Department Homepage
The College of Arts & Sciences
As a government major, you’ll learn how to think and write rigorously and creatively about issues of public life. You’ll have the choice of courses in four subfields: American politics (the political behavior, policies and institutions of the U.S.), comparative politics (the institutions and political processes of other nations), political theory and philosophy (normative theories of politics and history of political thought) and international relations (transactions between states, international organizations and transnational actors).
Course offerings reflect the breadth of faculty expertise in this exciting and growing discipline, and the study of Government at Cornell trains students with skills that are in high demand in public service, business, law, the non-profit sector, and many other professions. Our introductory courses in American politics, comparative politics, political theory, and international relations introduce students to the major tools and approaches to the study of politics. From there, students apply these tools to understand the many facets of public life, from contemporary political thought to campaigns and elections, public policy, conflict and peace, and beyond. The Department of Government not only offers a major program, but also an honors program and two minors.
The graduate program in Government at Cornell prepares students for academic and research careers in political science. All students admitted to the program are expected to earn a doctoral degree. Completion of the Ph.D. program normally requires two-to-three years of full-time course work at Cornell and several additional years of dissertation research and writing.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the TikTok case reflects an inclination to make its mark on a potentially landmark decision – how to balance constitutional freedoms against national security in an era of globalized technology."
Read more
The Brooks Tech Policy Institute has received $3 million from the Department of Defense to establish the U.S. Semiconductor Research Hub, which will assess and improve the resilience of the global network of semiconductor infrastructure.
Read more
A Cornell professor’s election forecasting model correctly picked Trump’s win this year in all 50 states – and would have correctly predicted 95% of states in every election since 2000.
Read more
Kenyan women are taking to the streets and calling for President Ruto to declare femicide a national crisis following the murders of 97 women over three months; professor Sabrina Karim sees it as part of a global trend.
Read more
This month’s featured titles include a history Harlem by a government alum and a prof’s memoir about his education under Apartheid.
Read more
Danielle Obisie-Orlu, doctoral student in government with a focus on international relations, studies how memory and migration shape international relations and affairs under the guidance of Oumar Ba.
Read more
Cornell government and history scholars provide perspective on the end of 14 years of civil war and 24 years of the Assad dictatorship.
Read more
We are one step closer to a world where TikTok will no longer be available on app stores, says Sarah Kreps, professor of government and law and director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell.
Read more