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| AQ Difference |
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| About the Department |
| From courses on News Media and Politics to Politics of Latin America to participation in the Model United Nations the AQ Political Science Department and its Faculty offer a range of courses and activities which introduce the student to how people behave in a political context. The Department offers both a major and a minor, and supports programs in Urban Studies, Community Leadership, International Studies and general education. In addition to offering Three Scholarships, the department is very involved in a number of professional and scholarly work, including hosting the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Michigan Political Science Conference of October, 2001. |
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| Fields of Study and Career Options |
| Political Science is a well respected liberal arts discipline that is much more than a basic civics lesson. At AQ the focus is on developing critical thinking and examination of power, participation, and authority as they influence various political structures and issues such as gender, elections, conflict, human rights and the environment. If politics is about who gets what, when, how and why, then at AQ we ask students to apply these questions at every possible angle to develop and seek truth, such as it is in the political realm. While truth may be an elusive concept, critical thinking and evaluation is nevertheless fundamental. This is why many Aquinas College Political Science graduates have gone onto outstanding careers in a variety of professions. See especially AQ Political Science Students and Graduates. |
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| AQ Political Science graduates are well educated individuals with highly developed critical thinking, written and oral communications skills. Additionally, our graduates are exposed to a wide variety of research tasks. They are prepared for a number of careers and/or admittance into graduate and professional schools. Graduates with high grade point averages, quality letters of reference from faculty, good performance on professional entry exams are very well situated for the career or graduate/professional school of their choice. |
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| Numerous graduates of AQ's Political Science Department have developed public service careers or have continued their formal education at some of the countries finest Universities. These include Harvard Law School, Cornell University, University of Michigan, William and Mary and Michigan State University. Some have gone on to become Judges, Congress people, and even college professors. For an extended list see AQ Political Science Students and Graduates. Internships are an important part of Career Development. Recent AQ political science students have held internships with: |
- US Congress
- Michigan State Legislature
- Federal Justice Department
- Federal Bureau of Investigations
- Grand Rapids City Manager's Office
- Public Defender's Office
- Kent Metro Planning Council
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Career options for Political Science majors are wide ranging. Jobs can be found in the federal government, state government, local and city governments. Many go on to work for International Organizations. Interest groups and associations hire people to do research, draft legislation and formulate and implement public policy. For more information contact either Professor Barkan or Professor Durham. |
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| Students and Graduates |
| Outstanding Senior Awards 2008 |
| Graduating seniors Tim Ramsey and Theresa Woodbridge have been honored as the Political Science Department's Outstanding Seniors for the 2007-2008 academic year. |
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| AQ Political Science majors have gone on to make significant contributions to society. Some have entered public life while others have made impacts through the private sphere. To enhance their study of Political Science we offer Three Scholarships. AQ has a very good record of placing our graduates in some of the best graduate and professional schools in the country. These include: |
| Graduate School: |
- Pat Miles, Jr. - Harvard Law School
- Doug Dooley - William and Mary Graduate School
- Jessica Kalmewicki - University of Michigan Law School
- Matt Perry - University of Michigan Law School
- Andrew Piper - University of Connecticut
- Chissey Mueller - American University and Kyoto University
- Nate Jonjevich - Cornell University
- Amy Jantovsky-Clapp - Michigan State University Detroit College of Law
- Aaron Caccamo - Central Michigan University
- Eric Zeemering - Indiana University
- Cheryl Kasprzyk - Michigan State University
- Robert Shefferly - Wayne State University Law School
- Lisa Bush - Western Michigan University
- Anthony Squiers - University of Manchester, England
- Marquise Blakeslee - Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
- Tim Lowe - Wayne State University Law School
- Chris Hekman - Wayne State University Law School
- Amanda Caldwell - Conflict Resolution Wayne State University
- Heather Brown - Purdue University
- Ragan Savara - Syracuse University Law School
- Matt Grabowski - Georgetown University
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| Public Sector: |
- Darryl Delabbio - Kent County Manager
- John Krajewski - Grand Rapids City Police Department
- Rick Chapla - The Right Place Program
- Amy Clapp - Assistant Prosecutor, Mecosta County Prosecutor's Office
- Jeremy Poindexter - Governor Engler's Office
- Denny Lieber - Circuit Court Judge
- Laurie Noall - Grand Rapids Urban League
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| From successful attorneys to judges to college professors to politicians, AQ Political Science graduates have made their mark. |
