Political Science

Political Science: Major

Holy Cross students who major in political science gain in-depth understanding of the American political system, other political regimes, the international system, and political philosophy. In uniformly small classes, students also improve their critical and analytical skills and competence in oral and written expression.

Political science is one of Holy Cross’ most popular majors. The major is rigorously structured so as to ensure breadth as well as depth, with courses required in each of the discipline’s four subfields. Department faculty conceive the most fundamental purpose of the major as helping students to become thoughtful, well-informed, and ethical citizens of a constitutional, self-governing republic. Political science majors have gone on to successful careers in local, state, and federal government, academia,  law, journalism, business, high-school teaching, nonprofit organizations, the armed forces, and the priesthood. 

Program Highlights

Students majoring in political science take courses in four main areas:
 
  • American government
  • political philosophy
  • comparative politics
  • international relations
students and a professor in a class
Subfields

Learn more about the political science department’s four subfields.

students in a classroom with a powerpoint
Charles Carroll Program

The program brings guest lecturers to campus, funds a sophomore seminar and provides paid summer research internships.

Group of students in Washington DC
Washington Semester Program

Many political science majors spend a semester working, studying, and conducting research in Washington, D.C.

Political Science News

Matty Gregg stands with 31 pairs of sneakers lined up next to him
Holy Cross Alumnus Runs Across Country for Charity
Matthew “Matty” Gregg ’00 was six years old when he first dreamed of being a transcontinental runner. The idea was sparked after he watched a biopic on Terry Fox, a Canadian amputee, who ran coast to coast in 1980 to …
Mable Millner sits in her office
Mable Millner Looks Back Over a Career Spent Looking Ahead
“The message was so special,” says Mable L. Millner, smiling as she reads a card resting next to a bouquet of flowers on her desk: “‘Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.'” The …
Landon Cass speaks in front of a room full of people
Renewable Energy Policy Thesis Earns Landon Cass ’20 the Maurizio Vannicelli Washington Semester Away Program Award
A thesis paper on renewable energy policies has garnered Landon Cass ’20 the Vannicelli Washington Semester Away Award for the Spring 2019 semester. The Vannicelli Award, named for the late Holy Cross political science professor and Washington Semester director Maurizio …