The Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis strives to be one of the best in the world. We are widely recognized for our strengths in theory, methods, and the rigorous combination of the two. The members of our faculty are leading scholars in their fields. The PhD students we train go on to be some of the most productive in the discipline. The undergraduate student body at WashU is among the tops in the country, and our majors have their choice of careers, graduate programs, and professional schools. The department is nationally and internationally recognized as one of the leading departments in the discipline.
Our faculty specialize in a variety of research areas within political science, including American politics, formal theory, international conflict, international political economy, methodology, and political theory. Across all these areas, faculty regularly bring their expertise to both undergraduate and graduate students in the classroom. In many cases, students collaborate and publish with professors.
The department regularly hosts lectures and workshops to bring together our intellectual community. Through becoming involved in residential life on the South 40, Faculty Associates and Faculty Fellows extend their interactions with students outside the classroom.
Clarissa Hayward, Professor of Political Science, is a member of the new editorial team for the discipline's flagship journal. From June 1, 2020 until May 31, 2021, she is the journal's Co-Lead Editor. You can read more about the American Political Science review and its new, all-woman editorial team here.
In 2018, a study of faculty research productivity published by the American Political Science Association ranked WashU's Department of Political Science second in the nation.
The department’s strong showing was led by James L. Gibson, the Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government in Arts & Sciences, who ranked first in the nation in two categories.
Norman Schofield, the William Taussig Professor of Political Economy in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in St. Louis, surrounded by family. He was 75.
