A very special congratulations to Camalah Saleh who has been selected as the University President's Undergraduate Medalist!

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Congratulations to our outstanding graduating students!

Outstanding Undergraduate Student and Dean's Medalist, Camalah Saleh 

Camalah Saleh is a double major in political science and communication and is graduating with a 4.0 GPA. She is a Smittcamp Presidential Honors Scholar, a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society, and participated in the College of Social Sciences Honors Program at Fresno State. Her honors project examined the role of dark money and campaign financing in local elections. She also served as the ASI President during her senior year. Outside of campus, Camalah was selected for two highly competitive undergraduate academic programs - the Next Gen/Public Policy Institute of America (PPIA) Summer Policy Academy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders (SIEML) at the University of California, Riverside. Camalah was a Truman Scholar finalist and was selected as Fresno State's first-ever Schwarzman Scholar. She was one of only 150 scholars selected from over 5,800 applicants worldwide. After graduation, she will be joining a cohort of Schwarzman scholars studying global affairs at China's top-ranked university, Tsinghua University in Beijing. 

 

Outstanding Graduate Student, Devany Prieto

During her time in the MPA Program, Devany has embodied graduate student excellence. Her MPA Capstone project was titled “One Big Brutal Bill: An Analysis of H.R. 1’s Intentional Impact on SNAP.” Her project examined the legislative intent behind cutting federal benefits to society’s most vulnerable, and the ripple effects that are likely to be felt throughout the economy due to the policy. In addition to being a graduate student, she is also a dedicated public servant who works for the California Department of Social Services. 

Svenson Award Winner, Mia Zamora

Mia Zamora is a Smittcamp Presidential Honors Scholar, a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society, and participated in the College of Social Sciences Honors Program at Fresno State. She is graduating with a 3.96 GPA. Mia has served as the President of the Fresno State Student League of Women Voters for the past two years and served as the VP before that. Mia has been an active researcher during her time in the department, working on projects related to transportation policies in the Central Valley and Artificial Intelligence, and has presented at multiple research symposiums. After graduation, Mia will attend the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. 

 

Fresno State Political Science students recently competed in the Model United Nations. Read about it in Fresno State Today.

 

Political science majors in Sacramento

Welcome!

Political science is more than just examining government structures and discussing elites currently in office. It is the study of who has the power to make laws for a society, the institutional structures that guide how this power is used, who benefits and who loses when this power is used, and the relationship between power and policy in a society. Political science students therefore study voting, elections, the structures of government institutions, and how governments around the world differ and interact.

Our diverse faculty hold degrees from some of the most prestigious universities in the country.  They are specialists in local, national, and international politics. Faculty have published research and teach classes on American politics, environmental politics, the philosophy of law, public policy, comparative politics, and international relations. See a list of recent faculty publications.

We offer a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration. Our students have gone on to work in city, county, and state government, and a variety of other careers in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Many now work in Washington, D.C. or around the world. Several have even been elected or appointed to public office.  Others have gone on to law school and doctoral programs in political science, including the following:

Direct all questions, comments, and complaints about this webpage to Dr. Holyoke.

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