Best Political Science Programs in Utah for 2027

BYU puts research near the beginning of its 44-credit major. Political Inquiry leads into a project in American politics, comparative politics, international relations, public policy, or political theory. You'll also take Statistical Analysis and choose an additional skills course, with options including data visualization, survey methods, and computer programming. That sequence gives you practice investigating political questions before you fill out the rest of your upper-level electives and complete the required political philosophy course.

Early Research Sequence

Political Inquiry leads into a required project in a political science subfield

Analytical Skills

Statistical Analysis plus a skills elective such as data visualization, survey research or programming

Program Sources: Political Science BA

Four emphases shape political science at the University of Utah: Community Involvement & Nonprofit Leadership, International Politics, Law and Politics, and Public Policy. The catalog describes the field as the study of how power is exercised at local, state, national and international levels, using historical, statistical and philosophical methods. You can earn a BA or a BS, and a combined path with the Master of Public Policy is approved. Utah awarded 131 degrees in this major in 2023–24, which makes it one of the larger options on its state page.

Emphases

Community Involvement & Nonprofit Leadership, International Politics, Law and Politics, Public Policy

Degree Types

Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science

Combined Degree

BA/BS Political Science and Master of Public Policy

Program Sources: POLSBABS Program | University of Utah Catalog

Utah State has you pick two of four areas and go deep: nine upper-division credits in one and six in the other. The choices are U.S. government and policy, international relations, comparative politics and political theory, and each area begins with its own introductory course. Fifteen credits of required courses come first, and six upper-division electives finish the 36-credit major. Directed readings and internship credits are each capped at three toward those electives. In 2023–24, 46 students graduated with this degree.

Area Requirement

Two of four areas, with nine upper-division credits in one and six in the other

Major Size

36 credits within a 120-credit degree

Elective Limits

No more than three credits each of directed readings and internship

Program Sources: POLS_BA_BS Program | Utah State University Catalog

Both versions of the UVU degree share a core of American government, international relations, comparative politics, political theory and a Political Analysis course. The BS then adds a 12-credit quantitative requirement, with survey research, experimental methods, qualitative analysis and policy analysis among the options, while the BA adds 16 credits of a foreign language. You choose one of six 18-credit emphases, including Indian Affairs Administration and Peace & Justice Studies, and finish with either a senior seminar or an internship. UVU awarded 50 degrees in this major in 2023–24.

Emphases

American Government, Global Politics, Indian Affairs Administration, Peace & Justice Studies, Public Administration & Policy, Public Law & Political Philosophy

BS Quantitative Requirement

12 credits, including Political Analysis II

Finish

Senior Seminar or Internship

Program Sources: Political Science Program Requirements | UVU

Southern Utah’s major folds political philosophy, public administration, law, international relations and American government into one program, available as a BA or a BS. The hands-on side includes study abroad, internships with government agencies and undergraduate research, and students help produce the department’s peer-reviewed journal. The department is shared with criminal justice, and student groups include the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society, the Legal Studies Student Association and an intramural mock trial competition. In 2023–24, 28 students earned the degree.

Degree Options

BA or BS in Political Science

Experiential Learning

Study abroad, government agency internships and undergraduate research

Student Journal

Critical Issues in Justice and Politics

Program Sources: Political Science Bachelor's Degree (BA/BS) - SUU

Weber State asks for 39 credit hours in the major, a C or better in every major course, and either a minor or a double major alongside it. Inside the major you can lean toward American politics, global politics or political theory. Beyond the classroom, the Model UN team and Moot Court are open to students, and you can spend a semester in Washington, D.C. or Salt Lake City working with Utah’s legislators. A faculty advisor meets with every declared major or minor. Weber awarded 16 degrees in this program in 2023–24.

Major Size

39 credit hours with a C or better in each course

Pairing Requirement

A minor or double major

Applied Options

Model UN, Moot Court and a semester with Utah legislators

Program Sources: Political Science MajorPolitical Science Major

Westminster starts you with Explorations in Politics and Courts, Law, and Social Justice, then requires four upper-division courses: Issues in Global Politics, Political Philosophy, Research Methods and a Senior Capstone. You choose two more from Congress and the Presidency, Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties, and Law, Politics, and Bureaucracy. The major includes eight credit hours of a single world language, and the catalog strongly recommends taking Modern Statistics. An internship of up to eight credits is one of the electives. Four students completed the degree in 2023–24.

Required Upper-Division Courses

Global Politics, Political Philosophy, Research Methods and Senior Capstone

Language Requirement

Eight credit hours in a single world language

Elective Option

Internship for 1 to 8 credits

Program Sources: Political Science Program Requirements - Academic CatalogPolitical Science Program Requirements - Academic Catalog

Coursework at Utah runs through a departmental core of Approaches to the Study of Politics, statistics, quantitative analysis and a second methods course, then moves into major and minor fields chosen from American politics, comparative politics, international relations and political theory. A five-person supervisory committee, including one member from outside the department, approves your course of study. After at least nine department graduate courses you sit written and oral comprehensive exams, then have a year to defend a dissertation proposal and three years to defend the dissertation. The department awarded four doctorates in 2023–24.

Departmental Core

Approaches to the Study of Politics, statistics, quantitative analysis and a second methods course

Milestones

Comprehensive exams, dissertation proposal defense, public dissertation defense

Supervisory Committee

Five faculty, including one from outside political science

Program Sources: Doctoral Degrees - Department of Political ScienceDoctoral Degrees - Department of Political Science

Snow College’s AS in Political Science is a 60-credit degree with three major courses: American National Government, Introduction to International Relations and Introduction to Comparative Politics. The rest is general education, and the college points you to a suggested plan of study that adds the prerequisites a bachelor’s degree will need at a transfer school. The AA has the same requirements plus a 1020-level foreign language course, though Snow recommends the AS. Program outcomes include assessing the causes and consequences of different forms of political participation. Nine students completed it in 2023–24.

Major Courses

American National Government, International Relations and Comparative Politics

AA Option

Same requirements plus a 1020-level foreign language course

Planning Tool

A suggested plan of study for transfer preparation

Program Sources: Political Science (AS) | Snow College Academic Catalog

Salt Lake Community College offers a two-year AS alongside stand-alone courses, with a course list that runs from US Government & Politics and Intro to International Politics to Political Ideologies, The United States of Inequality and Intro to Public Service. For hands-on time, the program administers internships, and the department names the University of Utah as the main transfer school for its political science majors. It also points you to the Utah Transfer Guide for checking which courses carry over to other schools in the state system. In 2023–24, 21 students earned the degree.

Internships

Administered by the Political Science program

Transfer Pathway

University of Utah is the main transfer school, with the Utah Transfer Guide for checking credits

Sample Courses

Political Ideologies, The United States of Inequality, Intro to Public Service

Program Sources: Political Science | SLCC