abeattie

Hey there! I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, I didn't realize anyone had signed my guestbook (just been too caught up in the election!) Anyway, in regard to Political Science Degree, I'll hopefully be taking it to law school. I'm in my last quarter at the UW right now, and am planning on taking a year or two off (hopefully going down to New Orleans and doing Teach for America) before doing what 90% of poli sci majors do- law school. There are a few differences between international relations and Poli Sci- and I can only speak for UW, as I'm sure other schools have varied programs. As I see it, IR is essentially the history of the world. There is alot covered in short periods of time, which can be frustrating to those who chose to study. You can also zero in on a region in IR to study it more in depth. Poli Sci is more theory/cause and effect based. The three founding theories of the political world (realism, marxism, and liberalism) and their explanations for why certain things happen (namely conflict). There is also much history, but I feel as if Poli Sci often is more applicable to the now, where as IR is more history based. Granted, I may have a bit of bias. Either way, being a scholar of political science is a lot of fun, especially during election years. Basically there's no better time to be in the field than right now :) Let me know if you have any other questions along the way, about poli sci, UW or whatever. Good luck in your senior year, it's a good one- you'll never be as big of a deal as you are now (at least if you chose to go to a big school- you'll soon be just a number)- so take that opportunity to make a difference in your social network! Best of luck!