Students choose political science as a major to understand how and why people in power make decisions and how it affects society as a whole. Political science is not just concerned with government and politics, but also can help decision making in a vast corporation or research institution. These types of political science jobs are crucial because the wrong decision can mean the difference between success and failure.

What is Political Science?
Under the category of social science, political science is the theory and practice of everything related to politics. Political science studies and attempts to predict governments, public policies, and the processes involved with political practices, systems and behavior. Within the field of political science, there are several subfields including political theory, political philosophy, political ideology, international relations, political studies, comparative politics and political economy. Political science is considered a “soft science”, meaning that it does not use hard data, but rather its studies are very subjective in nature and is left up to interpretation. Political science classes help prepare students for a career in politics, but may also train students about political knowledge for use in another career.

What are Some Common and Crucial Political Science Courses?
Each political science class in a curriculum is important to understand the basic internal workings of government and relations with not only the public, but other governments as well. In addition to political science courses, there are key courses that also must be taken outside of the political science department of most schools. These courses supplement the basic concepts of political science and allow a better general understanding of what decisions are made, along with how and why within the political science field. While these course requirements may vary from school to school, they generally include:

Economics:
A basic economics class will give a general overview of economics, how it works, the laws associated with the free market system, etc. This class is important because governmental decisions typically include those that will affect the economy of a country.

Debate Class:
Especially important in a political science class, this course will develop argumentative, thinking, and public speaking skills, crucial for a politician to have.

Next, the following political science courses within the department are generally required by most schools with a political science program:
International Relations:

This political science class is important because it gives a macro view of a political system
and the way that political systems are interdependent to each other, along with the challenges faced by governments in a globalize economy.

American Politics:
A political science class with a prime focus on the American government, and the interaction of the national government both to society and to the world as a whole. Usually covers subjects such as elections, Congress, courts, and components of the United States Constitution.

Political Thought:
A political science course that is dedicated to analyzing the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, and others.

These are just a few of the core political science class studies that are required by most colleges in the United States with political science programs.