Politics and Law

Students in the Department of Politics and Law earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. We prepare students to address fundamental questions regarding the constitutional, legal, institutional, demographic, and political structures in the United States. Our curriculum emphasizes skills in research design, research methods, public policy analysis, and legal analysis. We prioritize the use of primary source materials such as government bills and proposals, public policy white papers, court opinions and briefs, popular news sources, polling and survey data, and academic literature. Our coursework focuses on building communication skills by emphasizing the importance of careful reading, precise research, clear writing, thoughtful discussions, and polished presentations. 

Students are prepared for a variety of careers in government service, public policy, law, education, criminal justice, business, education, and journalism. Recent political science graduates have secured positions with the Federal Reserve Bank, the American Way, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Republican National Committee, the Democratic Leadership Conference, the State Department, Teach for America, secondary schools, banks, public policy organizations, advocacy groups, various government agencies, a wide variety of law firms across the country, consulting firms, Congressional committees, public interest groups, academic departments of colleges and universities, and private lobbying firms. Graduates are regularly hired to work in the offices of state and national senators and representatives.

For those pursuing advanced degrees, recent graduates have attended law schools including Harvard, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Tulane, University of Alabama, University of Chicago, University of Georgia, University of Tennessee, University of Texas, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, Washington and Lee, and Washington University, among others.

Additionally, recent graduates have pursued advanced degrees in political science at Boston College, University of Texas, University of Wisconsin, University of Virginia, Harvard, and Brandeis University, as well as in fields like public administration, business, journalism, education, history, and even medicine.

We encourage our students to pursue opportunities to learn outside of the classroom by interning in offices and organizations related to public affairs, political advocacy, public policy, and law, at the local, state, and national levels. 

Our faculty also direct the national award winning Mock Trial program, and advise the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature.

We invite and encourage you to browse through the pages of our site. You′ll find information about the political science major and minor, get examples of what some of our graduates are doing today, and so much more, including the Honors in Political Science; our Study in Washington, D.C., program; and postgraduate careers. You should also feel free to contact any of us to learn more about our program and the college.