The IR major will inspire and prepare you to make a difference in an interconnected world by equipping you with the skills you need to innovate, pursue powerful ideas, and transform your desire to do good into real life-changing actions.
As a member of our community, you will have the opportunity to:
- Learn a second language
- Study abroad at one of Linfield’s 15 partner universities, with options including Ecuador, Japan, New Zealand, and many more.
- Perform in public debates about foreign policy topics of your choice.
- Engage in current issues with events like “Pizza and Politics.”
- Network through our Connections program.
- Work one on one with faculty to make a unique contribution to the field by writing a Proseminar Independent Research Paper
- Write your own story with our “senior sequence” geared to have publishable pieces of writing, whether academic or op-eds and a career path.
Check out a year by year break down of the major and our advising sheet:
Year One: Explore
Here are some of the things you can do as soon as you arrive in our department:
- Take classes from different disciplines like International Politics, Cultural Anthropology and Economics
- Start learning a new language
- Follow the department social media accounts (@LinfieldPOLS_IR on Insta and Twitter)
- Apply to become an Elliot Alexander Scholar
- Engage in exciting “Pizza and Politics” events.
- Start working in one of the most prestigious work study teams on campus
Second year: build
Continue your exploration into the big questions, being to hone your interest, and develop new skills by:
- Taking an upper division course that you find interesting like Comparative Politics or Politics of Identity
- Taking a Research Methodology course that will teach you to consume data critically and to propose your own research
- Building connections with alumni and upperclassmen with our PoliSci Alumni and Student Connections program
- Participating with faculty on Collaborative Research
- Studying abroad
Third year: apply
During this year you will continue growing and expanding your horizons beyond our campus.
- You will engage in experiential learning by studying abroad in one of our partner universities in Spain, Austria, Japan, China, Ecuador, and many more.
- You will continue learning and exploring through our upper division courses. The courses that you take abroad will still apply towards your degree, as elective or as other credits!
- You will partner with a faculty member and conduct a unique research project with them. This is called a Proseminar
Year Four: Master
Synthesize the work you have done and prepare to shape the future, joining alumni in wide ranging fields like government, non-profits, and in the private sector.
- You will participate in a Senior Sequence in which you will prepare for a life in the world of political science through several modes of writing and presentations as well as presenting your own Senior Thesis project
- You will apply to prestigious graduate programs like London School of Economics, Johns Hopkins University and Gonzaga Law School and you will apply for jobs in the field and join our alumni in Nike, USAID or SurveyMonkey.
Opportunities for our majors
Be part of a unique community that values civic engagement, interesting discussions and out of the box thinking and join our unique programs like
- The Elliot Alexander Scholars: A selective group of scholars that, because of an outstanding commitment with civic engagement or academic discipline, receive funding for textbooks, special events and collaborative research opportunities.
- Poli-Sci Connections Alumni Outreach: A collaboration with Career Development to link students with alumni in their fields of interest inside of the world of politics to get a glimpse of life after graduation.
- Pizza and Politics: Events that feature guest speakers, faculty discussions and cross-disciplinary interaction about important topics and current events.
- Team POLS Work Study Team: The team of work study students that makes everything happen!
