About the Department
Politics in Context
The Politics Department at UC Santa Cruz is committed to empirical and theoretical research situated in history and culture. Scholars in the department emphasize fine-grained, interdisciplinary, empirical, and archival research. They employ critical and interpretive approaches, studying the politics of contention in many forms. Their work includes studying language and discourse, political economy and institutions, and political life at local and transnational levels.
The study of politics aims to better understand the many faces of power in the collective projects of human experience. Given the breadth of these concerns, the Politics Department is dedicated to studying politics within social-scientific and broader humanistic traditions of scholarly inquiry alike. Our department is characterized by both its innovative interdisciplinarity and our distinctive strengths within the four traditional subfields of political science:
American Politics
We emphasize the study of American Political Development, a research agenda premised on the importance of historically-grounded studies in tracing evolution and change in American politics and policy over time.
Comparative Politics
As critics of the “whole nation bias” that has long characterized comparative politics, we focus both on the increasing importance of subnational regions and local governments within countries, and on the ever greater salience of supranational institutions and actors.
International Relations
Our study of international relations draws heavily upon and contributes to political theory, comparative politics, international law, and political economy by illuminating developments within and between states that shape global politics and justice.
Political Theory
We have a long tradition of critically engaged political theorizing that takes history—of political movements, of political economy, of political discourse, and of political philosophy itself as related to these histories—as its point of departure.
Our Distinctive Approach
At UCSC, we focus on enabling a more just, more inclusive, and more equitable society. The Politics Department addresses these issues by exploring how and why policies are created and sustained.
We equip students to ask the big questions, examine the bases of complex and entrenched policy structures, and take action toward tangible change. We pursue research and teaching that addresses large-scale social problems. Our work explains and exposes the origins of unjust policies and issues, such as social inequity, poverty, or corruption, and identifies ways to improve them.
The Politics Department also houses the interdisciplinary Legal Studies Program, which focuses more specifically on how laws are made and enforced.
History
The Politics Department was among the inaugural departments, then called boards, at the founding of UCSC in 1965. Since then, thousands of students have earned a degree in politics. The department’s graduate program admitted its first students in 2000 and conferred its first Ph.D. in 2006. Throughout its history, the department has maintained distinctive traditions and pursued novel approaches in the study of politics.
Alumni success stories
Yana Garcia: California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary for Environmental Protection
Yana Garcia (’08, B.A.) oversees the state’s efforts to fight climate change, protect air and water quality, regulate pesticides and toxic substances, achieve recycling and waste reduction goals, and advance environmental justice.
Kelvin D. Filer: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Kelvin Filer (’77, B.A.) worked as a public defender, where he won a landmark California Supreme Court case holding that criminal defendants have a right to wear civilian clothing during their trials. He later served on the Compton Municipal Court and then the Superior Court.
Dana Priest: Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter
Dana Priest (’81, B.A.) is a Washington Post journalist who won Pulitzer prizes for her 2007 exposé of deplorable conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and for her work exposing the government’s secret ‘black site’ prisons.
Are you one of our alumni? If so, we’d love to stay in touch. Be sure to update your contact and employment information with the campus, so that we can celebrate your successes and keep you in the loop on opportunities. You can also follow the Politics Department on social media at the links on the bottom of this page.
Support Politics
Politics makes the world go ‘round—but not without an educated and engaged citizenry. Your gift to fund the activities and needs of the UC Santa Cruz Politics Department will help ensure the future of our department, our university, and our country.
Politics Department by the numbers
10
teaching awards since 2000
350+
declared undergraduate majors
36%
of students pursue academic experiences with an international or global focus
86%
of graduate students rated our teaching as good to excellent
25+
graduate students pursuing path-breaking research
1 in 5
undergraduates participate in leadership-related programs