Real-World Learning

We provide our students with transformative learning experiences that promote active and engaged citizenship, domestically and globally.

VCU’s Department of Political Science uses its unique position on an urban campus located in the state capital and just a short distance from Washington, D.C. This means research opportunities and hands-on service learning are the norm for the department.

Research

The Department of Political Science provides plenty of opportunities to engage in and present research. 

a professor assists a student with a computer assignment

Internships

Political science students at VCU are offered internships with a variety of organizations across a wide range of politically-relevant fields. 

Jamesa Parker

Study Abroad

Consider furthering your study of political science and gain insight into comparative political systems and peoples’ perceptions of those systems by studying abroad for a semester. 

a miniature globe with push pins stuck in various points around it

The Institute for Democracy, Pluralism, and Community Empowerment

The Department of Political Science is home to the Institute for Democracy, Pluralism, and Community Empowerment. Our community of affiliated faculty, students, staff, visiting scholars and invited guests cultivates dialogues about how democracy works, how it is under threat and how it can be strengthened. We seek to advance students’ experiential education and career prospects through partnerships with public and private sector organizations working to bolster democracy’s foundations.