UCLA Political Science

Instruction in Political Science began on September 14, 1920 with a staff of one assistant professor, Dr. Charles E. Martin, offering three year-long courses (Comparative Government, U.S. Foreign Policy, and International Law). Today the department is among the best in the country. The most recent ranking by the highly respected National Research Council ranks us nationally in the top ten. The UCLA Political Science Department is home to six members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, four Guggenheim Fellows, and many other prestigious honorees.

Our PhDs are competitive in every field at all types of institutions, and have been placed in tenure track jobs in top ten departments and the top five departments in American, Comparative, and International Relations.

The department's leadership in the field has recently been recognized by the arrival of the American Political Science Review, to be led by a collective editorship of department members.