About Political Science

Pursue your B.A. or M.A. degrees in Political Science. Enroll in courses in American politics, comparative politics, political theory, public law and quantitative research methods.

Our students reflect the diversity of the San Francisco Bay Area and bring their experiences, insights and knowledge to the classroom. Our program is particularly strong in:

• comparative/non-Western political theory, with a
  regional focus on Latin America, the Caribbean and
  China
• the politics and electoral behavior of traditionally under-
  represented groups, especially Latino/Latina
  communities
• contentious politics and social movements.

We have a growing public law program, a young but highly competitive Moot Court team and much-valued judicial internships. We pride ourselves on rigorous and interdisciplinary research and our focus on teaching.

Gain expertise in the political issues that have absorbed thinkers throughout the ages, studying the causes and consequences of political developments ranging from local elections to armed uprisings.

Most of our classes are in-person in a traditional classroom, but we also offer many online courses. Some are taught in live scheduled class sessions via Zoom video technology, and others are completely on your time. No matter whether our classes are in-person or online, we always work to offer a highly interactive, rigorous and rewarding class experience.

Our Mission

The Department of Political Science seeks to guide students towards becoming active and informed members of the community, locally and globally. We train students in four subfields — American Politics, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, and Public Law — with the aim of increasing their knowledge of the historical and geographical specificity of political power, institutions, values and practices, as well the ways in which these can be transformed. Our faculty supports students as they learn to think and act as conscious and fully engaged political agents, committed to social justice and political transparency and participation. Students leave the classroom with the knowledge and skills to open doors to diverse career opportunities.

Facts and Figures

We are a mid-sized department in SFSU’s College of Liberal & Creative Arts. You’ll be among 400 – 500 undergraduate majors, 40 – 50 minors and 25 – 35 M.A. students.

Class sizes are typically between 20 and 50 students. Our ratio of tenure-track faculty-student ratio is around 30 to 1, though this ratio is closer to 15-1 when we include lecturer faculty, who comprise an important part of our teaching staff.

About half of our majors identify as Hispanic/Latinx; 22% as white, 11% as Asian; and 7% as African American. About 60% of our undergraduate majors are women. Many of our students identify as LGBTQ. Nearly all our majors are California residents, but about a third come from Southern California.