Political Science Department

 

Welcome prospective and current students!
Please see information about the department below; you are also encouraged to email Political Science if you have further questions.

Accreditation

In March 2026, a visiting panel of distinguished scholars from Brown University, Oregon State University, Pomona College, and Wellesley College described our program as follows:

The Political Science department at Reed embodies at the highest level the liberal arts college model of teaching, scholarship and service. Faculty members are highly accomplished scholars who publish widely and in many of the top venues of the discipline, and who contribute in significant ways through leadership and service to the profession. They are also outstanding and committed teachers, whose students consistently affirm the success of the department's curriculum in equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to enrich their minds and to succeed professionally, and in supporting their path through the major in a welcoming climate. Students also remark on how much they appreciate the close relationships they develop with faculty members during their time on campus. The quality of courses offered by the department is very high and the intensive efforts devoted to student advising are remarkable. The department’s curriculum builds in a cumulative and effective way from required introductory courses to a substantial offering of more specialized upper division courses. Through the qual exam, the junior seminar, the new in-house quantitative methods course, and the thesis process, the department provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to conduct independent research and supports them effectively in the process of doing it. The members of the review committee came away from our visit newly inspired in our own teaching by what we saw in the Political Science department at Reed.