Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

From taxes to healthcare, politics impacts every aspect of your life. Choosing a career in political science positions you to shift the political conversation around the topics and issues you care about most. EKU’s online political science degree provides the critical skills needed to assume a variety of roles within political and government institutions – locally, nationally, or internationally – and prepares graduates to influence decision-making by applying proven theory to real-world problems. Graduates also find success in graduate and professional school programs including law, public administration, government, business, and homeland security.

Enhance your degree with an emphasis

Selecting an area of emphasis allows you to focus on your major coursework and gain additional skill sets in specific areas of future employment. Choose from:

• Public Administration/Public Policy
• International Relations and Comparative Politics
• American Institutions/Law

You can also choose from numerous minors and undergraduate certificates in specialty areas that complement and enhance your major as you work toward your degree.

What sets our program apart?

Providing an advanced understanding of U.S. and world politics, EKU’s curriculum blends academic and professional preparation through course topics such as comparative politics, American government, world politics, public administration, and public policy.

• Accelerated 8-week terms
• Courses begin 6 times per year
• Reduced tuition for active-duty military members
• Personalized graduation plan
• No campus visits required
• Free online tutoring and career services assistance
• Generous credit transfer policy
• Quality courses from respected political science department faculty who teach the same classes online and on-campus
• Ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the best universities offering online degrees

Why choose EKU?

EKU is a regionally accredited, brick-and-mortar university that is ranked among the nation's best colleges and has been educating students for more than a century. EKU has received numerous honors, including being named one of the best online colleges in the nation and one of the most veteran-friendly campuses.

About EKU

Eastern Kentucky University is in the midst of our most ambitious initiative in more than half a century. Our bold plans are driven by three priorities that anchor our strategic plan: student success, academic excellence, and campus revitalization.

Eastern Kentucky University is a regional, coeducational, public institution of higher education offering general and liberal arts programs, pre-professional and professional training in education, and various other fields at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Located in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, Eastern has a distinguished record of more than a century of educational service to the Commonwealth.

Situated near the heart of the Bluegrass, Richmond is served by a network of major highways that make Eastern easily accessible from all parts of Kentucky and surrounding states. Richmond is 26 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky. Interstate Highways I-75 (north-south) and I-64 (east-west) make the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, 112 miles to the north, and Louisville, 110 miles to the west, within convenient distance by automobile. Richmond is also served by U.S. Route 25 from Southeastern Kentucky and Kentucky Route 52 from the east and west. The Bluegrass, Mountain, Daniel Boone, and Cumberland Parkways provide even greater accessibility by automobile since the city is located near the convergence of these arterial highways into the interstate system.

Richmond, the county seat of Madison County, is one of the Commonwealth's fastest-growing cities, with about 33,000 residents. The community provides an excellent environment for the university student and boasts a regional shopping mall, theaters, live entertainment, fine dining, cultural events, and activities, as well as many areas of historic and scenic interest. Fort Boonesborough State Park, the birthplace of Kentucky, is located 12 miles to the north. Many other historical sites are within easy driving distance. Scenic and recreational areas surround this section of the state.

History

The Kentucky General Assembly of 1906 enacted legislation establishing the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School. Governor J.C. Beckham signed the bill into law on March 21, 1906. On May 7 of that year, the Normal School Commission, meeting in Louisville, selected the campus of the old Central University, founded in 1874 in Richmond, as the site of the new school. On June 2, 1906, Ruric Nevel Roark was chosen as President of the Normal School and the training of teachers was begun.

In 1922, Eastern became a four-year institution known as the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College. The first degrees were awarded by this institution in 1925. In 1928, the College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 1930, the General Assembly renamed the school the Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College.

In 1935, a graduate program was approved at Eastern, leading to the Master of Arts degree in Education. In 1948, the General Assembly removed the word "Teachers" from the name of the college and granted the college the right to award nonprofessional degrees.

The most significant day since its founding came for Eastern on February 26, 1966, when Governor Edward T. Breathitt signed into law a bill renaming the institution Eastern Kentucky University and sanctioning the awarding of graduate degrees in academic fields other than education.

During this period of time, Eastern Kentucky University has increased rapidly in size and stature. Beginning with a few students engaged in short review and certificate courses, the University today serves thousands of Kentuckians. The curriculum leads to associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and an expanding graduate program that currently offers degrees at the master's level in many other fields as well as the already well-established Master of Arts degree in Education and the various fifth- and sixth-year leadership programs in education, psychology, and technology. In addition to these programs, Eastern offers joint doctoral programs with cooperating institutions.

Ever-mindful of the purpose of its founding, Eastern continues to recognize its historic function of preparing quality teachers for the elementary and secondary schools of the Commonwealth. However, a strong liberal arts curriculum leading to appropriate degrees, together with pre-professional courses in several areas and graduate programs, enable Eastern to serve the Commonwealth as a regional university.

Purpose

Within its statutory responsibilities, Eastern Kentucky University seeks to provide intellectual and cultural opportunities that will develop habits of scholarship and intellectual curiosity, provide a deep understanding of American democracy and the citizen's role in maintaining its strength and vitality, impart an understanding of humans and their aspirations, enable effective and efficient communication, and prepare productive and responsible citizens. The University will remain responsive and flexible in order to serve in unique and needed ways.

Within these general responsibilities and purposes, the University is dedicated to three specific functions -- high-quality instruction, scholarship, and service, and places emphasis on the three in that order. Through its colleges and schools, the University seeks to offer quality instruction at a variety of degree levels in general education, the arts, the sciences, business, education, pre-professional and professional areas, and applied and technical disciplines. Through consultative services, continuing education, and the extended campus, the University seeks to provide service to the community and the region. The research seeks both to advance knowledge in the subject matter areas with which the University is concerned and to support the primary function of teaching.

Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Welcome from the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Eastern Kentucky University.

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is committed to providing leadership, education, and resources in support of Eastern Kentucky University’s commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive campus community. As an institution, we recognize that institutional excellence depends on how well we value, engage, and include the diversity of our campus community. The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides strategic leadership for efforts directed towards embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into the institution’s recruiting, admissions, hiring, and promotion processes; into its curriculum and co-curriculum, and into its administrative structures and practices.

We also strive to cultivate a sense of belonging by creating and sustaining a campus community that embraces diversity, achieves equitable outcomes, and models inclusiveness through opportunities for everyone to fully participate in the life of the university. We are an innovative team committed to improving campus climate and preparing students to lead in an increasingly diverse world.