World-class resources. A wide range of fields and methodologies. Groundbreaking research. And the biggest reason of all: strength in teaching and community life.
Harvard University’s Department of Government is home to a vibrant intellectual community of political science scholars, researchers, visionaries, leaders, and changemakers. Our dedication to excellence and our strength in teaching and research in all fields of political science is reflected in both our faculty and our curriculum.
Harvard University is a world leader in the study and scholarship in political science. The University’s Department of Government programs of study include:
- American Politics
- Comparative Politics
- International Relations
- Political Philosophy and Its History
- Political Methodology/Formal Theory
We have strength in teaching and research not only in the four main fields of political science—American Politics, Political Theory, Comparative Politics, and International Relations—but also in Quantitative Methods and Formal Theory. In addition, our approaches include Historical Institutionalism, Political Economy, Race, Ethnicity and Politics and Social Policy. With 165 Ph.D. students, over 400 undergraduate concentrators and a range of visiting scholars and postdoctoral fellows, our academic community is energized by a broad and changing spectrum of interests, backgrounds, and approaches. The different backgrounds and perspectives within our community strengthen the intellectual and social life of the department.
Our graduate program trains students for careers in advanced research and education in political science. Our Ph.D. candidates receive hands-on training by conducting supervised dissertation research and by working with faculty in research projects and undergraduate teaching. Our diverse graduate student body benefits from all the intellectual opportunities at Harvard: the robust programs in political science and cognate disciplines; some of the top international studies centers in the world; and a remarkable array of research institutes and seminars that draw scholars from around the globe.
The Government Department has the third largest concentrations in Harvard College. We offer an extraordinary range of political studies and approaches to them. Here, you can go from the Politics of Inequality to the Politics of Climate Change, from Democratization to Democratic Resilience, from Democratic Ethics to Feminism, from the Political Economy of Trade to Identity and Political Participation. Together our faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate concentrators comprise the dynamic community of political science scholars and students at Harvard.