University of Minnesota
Department of Political Science
polisci@umn.edu
612-624-4144


Department of Political Science

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Make a Gift

Make a gift to the Department of Political Science online.

You Make Us Great

The Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota ranks among the top 15 in the United States.

Members of the department's outstanding faculty—from internationally recognized scholars and teachers to rising stars—have long been in the vanguard of the discipline, helping us understand political systems and political life both domestically and internationally. They have earned their reputations observing and analyzing the global political landscape, including political systems in the United States and abroad; researching political belief systems, political attitudes and behavior, and political and social cognition and communication; and studying political tolerance, citizenship, human rights, geopolitical issues, and political participation. Their interests range from why people vote the way they do to how political systems are constituted and how they evolve.

With your tax-deductible contribution we will continue to excel at educating leading teachers and scholars, policymakers, local and national leaders, and global citizens.

What Your Gift Can Do

Your generous support for the Department of Political Science is more critical than ever. It helps us attract and retain the very best scholars and students despite decreasing funding from the state.

Your contribution allows us to ensure:

  • A distinguished faculty
    Creating endowed chairs and professorships and supporting interdisciplinary research centers and programs will help us recruit and retain outstanding faculty.
  • Excellence and competitiveness of our graduate program
    Faculty choose institutions that attract the best graduate students. We need to ensure the excellence and competitiveness of our graduate programs so that we may compete for the best faculty and brightest students.
  • A diverse and engaged undergraduate student body
    Although we are attracting better students than even before, too many other outstanding students choose other institutions—often for financial reasons. Merit and need-based scholarships are needed to recruit many outstanding students.

Choose a Fund

To remain competitive, we need your support for graduate student fellowships and faculty research funds. We have several endowed funds that may interest you.

  • Frank J. Sorauf Graduate Fellowship to support graduate students in American politics.
  • Robert & Shirley Holt Discovery Fellowship to support graduate students.
  • Political Science Fund
  • Charles Backstrom Scholarship Fund: Scholarship to support undergraduates majoring in Political Science.
  • A. I. Johnson Memorial Scholarship: Scholarship to support undergraduates who plan to pursue a career in public service.
  • Andy Dickinson Memorial Fellowship: Fellowship to support a full-time graduate student to conduct short-term doctoral research.

Your contribution provides students with encouragement and financial support. It gives faculty resources for enlarging knowledge and understanding and it helps to maintain a distinguished reputation for the department.

Give Online

Make a gift to the Department of Political Science online

For more information on ways to give, contact:

Portrait: Michael Russell
Michael Russell
CLA External Relations
220 Johnston Hall
101 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Email: russell@umn.edu
Phone: 612-626-5140

For other giving options, visit the U of M Foundation.