The mission of the Department of Political Science, at Rice University's School of Social Sciences, is to contribute to the university and discipline through excellence in research, graduate training and undergraduate teaching. We train graduate students in modern techniques of social science research in three substantive areas of political science—American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International Relations—to prepare them for successful careers in academic research. We contribute to the liberal arts education of our undergraduate students with courses aimed at developing their skills in critical and analytical thinking and writing, increasing their understanding of political processes, and encouraging responsible and active citizenship. In addition, we train our political science majors to conduct independent political science research. We aim to prepare all of our students for successful careers in academia, government, business, law, education, non-governmental organizations, and many other professional paths.
Political science graduate students honored with Marian Irish award for research on gender and political violence
Kishan Bhakta, Maranda Joyce, and Tabitha Koch were recently honored at the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA) annual meeting with the Marian Irish Award, which pays tribute to the best research paper on women and politics. The team of Rice political science PhD students focuses their research on political violence and threats of political violence, particularly those that are targeted toward women.