Skip to content
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”

McDowell Comments on the Use of China’s Renminbi as a Global Currency in The Wire China

May 2, 2023

The Wire China

Daniel McDowell

Daniel McDowell


The Chinese renminbi is unlikely to supplant the dollar any time soon, but authorities in China are still interested in chipping away at its lead—particularly if it can help provide a buffer against the threat of American sanctions, both for China and its allies like Russia. 

The Chinese government’s efforts to reduce its dollar dependence aren’t new. Policymakers at the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, began exploring the strategy in the 2000s, intensifying their efforts after the 2008 global financial crisis. 

“China had economic motives to de-dollarize that predate sanction concerns,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. “When the U.S. economy had a financial crisis, China ended up getting hurt. China figured, we should probably promote our own currency now.”

Read more in The Wire China article, “The Renminbi’s New Role: Sanctions Busting.”

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

McDowell Comments on the Use of China’s Renminbi as a Global Currency in The Wire China

May 2, 2023

The Wire China

Daniel McDowell

Daniel McDowell


The Chinese renminbi is unlikely to supplant the dollar any time soon, but authorities in China are still interested in chipping away at its lead—particularly if it can help provide a buffer against the threat of American sanctions, both for China and its allies like Russia. 

The Chinese government’s efforts to reduce its dollar dependence aren’t new. Policymakers at the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, began exploring the strategy in the 2000s, intensifying their efforts after the 2008 global financial crisis. 

“China had economic motives to de-dollarize that predate sanction concerns,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. “When the U.S. economy had a financial crisis, China ended up getting hurt. China figured, we should probably promote our own currency now.”

Read more in The Wire China article, “The Renminbi’s New Role: Sanctions Busting.”

Political Science Department
100 Eggers Hall