For nearly sixty years, the Department of Political Science has been providing educational opportunities for University of Dayton undergraduate students who have gone on to become leaders in the worlds of politics and business, lawyers, and educators. Starting with only two faculty members in 1938, the Department of Political Science has grown to include 11 full-time faculty members who offer courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The department has approximately 240 undergraduate majors pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree who take courses in the following general areas of political science: American government, comparative government, international relations, research methods, political theory, law, public administration, and public policy. The department offers more than 60 upper level courses during a typical two year academic course cycle, along with special seminars and a variety of internships. Students having completed a sufficient number of hours with a strong grade point average may take one of the following internships: the legal internship; the government or public service internship; the congressional internship in Washington, D.C.; or the human rights internship.

The department's 36 hour undergraduate program is designed to introduce students fully to the discipline of political science, offer them the flexibility to pursue a variety of career objectives, and to acquire the skills necessary to be successful in graduate and law school, the workplace, and in life.

For more than thirty years, the department has also offered a master's degree in public administration. This program has provided numerous public sector professionals for the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and the greater Miami Valley. The M.P.A. is a thirty-six hour program which includes five core courses to introduce students to the field and seven courses in which students construct a program to meet their professional and personal needs. The majority of students are already employed in various parts of the public and private sector (in-service students). A significant number of students also enter the program with no practical public sector experience (pre-service students). Pre-service students complete an internship during their program of study which provides them with practical experience as well as contacts in the region.

The department is located in architecturally-stunning St. Joseph's Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. Inside, St. Joe's is a modern building having been completely remodeled after a fire in 1987. Departmental facilities include a state-of the art master classroom, a micro-computer lab, and modern seminar rooms.

As articulated in the department's Mission Statement, the Department of Political Science is "...dedicated to providing the depth and breadth required for our majors, the flexibility needed to serve non-majors, and the skill and expertise to reach out into the communities we serve. We must leave people we serve with a stronger ability to understand, maintain, change or otherwise influence in a positive manner the social and political structures and processes that influence our lives."