Undergraduate Programs
The department offers undergraduate majors in both political science and international studies, and we have a pre-law track for undergraduate majors interested in preparing for careers in law. We also offer courses that prepare students for competition in Moot Court, Model United Nations, and Model Organization of American States.
Undergraduates interested in careers in politics, or in simply becoming effective citizens, can take advantage of our Public Service Internship Program, which offers "hands on experience" in governmental and other public organizations; or our Washington Internship Program, which provides academic credit for a summer in our nation's capital. Finally, the Bob Bullock Scholars Program allows students to work in the Texas Legislature.
The political science department offers students the opportunity to major in either political science or international studies, an interdisciplinary program directed by the department. We also offer minors in political science, international studies, and criminal justice, and a variety of internship opportunities and other programs. Our majors and minors have gone on to become lawyers, journalists, politicians, lobbyists, diplomats, political analysts and teachers. We place students in top law schools around the country, in top graduate programs such as Yale and Princeton. We offer a well-rounded education in all the major subfields in political science, numerous opportunities for hands-on political experience, and exciting study abroad programs.
Our majors are active in a variety of organizations, such as Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honorary society, and Sigma Iota Rho, the honor society in international studies. Our students participate in many prestigious organizations, including Model United Nations and Model Organizations of American States. For those interested in pre-law preparation, the department offers a new pre-law track for majors in political science, as well as a course that prepares students for participating in Moot Court competition.
Baylor offers students a wide range of opportunities for studying abroad. Programs with special relevance to political science include Baylor in Oxford, Baylor in Great Britain and Baylor in St. Andrews. You may explore the full range of programs at the website for the Center for Global Engagement.
Our Public Service Internship Program places students in governmental and other public organizations, our Washington Internship Program provides academic credit for a summer internship in our nation's capital, and our Bullock Scholars Program allows students to spend an entire semester interning in the Texas Legislature. "Law, Justice, and Community" places undergraduates as interns working in local law offices.
The preparation of our students results not only from the breadth of our course offerings, but also from our determination to maintain our class sizes at a level that encourages you to get to know your professors on an individual basis. Aside from our course on American constitutional development, which is required of almost all Baylor undergraduates, our classes generally run from fewer than twenty students to about twice that.
Prospective undergraduates who wish to major in Political Science or International Studies at Baylor should begin by consulting the Baylor University Admissions Website. If you are a prospective undergraduate student, you may want to plan a Campus Visit. There are multiple opportunities for prospective students and parents to meet with Baylor faculty, staff and students, and ask questions about life at Baylor.