About Us

Welcome to the NYU Department of Politics website, which is designed to provide information about the program for current NYU students as well as visitors interested in our program. The Politics faculty is committed to the production of new knowledge and the transmission of that knowledge, to both our students and the wider world; we are also committed to doing this in the company of the best political science departments in the world.

The faculty is determined to produce knowledge for a 21st Century political science. To do this we need to know about the political world, but also to know the appropriate tools and methods to study and understand that world. The faculty is determined to produce new scholars who can continue this quest, as well as to train undergraduates and MA students to use this new knowledge in their various pursuits.

It is easy to see the quality of our faculty. We have seven members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences currently teaching. Our faculty have also won an enormous number of best book and paper awards, and serve as leaders of both our profession and its relevant subfields. Many department members also routinely use their expertise in applied work, both in the United States and internationally.

Our Ph.D. program trains the future generation of scholars. Our rigorous program makes sure that students acquire the appropriate skills and the knowledge of how to use those skills in the service of understanding political phenomena. While our program has only recently grown to its current size and stature, our graduates are already teaching in major research universities with six recent students currently teaching in top-10 departments. While our first large class will not be on the job market until next year, we are confident they will repeat the success of their older compatriots.

Our M.A. program trains students to use applied research to solve political problems. The program gives students both applied skills and specific knowledge as well as a more general grounding in the core issues in political science. Most graduates of the program go on to work in NGOs or IGOs or a government agency. The emphasis of the program is on international relations and comparative politics.

The undergraduate program is one of the largest majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. From the beginning students are introduced to the analytic concepts and methods used by the faculty in their own research. The department is committed to excellent undergraduate teaching as is evidence by our winning over ten awards for excellence in teaching in the College.

In addition to our own Honors program, the Department also runs an interdisciplinary Honors only International Relations major where students take courses in economics and politics before doing a senior thesis.

I joined the Politics Department three years ago. I was excited to join a department committed to being in the forefront of building a political science for the 21st Century, and to join an incredible group of scholars and students. Three years later I am even more excited. I hope that whatever brought you to our web site, you join in this excitement.