Graduate Studies in American Politics

Studying American Politics at UNL prepares graduates for careers in academia, government, public policy, and the private sector. Our Ph.D. students interested in academia have secured jobs at research universities such as the University of Arizona and Indiana University as well as teaching institutions within the state and across the country. Outside academia, our Ph.D. and M.A. students have attracted the attention of employers in both the public and the private sectors for a diverse range of positions including policy analysts and data analysts.

Students can collaborate with many of the department’s faculty members, nearly half of whom have research and teaching interests in American politics. Faculty specialize in political behavior, public opinion, political psychology, biopolitics and political neuroscience, political institutions, state and local politics, and public policy. In addition to gaining substantive knowledge of American politics, faculty encourage students to focus on acquiring specialized skills that will enhance their marketability. Students can gain extensive teaching experience while developing data analysis skills through quantitative and qualitative methods training offered within and outside the department.

POLS 820, the Core Seminar in American Government, offers students an overview of the diversity and breadth of the major subfields of the American Politics literature. Students can delve more deeply into specific subfields of American Politics in POLS 920, the Seminar in American Government. This course covers topics like political behavior or political institutions. Students often pair an interest in American Politics with coursework in Political Psychology, and some also pursue a cross-departmental specialization in Ethnic Studies or Women's and Gender Studies.