The Department of Political Science provides rigorous and well-rounded undergraduate training in Pre-law, American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International Relations.
The Department of Political Science places great emphasis on the development of critical thinking, independent research, and writing skills, culminating in the completion of a Senior Thesis research project and term paper during the spring semester of the Senior year.
Many of our majors and minors have also been selected for participation in the University Scholars program, which involves rigorous independent research and writing. Students who are chosen for this program are awarded a generous stipend, and, in return, conduct independent interdisciplinary research over a period of many semesters. This research is then summarized in a "Scholars paper" and university-wide presentation each spring.
On this page PLSC students can find valuable political and governmental information, as well as resources for research and writing.
Seniors Jason Escamilla, Jessica Singh, and Adnan Mujagic presented their Senior Thesis research at the 2011 ACCA Symposium.
News & Current Events Websites
- Politico: http://www.politico.com/
- Real Clear Politics: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=nwa
- The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
- The Drudge Report: http://drudgereport.com/
- Salon: http://www.salon.com/
- The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/
- The Weekly Standard: http://www.weeklystandard.com/
- National Review: http://www.nationalreview.com/
- New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/
- Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/home-page
- The Hill: http://thehill.com/
Government Websites
- White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
- U.S. Senate: http://senate.gov/
- U.S. House of Representatives: http://house.gov/
- U.S. Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourt.gov/
- Illinois General Assembly: http://ilga.gov/
- Illinois Governor: http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/default.aspx
- Illinois Supreme Court: http://www.state.il.us/court/
- United Nations: http://www.un.org/en/
Law Resources
- Cornell Court Case Database: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/
- Oyez Court Case Database: http://www.oyez.org/
Documents
- U.S. Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html
- Illinois Constitution: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/conmain.htm
- Declaration of Independence: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
- Articles of Confederation:http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html
Academic Journal Archives & Search Engines
A wide variety of academic journal archives and search engines are available (on-campus and off-campus) via the Benedictine University library:
http://ben.edu/library/index.cfm
American Political Science Association Style Manual
http://www.ipsonet.org/data/files/APSAStyleManual2006.pdf
Symposia and Research Presentation Opportunities
- Associated College of the Chicago Area (ACCA): http://acca.cuchicago.edu/
- National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR): http://www.ncur.org/
Polling & Analytics
- American National Election Studies: http://www.electionstudies.org
- Gallup: http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx
- Quinnipiac Univ. Polling: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x271.xml
- Rasmussen Reports: http://www.rasmussenreports.com
- Pew Research Center: http://pewresearch.org
- Public Policy Polling: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com
- Rothenberg Political Report: http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.com
- Cook Political Report: http://cookpolitical.com
