
Politics and International Relations B.A. with M.S. in Public Policy and Management
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Calling all independent thinkers who have an interest in public life and a concern for social justice. Earn you bachelor's degree at Messiah University, one of the top private Christian universities in the U.S., and study politics and international relations.
As a politics and international relations major at Messiah University, a top-ranked Pennsylvania Christian university, you’ll immerse yourself among students and faculty who are energized by some of the same things that energize you: political campaigns, elections, diplomacy, international affairs, public health, immigration, the environment and race relations.
The politics and international relations major offers a strong academic program that will make you competitive in the job or grad school market. While you might typically think of political science as preparation for a career in public office, we see it as discipline that thoroughly prepares you to enter a wide variety of fields including government, business, education, communication, law and many others. Students in this program must choose one of our two offered concentrations to accompany the major.
Students in the Politics and International Relations program at Messiah University can choose from the following concentrations:
As a politics and international relations major or minor at Messiah University, you'll be able to:
As a graduate of Messiah University’s politics degree program, you will be equipped to secure jobs such as:
For more information on career planning for the politics program, visit the Messiah University Career and Professional Development Center.
Messiah University’s nationally recognized internship program places students in a variety of politics internships. A few politics internship examples include:
So if you believe, as we do, that politics is part of God’s provision for creation, and a means of developing an abiding concern for public life in the interest of social justice, and you have an openness to opposing points of view and a commitment to the common good of all peoples, then we encourage you to consider joining the politics degree program at Messiah University.
In the Politics and International Relations program, you will take a selection of courses that successfully prepare you for a career in a related field. Hands-on experiences and classroom learning within the framework of Christian faith will give you the skills and knowledge to achieve your goals. Our programs offer a wide variety of courses that will not only help you excel in your future career, but challenge you to develop a deeper understanding of your field of study.
Graduates of this program work in positions of leadership in their places of employment, using the tools and knowledge a Messiah University education prepared them with. Each year, eager employers and some of the nation's best graduate schools welcome Messiah graduates into their organizations.
95% of the Class of 2024 respondents were employed or in graduate school within 6-9 months of graduation.
Regional and national employers seek out Messiah graduates for their academic preparation, work ethic and personal character. The transformation you experience at Messiah readies you to transform the lives of others through your chosen career path.
MEET ALUMNI FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Many of our students study abroad in countries such as China or England, or participate directly with a faculty member to complete a research project. Our close proximity to the nation’s capital also provides a convenient way to spend a semester studying politics or completing an internship in the heart of Washington, D.C. through the American Studies Program.
Learning in the classroom is important but actually applying that knowledge in a hands-on way can make all the difference. At Messiah University, the Experiential Learning Initiative (ELI) allows Messiah to take this hands-on learning to a new level by giving students the opportunity to apply what they have learned to various real world contexts--such as an internship/practica, service learning, off-campus program, holding a student leadership position, or participating in undergraduate research.
Because our program is humanities-based, you can count on learning transferable skills, having insightful class discussions, learning those important quantitative skills and analyzing topics through reading and writing. You’ll not only answer the ‘how’, but will investigate the ‘why’ of issues—both at home and abroad.
You’ll study with a dedicated, committed Christian faculty who will introduce you to the major sub-fields of political science: American and comparative politics, international relations and political theory. Our low student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment, one that places a premium on individual student initiative, with the goal of helping you grow into an intellectually agile, socially fluent, and self-confident politics degree student, ready for a job in government, community, business, law, communication, or well prepared to enroll in graduate or law school.