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33

full-time faculty teaching and conducting research in political science

66%

of Maxwell faculty conduct research focused outside of the U.S.

50

graduate students in residence; fewer than 12 admitted each year

Undergraduate Studies


Studying political science will help you understand the workings of political life at the local, national and international levels and will prepare you for a lifetime of active and informed citizenship. The Department of Political Science at Syracuse University has more than thirty full-time faculty that teach a wide variety of courses in multiple subject areas. We will guide you as you explore the world of politics and hone your skills as a researcher, analyst and writer.

Graduate Studies


Master’s and doctoral students receive broad training in quantitative and qualitative methods of social science research, while also concentrating in two of the following substantive fields: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, public administration and policy, law and courts, or security studies. 
Mazaher Kaila

I am Maxwell.

Civic engagement is a core value for me. I have always aspired to help the communities I’m from.” Mazaher Kaila, a Maxwell alumna and third-year student at Syracuse University's College of Law, moved with her family from Sudan to Central New York when she was four years old. “I realized that to make meaningful change in society, I needed to understand the systems that power it—government and politics—and that’s insight I would gain by studying political science.”

Mazaher Kaila ’19, L’22

political science, law

Read Kaila's story, “A Powerful Voice for Justice”

Abdelaaty Receives ISA Ethnicity, Nationalism & Migration Studies Section’s Distinguished Book Award

March 17, 2023

Lamis Abdelaaty

Lamis Abdelaaty


"Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees" (Oxford University Press, 2021), written by Associate Professor of Political Science Lamis Abdelaaty, received the Distinguished Book Award from the International Studies Association (ISA) Ethnicity, Nationalism, & Migration Studies (ENMISA) section. The award was announced at ISA's 2023 annual conference. 

The ENMISA Distinguished Book Award recognizes the best book published over the past two years in the study of the international politics of ethnicity, nationalism or migration. The award committee is particularly interested in books that engage multiple areas of analytical interest to ENMISA members.

In the book, Abdelaaty examines the factors that shape states’ responses to refugees. She asks important questions about why some states welcome refugees while others exclude them, and why some states cede control of the asylum process and refugee camps to the United Nations.

BaoBao Zhang Joins First Cohort of AI2050 Early Career Fellows

One of only 15 scholars chosen from across the U.S., Zhang will receive up to $200,000 in research funding over the next two years. Zhang will use the funding to partner with the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for New Democratic Processes to test whether public participation in AI governance is increased through the creation of public assemblies, known as “deliberative democracy workshops.”

Baobao Zhang

Assistant Professor, Political Science Department

Read More

Baobao Zhang

Abdelaaty Receives ISA Ethnicity, Nationalism & Migration Studies Section’s Distinguished Book Award

March 17, 2023

Lamis Abdelaaty

Lamis Abdelaaty


"Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees" (Oxford University Press, 2021), written by Associate Professor of Political Science Lamis Abdelaaty, received the Distinguished Book Award from the International Studies Association (ISA) Ethnicity, Nationalism, & Migration Studies (ENMISA) section. The award was announced at ISA's 2023 annual conference. 

The ENMISA Distinguished Book Award recognizes the best book published over the past two years in the study of the international politics of ethnicity, nationalism or migration. The award committee is particularly interested in books that engage multiple areas of analytical interest to ENMISA members.

In the book, Abdelaaty examines the factors that shape states’ responses to refugees. She asks important questions about why some states welcome refugees while others exclude them, and why some states cede control of the asylum process and refugee camps to the United Nations.

Political Science Department
100 Eggers Hall