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Faculty
Successful Careers
Internships
Courses
Sample Schedule
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Facilities
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Study Abroad
Department Web site

Political Science

Central’s political science program is designed to prepare you for a wide variety of careers in government, politics, law, business, mass media and education. Course work emphasizes development of basic communication skills, including reading, writing, speaking, critical thinking and information literacy. Our students learn about government structures and processes and how individuals and groups interact with government at the local, state and national levels, in other countries and with international organizations.

Our program emphasizes both course work and practical experience. Political science students learn how to do original research and undertake projects that allow them to apply their knowledge to questions and concerns of personal interest, through experiential and service-learning projects, career-focused internships in Washington, D.C., Des Moines and as part of their study abroad experiences.

Faculty

• Andrew Green, assistant professor of political science, pre-law adviser, greena@central.edu
  
• Keith Yanner, professor of political science, yannerk@central.edu
  
• Jim Zaffiro, professor of political science, zaffiroj@central.edu

Successful Careers

• Jeanette Juricic, Foreign Service officer, U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C.
• Hilary Hekel, Arabic linguist, U.S. Army, Mosul, Iraq
• Dave Hansen, assistant attorney general, State of Missouri
• Joe Pratt, international corporate attorney, Beijing, China
• Jeff Link, political operative and campaign strategist, Des Moines, Iowa
• Madoda Nasha, UN high commissioner for refugees, Gaborone, Botswana
• Nigel Simon, manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
• David Caraway, attorney-at-law, New York, N.Y.
• Shannan Mattiace, professor of political science, Allegheny College, Pa.
• Mike Main, cardiac surgeon, Kansas City, Mo.
• Mary O’ Leary, senior planner and associate, Group 70, Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Tammy Williamson, lifestyles editor, Chicago Sun-Times, Ill.

Internships
We will work one-on-one with you to help you select and apply for an internship that will complement your courses and enhance your career prospects. You can choose from opportunities in Des Moines, Chicago, Washington, D.C., or as part of your study abroad experience at one of our program sites including London, Paris, Vienna, Granada and Merida. Past internships have included:

• Whitney Taylor, White House intern, Washington, D.C.
• Tyler Schipper, Parliamentary intern, London, England
• Sarah Frese, United Nations intern, Vienna, Austria
• Ryan Dierks, intern, governor’s office, Des Moines, Iowa
• Haileigh Meyers, intern, Sen. Tom Harkin, Washington, D.C.
• Joel Alberts, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago, Ill.
• Shannan Mattiace, intern, U.S. Embassy, Santiago, Chile

Learn more about internships at Central.

Courses
Central offers political science courses in the major sub-fields of the discipline, including: American government and politics, public policy, international politics, comparative politics, political theory and research methods. For course descriptions, please visit the political science Web site.

• Introduction to American politics
• Introduction to International politics
• Political behavior
• American political institutions I
• American political institutions II
• African politics since 1935
• Contemporary Europe
• Modern Latin America
• Africa, Asia and Latin America in world affairs
• The Middle East in world affairs
• American Environmental history and policy
• The U.S. in world affairs
• International political economy
• Global environmental politics
• Methods of political research
• American political thought
• Pre-Law seminar
• Political violence and terrorism
• International law and organizations
• Politics of state and local government
• Seminar in public policy
• Research seminar

Get more details from the course catalog! (Note: this is a PDF file)

Sample Schedule
Freshman Year

• POLS 110 Introduction to American Politics
• POLS 140 Introduction to International Politics
• Core courses and electives

Sophomore Year

• POLS 216 Political Behavior: Participation, Elections and Media
• POLS 235 The U.S. in World Affairs
• MATH 105 Introduction to Statistics
• POLS 250 Methods of Political Research
• Core courses and electives

Junior Year

• Select either American Politics or Global Politics Major Emphasis
• POLS 217 and 218 American Political Institutions I, II
  OR
• POLS 241 and 244 International Political Economy, International Law
• Study abroad and/or career-related internships
• Major electives

Senior Year

• POLS 489 Research Seminar
• Major electives
• Study abroad and/or career-related internships

Facilities
Central College is one of the most beautiful college campuses you'll find. A perfect mix of old and new, our buildings reflect our history and our future. Central's distinctive library is spacious and a popular haven with more then 230,000 volumes, computer stations, a multimedia collection and an extensive online computerized catalog.

Departmental Web site
Central’s political science department maintains its own Web site with even more information about majoring in political science.

Organizations
Political science students are active participants in a wide variety of campus activities and organizations, including:

• Student Senate
• Pi Sigma Alpha (national honor society of political science)
• College Republicans
• Young Democrats
• KCUI (student radio station)
• The Ray (college newspaper)

Study Abroad
A key to the outstanding career successes that our students have enjoyed is the high degree that they take advantage of our excellent study abroad opportunities. Many of our graduates have had life-changing, career-shaping internship experiences while studying on one or more of our eight international programs. Learn more about about Central’s study abroad programs.

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