Department of Political Science

Political Science
1414 Social Sciences Building
267 19th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Phone: 612-624-4144
Fax: 612-626-7599
E-mail: polisci@umn.edu

Chair: Raymond D. Duvall

Placement History

Our department has an excellent record of placing graduates in academic positions. During the past fifteen years virtually all our Ph.D.'s who were available for employment have been placed in professional (academic and non-academic) positions. During the 2008-09 job season, fifteen of our nineteen students on the market were placed (one decided to attend law school and three did not yet have their Ph.D.s in hand; we hope to place them this year). Academic appointments have included private universities such as Duke and Cambridge, public universities such as Wisconsin and Michigan, international universities such as Goteborg (Sweden) and Bogazici (Turkey) and private liberal arts colleges such as Williams College.

Among the reasons for the professional success of our graduates is the high quality of the students themselves, the breadth and depth of the education they receive at Minnesota, and the department's effective efforts in placement.

The faculty's view is that placement is a collective responsibility, rather than the sole responsibility of an adviser. A faculty Director of Placement, currently Professor David Samuels, is in charge of placement activities each year, and assists students in finding appropriate academic or non-academic employment. A small stipend is available to enable job candidates to attend conventions when they are seeking employment.

The following is a sampling of where our students have been placed in tenure-track positions over the past few years:

  • University of Pennsylvania (Postdoc) (2009)
  • University of Nebraska (2009)
  • Willamette (2009)
  • Dartmouth (Postdoc) (2009)
  • University of British Columbia
  • University of Michigan Society of Fellows (Postdoc) (2008)
  • Arizona State University (2008)
  • John Jay College (CUNY) (2008)
  • University of San Francisco (2008)
  • Barnard College, Columbia University (2008)
  • Washington State University (2008)
  • University of British Columbia (Postdoc) (2007)
  • Washington State University (2007)
  • Miami University of Ohio (2007)
  • San Francisco State (2007)
  • Universidad de los Andes (2007)
  • San Diego State University (2006)
  • San Jose State University (2005)
  • Bilgi University, Turkey (2006)
  • University of Wisconsin, Madison (2005)
  • Goteborg University, Sweden (2005)
  • East China Normal University (2004)
  • New York University (2003)
  • Bogazici University, Turkey (2003)
  • Cambridge University (2002)
  • Duke University (2002)
  • Wake Forest University (2002)
  • Williams College (2002)
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2001)
  • Texas A&M University (2001)