Best Political Science Programs in Michigan for 2027

Michigan asks for two introductory prerequisites before you declare, chosen from political theory, American politics, comparative politics and world politics. The major is then at least 30 POLSCI credits at the 300 level or above, including two 400-level courses or one 400-level course and one upper-level writing course. You'll cover four of five subfields: political theory, American government, comparative politics, world politics and methodology. The department encourages a 400-level topics seminar in senior year. Honors runs through POLSCI 381, Political Science Research Design, which you take before senior year, followed by a two-semester Senior Honors Proseminar where you write the thesis with a faculty advisor.

Subfield Coverage

Four of five: political theory, American government, comparative politics, world politics, methodology

Advanced Coursework

Two 400-level courses, or one 400-level course plus one upper-level writing course

Honors Plan

POLSCI 381 Research Design, then POLSCI 493 and 494 Senior Honors Proseminar

Program Sources: Political Science Major | U-M LSA U-M College of LSA

Michigan State does not have one political science major. The department runs four, each with its own requirements and career implications: General Political Science, Pre-Law, Public Policy and World Politics. The General program is the flexible choice, and the department points it at students headed into politics, journalism, business or teaching, graduate study, or work with international agencies. You also satisfy university and college requirements, then pick electives until you reach the 120 credits needed for a degree. Internship programs and study away options are listed alongside the majors. The 2023–24 count was 126 degrees.

Four Majors

General Political Science, Pre-Law, Public Policy and World Politics

Degree Total

120 credits including university, college and department requirements

Experiential Options

Internship programs and study away

Program Sources: Undergraduate | Department of Political Science | Michigan State University

Hillsdale’s Politics major begins with the principles in the Declaration of Independence and the college’s mission statement, then reads through classical, medieval, modern and post-modern political philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle to Nietzsche and Heidegger. The emphasis is political philosophy and American political thought rather than a broad survey of subfields. Courses include Modern Political Philosophy II on idealism, historicism and nihilism, and a course on the tension between the City of God and the City of Man. Politics is offered as both a major and a minor.

Focus

Political philosophy and American political thought

Sample Course

Modern Political Philosophy II: Idealism, Historicism, Nihilism

Minor Option

Politics is also offered as a minor

Program Sources: Politics - Hillsdale College

Wayne State’s major requires at least 32 credits in the department beyond PS 1010 or 1030. Those include Introduction to Political Philosophy, at least four courses at the 3000 level or higher with one at the 4000 level, and a Writing Intensive course taken after two upper-level political science courses. Beyond that you can build a general program or concentrate in American government and politics, public law, public policy and administration, quantitative political analysis, comparative politics, world politics, or political philosophy and ethics. A concentration takes at least five related courses, and PS 3600, Methods of Political Inquiry, is recommended.

Writing Intensive Course

Taken after two upper-level political science courses

Concentrations

Seven optional areas, from public law to quantitative political analysis

Recommended Methods Course

PS 3600 Methods of Political Inquiry

Program Sources: Political Science (B.A.) | Wayne State University Academic Catalog

Grand Valley offers the political science major as either a BA or a BS, and experiential learning is a required part of it. Internships are the usual route, whether in Grand Rapids, elsewhere in Michigan or in Washington, D.C. through The Washington Center. The LEAP dual degree pairs the GVSU bachelor’s with a JD from Michigan State University College of Law. The department also houses the interdisciplinary International Relations major, so you can compare the two. Courses are taught by professors, not graduate students, and many feature debates, simulations and real-world problem solving.

Degree Options

BA or BS in political science

Experiential Learning

Required, usually an internship locally or in Washington, D.C.

Dual Degree

LEAP pairs the bachelor’s with a JD from Michigan State University College of Law

Program Sources: Prospective Students - Grand Valley Political Science Department

Michigan’s political science PhD includes law, courts, and politics as a distinct field alongside American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and research methods. Students complete major and minor preparation and an additional four-credit cognate outside those areas. Two preliminary examinations and coursework precede candidacy. In the following year, students write and defend a dissertation prospectus, using it to organize the research that leads to the final dissertation defense.

Cognate Coursework

Four credits outside the major and minor add breadth beyond the two main fields

Prospectus Defense

Students write and defend a dissertation prospectus in the year after achieving candidacy

Program Sources: Political Science PhD

Michigan State doctoral students choose one of five primary fields of study, American politics, comparative politics, international relations, public policy or political philosophy, and one of six secondary fields that adds research methods. Coursework totals at least 45 credits: three methods courses, four in the major field, three in the minor and five electives. You form a four-member Guidance Committee by the end of the first year and write a second-year paper that is article length and solo authored. Comprehensive field exams in the major field come before the fifth semester, then a dissertation proposal defense and the dissertation. Six degrees were conferred in 2023–24.

Coursework

At least 45 credits: methods, major field, minor field and electives

Second-Year Paper

Article-length, solo-authored original scholarship

Milestones

Comprehensive field exam, proposal defense and dissertation

Program Sources: Curriculum and Requirements | Department of Political Science | Michigan State University

Wayne State’s Ph.D. requires at least 64 graduate credits, 18 of them from the dissertation. You structure coursework around one major and one minor field chosen from American government, comparative politics, political theory, public administration, public policy or world politics. Candidacy usually takes at least two years of full-time study and calls for an approved Plan of Work, 40 credit hours of coursework, a preliminary oral exam after the second year and a dissertation committee. After qualifying exams you defend a prospectus. The program takes full-time and part-time students, including many mid-career professionals, and most finish within 5 to 6 years. Four degrees were awarded in 2023–24.

Credits

64 graduate credits, 18 of them dissertation

Fields

One major and one minor field from six options

Candidacy Steps

Plan of Work, preliminary oral exam, committee and prospectus

Program Sources: Political Science (Ph.D.) | Wayne State University Academic Catalog

The Ph.D. at Hillsdale’s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship trains you in two tracks: political philosophy, and American politics and political thought. Each has its own core courses, and you add a core course in the study of statesmanship and a three-hour doctoral humanities seminar. You also show reading competence in two foreign languages, one classical and one modern. A doctoral qualification evaluation draws on written and oral exams, a doctoral workshop comes in the fourth year, and the comprehensive exam is based on a set of core texts. You then complete and publicly present a substantial dissertation, all within an eight-year limit.

Two Tracks

Political philosophy; American politics and political thought

Languages

Reading competence in one classical and one modern language

Time Limit

All requirements within eight years

Program Sources: Doctor of Philosophy | Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship

Lansing Community College’s Political Science A.A. is written for students who plan to transfer and finish a bachelor’s degree. Completing it also satisfies the Michigan Transfer Agreement and qualifies you for an LCC Transfer Studies Certificate of Achievement. Major courses include POLS 120 American Political System, POLS 121 State and Local Government and POLS 201 Intro to Political Science, plus a choice between public policy and political philosophy and between comparative political systems and international relations. The college calls POLS 120 and POLS 201 the milestone courses, and you also take college algebra or statistics. A Political Science Student Association is on campus.

Milestone Courses

POLS 120 American Political System and POLS 201 Intro to Political Science

Transfer Agreement

Satisfies the Michigan Transfer Agreement

Course Choices

Public policy or political philosophy; comparative systems or international relations

Program Sources: Political Science - Lansing Community CollegePolitical Science A.A.