Undergraduate Program

Message from the Chairman

The Department of Political Science at Duke University is among the top departments in the nation. Our faculty enjoy teaching, are excited about research, and in many cases are at the forefront of their fields. Our students are among the best anywhere. There are three features that distinguish our approach to education and research: depth, breadth, and strong community.
Depth requires a conscious regard for the contributions of the past. If the discipline of political science is to advance our understanding of the political world and the people in it, then theorizing and philosophical debates must be cumulative. Our faculty emphasize depth in all our programs, exploring the foundations of arguments and examining the historical development of political cultures, rules and institutions.

Breadth requires a willingness to cross artificial academic and disciplinary boundaries. Faculty in our department have links to numerous other units on campus, including Divinity, Economics, Environment, Film, History, Law, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology, Public Policy, Sociology, and Women's Studies. Our faculty focus on asking significant questions about politics among people, among groups, or among nations. Then we use the best method to answer that question, without regard to the disciplinary origin of the method. This ecumenism requires considerable training and study in a variety of methods, but the results are well worth the effort. Our broadly educated students, both undergraduate and Ph.D., have consistently performed at the top of their chosen fields.

Strong community is the center of our social relations. We are serious about engaging each other, in our work and in our conversations. Faculty are closely associated with a number of programs that encourage interaction and discussion. The shared responsibility we take for our individual efforts is the cause for our recent success, and is the key to our future achievements.

Michael C. Munger