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Politics and International Relations Major in Pennsylvania

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.

Study Politics and International Relations at a Christian University

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. 

Politics: the right fit for you?

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.

Programs related to Politics and International Relations

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.

Course options for Politics and International Relations :

Politics and International Relations (B.A.) with American Politics Concentration

Politics and International Relations (B.A.) with International Relations concentration

Politics and International Relations with Political Studies (B.A. from Messiah University) Public Policy and Management (M.S. from Carnegie Mellon)

Politics Minor

Careers and outcomes

Where our grads work

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.

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Where they work

  1. University of Texas
  2. Merck & Co.
  3. The Terrace Initiative
  4. Aqua America
  5. Inc.
  6. Circuit Court of Maryland
  7. U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
  8. Department of State
  9. Nixon Peabody LLP
  10. President's Office of Management and Budget
  11. A Rocha International
  12. Hope International
  13. Capital Region Economic Development Corporation
  14. Stock and Leader
  15. LLP
  16. U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  17. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation / Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia

What they do

  1. Lawyer
  2. District attorney
  3. Associate Director for Vaccine Policy and Government Relations
  4. Consultant
  5. Government relations representative
  6. U.S. Foreign Service officer
  7. Program examiner
  8. Finance coordinator
  9. Budget analyst
  10. City planner
  11. Congressional staffer
  12. Director of Communication and Advocacy
  13. Director of Policy and Government Relations
  14. Reporter
  15. Social psychologist
  16. Field representative

Graduate school

  1. London School of Economics
  2. Georgetown University
  3. Harvard Law School
  4. Maxwell School of Public Policy at Syracuse University
  5. University of Hawaii
  6. Princeton University
  7. University of Pennsylvania
  8. Oxford University
  9. University of Virginia
  10. University of Toronto
  11. University of North Carolina
  12. Duke University
  13. George Mason University
  14. Johns Hopkins University
  15. University of Wisconsin-Madison

95% of the Class of 2024 respondents were employed or in graduate school within 6-9 months of graduation.

Our Alumni

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

Practical learning

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. 

Messiah's unique approach to hands-on learning

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.

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Humanities-based learning

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.

Student- faculty engagement

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.