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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”

Students, Faculty Receive Spring 2023 SOURCE and Honors Research Grants

July 14, 2023

The awards support undergraduate research projects.

Five Maxwell School students have been awarded grants from the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) and the Renée Crown University Honors Program. The awards help undergraduate students delve deeper into topics they’re passionate about and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to original research under the mentorship of faculty.

The students receiving funding are among 73 award winners from across Syracuse University’s schools and colleges. A team of faculty reviewers selected grant recipients from a pool of 88 proposals.

Additionally, nine Maxwell mentor-led projects have been awarded SOURCE research assistant grants which will fund the hire of 20 undergraduate students to take part in the research.

The SOURCE and Honors Program funding supports timely and diverse undergraduate scholarly research. The grant programs strengthen the University’s position as a preeminent and inclusive student-focused research institution and provide resources to support undergraduate student research participation.

SOURCE Student Award Recipient

Morgan Albano, history and film

Renée Crown University Honors Program Student Award Recipients

Christian Bevilacqua, geography and social studies education

Sophie Clinton, political science, women's and gender studies and Spanish language and culture

Sophie Creager-Roberts, history and environment, sustainability and policy

Eden Stratton, political science and magazine, news and digital journalism

Faculty Research Assistant Grants

Jack Baldwin, senior associate in the Maxwell X Lab (project: Maxwell X Lab Research Assistantship), with research team members Hannah Patnaik, managing director of the Maxwell X Lab, and Len Lopoo, director of the Maxwell X Lab and professor of public administration and international affairs

Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of policy studies and public administration and international affairs, and research affiliate at the Center for Policy Design and Governance (project: Can Election Reforms Reduce Polarization and Improve Governance?)

Mona Bhan, professor of anthropology, Ford-Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies, senior research associate and advisory board member of the South Asia Center (project: (De)Humanizing War: Artificial Intelligence Weapons and the Future of the Human), with research team members Aren Burnside, anthropology Ph.D. student and ParKer Bryant, Ph.D. student in the School of Education

Kristy Buzard, associate professor of economics, senior research associate in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) and Melvin A. Eggers Economics Faculty Scholar (project: Quantifying GATT Trade Liberalization), with research team member Zeyuan (Victor) Xiong, economics Ph.D. student

Horace Campbell, professor of political science (project: Archival work and documentation, Pan Africanism and the Scholarship of Walter Rodney)

Liwu Gan, faculty fellow of political science (project: Liability, Community and Capacity: A Unified Framework of State Responsibility)

Gabriela Kirk-Werner, faculty fellow of sociology and senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research (project: "Alternatives" to Punishment and Social Inequality) with research team member Mary Ellen Stitt

Tessa Murphy, associate professor of history (project: Creating a searchable database of enslaved people in Trinidad, 1814) with research team member Michael Fudge, professor of practice in the School of Information Studies

Gretchen Purser, associate professor of sociology, senior research associate at the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry and senior research associate in PARCC (project: The Disparate Responses of Labor Unions to COVID Workplace Protections) with research team member Jennifer Breen, associate professor of law

Published in the Fall 2023 issue of the Maxwell Perspective

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

Students, Faculty Receive Spring 2023 SOURCE and Honors Research Grants

July 14, 2023

The awards support undergraduate research projects.

Five Maxwell School students have been awarded grants from the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) and the Renée Crown University Honors Program. The awards help undergraduate students delve deeper into topics they’re passionate about and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to original research under the mentorship of faculty.

The students receiving funding are among 73 award winners from across Syracuse University’s schools and colleges. A team of faculty reviewers selected grant recipients from a pool of 88 proposals.

Additionally, nine Maxwell mentor-led projects have been awarded SOURCE research assistant grants which will fund the hire of 20 undergraduate students to take part in the research.

The SOURCE and Honors Program funding supports timely and diverse undergraduate scholarly research. The grant programs strengthen the University’s position as a preeminent and inclusive student-focused research institution and provide resources to support undergraduate student research participation.

SOURCE Student Award Recipient

Morgan Albano, history and film

Renée Crown University Honors Program Student Award Recipients

Christian Bevilacqua, geography and social studies education

Sophie Clinton, political science, women's and gender studies and Spanish language and culture

Sophie Creager-Roberts, history and environment, sustainability and policy

Eden Stratton, political science and magazine, news and digital journalism

Faculty Research Assistant Grants

Jack Baldwin, senior associate in the Maxwell X Lab (project: Maxwell X Lab Research Assistantship), with research team members Hannah Patnaik, managing director of the Maxwell X Lab, and Len Lopoo, director of the Maxwell X Lab and professor of public administration and international affairs

Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of policy studies and public administration and international affairs, and research affiliate at the Center for Policy Design and Governance (project: Can Election Reforms Reduce Polarization and Improve Governance?)

Mona Bhan, professor of anthropology, Ford-Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies, senior research associate and advisory board member of the South Asia Center (project: (De)Humanizing War: Artificial Intelligence Weapons and the Future of the Human), with research team members Aren Burnside, anthropology Ph.D. student and ParKer Bryant, Ph.D. student in the School of Education

Kristy Buzard, associate professor of economics, senior research associate in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) and Melvin A. Eggers Economics Faculty Scholar (project: Quantifying GATT Trade Liberalization), with research team member Zeyuan (Victor) Xiong, economics Ph.D. student

Horace Campbell, professor of political science (project: Archival work and documentation, Pan Africanism and the Scholarship of Walter Rodney)

Liwu Gan, faculty fellow of political science (project: Liability, Community and Capacity: A Unified Framework of State Responsibility)

Gabriela Kirk-Werner, faculty fellow of sociology and senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research (project: "Alternatives" to Punishment and Social Inequality) with research team member Mary Ellen Stitt

Tessa Murphy, associate professor of history (project: Creating a searchable database of enslaved people in Trinidad, 1814) with research team member Michael Fudge, professor of practice in the School of Information Studies

Gretchen Purser, associate professor of sociology, senior research associate at the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry and senior research associate in PARCC (project: The Disparate Responses of Labor Unions to COVID Workplace Protections) with research team member Jennifer Breen, associate professor of law

Published in the Fall 2023 issue of the Maxwell Perspective

Political Science Department
100 Eggers Hall