The Department’s Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Political Science at the University at Buffalo, SUNY is to be nationally recognized as a center of excellence in four fields of political science: American government and politics, international relations, comparative politics, and public law. In keeping with The State University of New York’s mission “to provide the people of New York educational services of the highest quality, with the broadest possible access,” the department seeks to fulfill its mission by: 1. conducting and disseminating high impact, theoretical and methodologically rigorous research in the above four areas of political science, 2. preparing graduate students to be researchers and teachers at universities, colleges, and research institutes or practitioners in related professions, 3. providing undergraduate political science majors with both a broad and deep understanding of government and politics as well as the analytical skills by which this knowledge is acquired and the communication skills necessary to convey it to others, and 4. offering both introductory and advanced political science courses that are enlightening to undergraduate students in other majors.