Political Science
We are committed to students
Political science trains you to apply concepts and theory to real-world problems, to synthesize disparate and complex ideas, to communicate in diverse ways and to debate ideas passionately and respectfully. We are committed to teaching students to learn, so that they're equipped to be engaged citizens and leaders, able to respond with others to the critical issues of our time.
Programs + People
Undergraduate Program
Political Science is so much more than how a bill becomes a law! We study politics to make sense of the world in times of peace and stability and in times of crisis and change. We work to understand fundamental ideas like power, colonialism, justice, democracy, oppression, freedom, or citizenship. We apply this knowledge to spaces as different as the halls of Parliament, international borders, public protests, and social media sites. Political Science has the second-largest major in the Faculty of Arts, with over 600 students enrolled.
Graduate Program
Our department includes about 65 graduate students across four programs: PhD, MA thesis-based, MA course-based, and MA in Policy Studies. Their research interests are diverse, but include, for example, themes in Middle East politics, settler colonialism, immigration and borders, climate politics, or Canadian public policy. Some of our advanced doctoral students also work as course instructors, while most of our graduate students serve as Teaching or Research Assistants.
People
The Department of Political Science is a friendly and vibrant community of 20 core academic faculty members with research interests in all areas of the discipline, as well as our valued academic instructors and administrative staff members. There are clusters of faculty working on more specific themes: Indigenous politics and decolonization; the politics of resource extraction and energy transition; political economy and globalization; the politics of gender; ethnic politics and migration; and the politics of the Middle East. The department is also home to three Canada Research Chairs, the , and a Henry Marshall Tory Chair.
Fall Term 2025
W 1:00 - 3:50 P.M.
POLS 470/540: Ethics & Governance of Artificial Intelligence
In response to ethical and practical concerns about how artificial intelligence (AI) is developed and used, many governments and organizations have created policies and regulations intended to address the risks of AI. This seminar will introduce students to the challenges that AI poses for ethics and governance.
Blair Attard-Frost
Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Department of Political Science. We are proud to be one of the leading political science departments in the country. We are a welcoming and diverse community of faculty and students. We are committed to excellent teaching and mentorship and developing reflective and critical citizens. Our award-winning faculty undertake innovative and interdisciplinary research that addresses the emerging challenges that our societies face. Today, political science is more important than ever. The work that we do here helps us not only examine the past, but understand our present to navigate the risks and opportunities and chart a course forward in a rapidly transforming world.
Lori Thorlakson
Chair, Department of Political Science
News + Events
Alberta Has Real Work to Do. Separatist Dreams Just Distract
Jared Wesley comments in this article about the growing mood in Alberta.
Giving
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