Political Science is for, as we say, people who care to matter. That’s because our classes and our faculty study power, which affects everyone’s life, whether in the family, the workplace, business, or government.

If you want to change something at Kent State, in your community, or in the world, you need to understand how power is distributed and wielded—that’s what we do here. Whether your interests lie in the fight for democratic freedoms, human rights, the global environment, racial equality, social welfare, or some other vital cause, we will help you study it and engage it.

Students in our BA program can choose a general Political Science major or from three distinct “concentrations” in order to focus their studies: American Politics, International Relations/Comparative Politics, and Public Policy. Students in our MA and PhD program have three areas of concentration to choose from: American Politics, Transnational-Comparative Politics, and Conflict Analysis and Management. In addition, the department offers a Master of Public Administration (MPA) for those looking for an applied graduate degree.

We also offer unique internship programs in Columbus, Ohio, and Washington, DC, where students can gain practical and professional experience.

Our full-time faculty are committed to meeting the needs of students while expanding the frontiers of political knowledge through their research in all areas of political science. Our staff in 302 Bowman Hall is always on hand to provide more information – or to steer you in the right direction of the professor down the hall.

I hope to see you soon in one of our classrooms or at a campus event! Feel free to contact me at amolina4@kent.edu if you’d like more information about Poli Sci at KSU.

Anthony Molina
Department Chairperson


Students of political science engage matters that affect our individual and collective well-being. Our focus as a field is finding answers for how we can help solve challenges facing whole communities: human rights, the environment, racial equality, social welfare, access to a democratic system. Our focus as a department is to empower our students, so that they can help their communities, be they local or global, addressing these and other issues as professionals well beyond our campus.

The Department of Political Science benefits from more than twenty full-time faculty members who excel in classroom instruction, research, and mentoring. Six of our faculty members have been recognized for their teaching excellence by winning University-wide teaching awards. University res

Our curriculum is designed to help students develop advanced writing, presentation, research design, and analysis skills, making them competitive across a range of professions. Concentrations allow students to focus their studies or pursue a more general degree. Our 15-credit, semester-long internship programs in Columbus and D.C. and 3-credit option for local internships allow students to apprentice in the professional world. Finally, alumni in the private and public sectors across the country and around the globe provide students with access to a network of professionals, ready to offer advice.

Dr. Steven Wallace Hook passed away peacefully, on September 24, at the age of 63, in Kent, OH as a result of frontotemporal dementia. At his death, Dr. Hook was the preeminent writer of American foreign policy textbooks in the English language. His legacy lives on every day through the knowledge he helped instill in his students, and the department he helped build. 

Contact Us

Email: polisci@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-2060
Fax: 330-672-3362

DEPARTMENT CHAIRPERSON
Dr. Anthony Molina

UNDERGRADUATE COORDINATOR
Dr. Michael Ensley

GRADUATE COORDINATOR
Dr. Daniel Chand 

MPA COORDINATOR
Dr. Daniel Hawes