Welcome to the Department of Political Science at The University of Memphis.

The Department of Political Science at The University of Memphis offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Masters of Arts (MA) in Political Science. We also offer a dual MA/JD in partnership with the Cecil C. Humphrey's School of Law. Graduates of our programs are prepared for careers in academia, law, government, business, and teaching, and are given the tools of effective leadership.

Both our undergraduate and graduate programs emphasize two areas: International Affairs and Civic Leadership, Political Thought and Justice. These focus areas embody the compelling educational and institutional priorities associated with global and domestic engagement and social responsibility in an increasingly interdependent and unequal world. Supporting our university's role as an urban research institution, we embrace its strategic academic goal of contributing to the intellectual, economic, and social well being of the community, state, nation and world.

International Affairs involves faculty with expertise in international relations and comparative politics. In an increasingly interdependent world, we are no longer citizens of isolated countries. Rather, we are all affected by a global web of interrelated political, economic, and cultural concerns. In both research and teaching, the faculty of the Department of Political Science make valuable contributions to the understanding of the world in which we live. Specifically, our faculty teaches and conducts research on U.S. foreign policy, human rights, democracy, social movements, and the global economy.

Civic Leadership, Political Thought and Justice involves faculty with expertise in political theory, American politics, and international relations and comparative politics. Here, the emphasis in research and teaching is to enhance understanding of the workings of local, state, national and global communities and provide a firm foundation for an informed citizenry. Some of our faculty approach the study of politics from a philosophical perspective, and focus on goals, rules, context and law. Others emphasize the role of American political behavior and institutions in affecting social change, justice and policy within the urban and national setting. Still others approach civic leadership and justice from a global perspective, focusing on human rights, democratization, and economics as pervasive catalysts for change in the international community.

Our faculty is outstanding. They publish in the discipline's top journals and presses, are recognized as accomplished teachers, and are active within the University Our faculty has a rich history of being recipients of research awards, such as the Early Career Research Award, CAS Distinguished Research Award, CAS Award for Advising Excellence, and the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Research. Our faculty members have received New Faculty Research Initiation Awards, Faculty Research Grants, Professional Development Assignments, and external grants and research opportunities such as those with the National Science Foundation, the W.T. Grant foundation, and the U.S. Fulbright award. They are also very active within the profession as members of professional associations and reviewers of articles, books, and grants.

I hope you find these web pages to be a useful introduction to our programs and faculty. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Cordially,

Dr. Shannon Lindsey Blanton, Department Chair