About the Department

From the very beginning, the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago has been a pioneer in the development of social scientific understandings of government and politics. Harold Gosnell, Harold Lasswell, Grant McConnell, Duncan MacRae, Charles Merriam, Hans Morgenthau, Herbert Storing, Leo Strauss, Leonard White, and Quincy Wright all taught at Chicago. Gabriel Almond, V.O. Key, Harold Lasswell, Robert Martin, Herman Pritchett, David Truman, and Herbert Simon—the first political scientist ever awarded a Nobel Prize for his intellectual achievements—all received their doctorates from Chicago. "The Chicago department was the cutting edge of development of the field of political science," Pritchett recalled of his days as a graduate student. "The students who were graduate students when I was became the leaders of the profession."

 

Much has changed at Chicago since Pritchett studied here, but fortunately the most important things have not. The University of Chicago and its Political Science Department have maintained the unabashed intellectualism, the disregard for disciplinary and subdisciplinary boundaries, the commitment to diversity of approach and method, and the pure appreciation of fine scholarship that have always been the distinguishing features of this institution. David Easton's recollections of the department ring true even today: "Chicago seemed like the Tiber River—violent rapids, churning, exciting, adventurous, and bubbling over with ideas. I felt as though I had come alive intellectually . . . . It was just one great intellectual high."

 

We the members of the department believe that Chicago is the most exciting and challenging university in the world. We hope you will come see for yourself.

Events

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) in recognition of a person whose published work and career represent a significant contribution to the art of government thro

Professor Wedeen has been named the Mary R. Morton Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science and the College. 

Professor Dawson is the 2023 Recipient of the award, presented by the American Political Science Association.

Professor Albertus's latest book, Property Without Rights, won honorable mention in the Riker Award for best book on political economy at APSA.

The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) has awarded Professor Dawson's book, "Behind the Mule", for stimulating theoretical and scientific research in public opinion and influe

News

Recent PhD graduate, Geneva Cole, has been awarded the Seymour Sudman Student Paper Award for "White Identity and Support for Racially Inclusive Political Projects".

Professor Hansen Discusses UChicago's Connection to the Manhattan Project in an interview with WTTW.

Three recent College alums, Chloe Duval, Adele Malle, & Elizabeth Zazycki, were selected for the Fulbright US Student Program, which aims to help American students build mutual understanding th

Foreign Affairs Asks the Experts: 

Did the Unipolar Moment Ever End?

Professor Howell's center will collaborate with the Sun-Times and WBEZ on a project to educate our community about the threat to our democracy and how we can form "a more perfect union", in the run