LoserKev

Can you guys please help me out? Im double majoring in MechE & Poly Sci, and it's pretty much between these two schools. However, I'd like to point out that I am most passionate about politics, and that's the area that I'm most likely going to pursue a career in after college.

Penn15

Penn Poli Sci is 3rd tier and Cornell probably 2nd tier. But dual degree would probably be easier at Penn than at Cornell.

silmon77

I'm also planning on majoring in engineering and maybe getting a minor in poly sci. I'm also wondering how Penn is regarded in poly sci.

jf215

Penn's political science program is 3rd tier? really?

silmon77

Haha I was thinking about doing the same thing- engineering and poly science. I really emphasized that in my Why Penn essay and my interview.

cujoe169

penn's polysci is hardly third tier, it can't match up with g-town... but it's certainly a good program

snipanlol

Polisci at Penn has been improving over the last couple of years.

LoserKev

but is it at cornell level or higher?

Penn15

Penn's program is either unranked or in the 40's in most rankings.

invictus

where do you get these rankings from? the ones i can find are all grad program rankings.

vaib

Cornell has a pretty decent program in poly-sci, where you also have internship and academic opportunities through the "Cornell in Washington DC" scheme. Cornell has a facility in DC primarily for government majors to gain invaluable experience.

tigerfan17

AHHH polI sci, not polY sci!

lauraanne

Penn has a semester away program in DC too, FWIW.

The only Poli Sci class I've taken is on African Wildlife Conservation, which is a fairly unique subject I guess, and not terribly relevant to most Poli Sci majors (great class though!) Anyway, based on hearsay alone, I've heard say that Penn's Poli Sci department is actually very well regarded, top notch kinda thing. But that's just hearsay. From Penn students.

JohnnyK

haha don't trust them..

Penn's polisci program isn't very "good," by rankings and such. But back in reality, it's certainly good in that the professors I've had are all very good and enjoy teaching, and you can surely get a wonderful polisci education at Penn (and Cornell as well).

Additionally, what some consider a virtue may be a vice to others. Perhaps reflective of Penn's practical/anti-intellectual past, most professors don't focus on abstract political theories, but on practical real political issues. Depending on who makes the rankings, the lack of "groundbreaking" theoretical stuff going on may hurt the rep.

Also, Penn's polisci faculty, while most definitely liberal, is by no means far-left ultraliberal. They're all in favor of capitalism, liberal democracy, and globalizaiton (resistance to that mostly comes from the anthropology department). Penn's polisci more likely to describe George W. Bush as a subpar President than to describe him as a retard/neocon oil war villain who will destroy the world.

I personally consdider this relative political centrism to be a virtue, not a vice. Depending on who is writing the rankings, that may not be true.

JohnnyK

Oh and Penn's new President (Amy Gutmann) is a political scientist and certified polisci junkie (specializing in the very abstract theoretical stuff Penn's department currently lacks).

For her Presidential inauguration week, she had a week of symposiums and such on "Rising to the challenges of a diverse democracy." Clearly she eats and breathes this stuff

It is inevitable that she will direct more of the university's resources to beefing up the department that is near and dear to her heart.