 2023. Contact financialaid@uconn.edu with any questions. ...
Apply Now for the College Student Congress! Engage with peers from across the country at the Henry Clay Center's fully funded public policy Summer program! From May 15-25th, 51 of the nation's brightest student leaders - one from each state and D.C.- will participate in a two week Summer program in Lexington, Kentucky and Washington, D.C. to discuss and develop real public policy solutions for current political issues facing our country. Write public policy, participate in expert roundtable discussions, talk about politics, learn from diverse perspectives, grow in leadership, connect to internship opportunities, and more! Applications are due January 2nd and you can apply at www.henryclaycenter.org ...