Students majoring or minoring in politics receives broad theoretical and historical training, including a basic exposure to quantitative and qualitative research methods necessary to the study of political science and post-graduate careers in any field.
By drawing upon the work of classic and contemporary scholars, we help our students understand and appreciate how politics shapes human affairs and is influenced by them.
Lake Forest College students majoring in politics take their grounding in American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and public law to research with faculty and to off-campus opportunities, from part-time work in congressional or law offices to interning in Chicago agencies, like the Chicago Housing Authority.
Choose from two tracks:
Students on the American track study institutions from the presidency to the courts to mass media—and beyond.
Those on the Global track encounter countries and cultures across the globe, and learn how those countries relate to each other.
Lake Forest College politics majors regularly intern for Democratic and Republican candidates running for every kind of office, from city council seats to the House or Senate, or the presidency.
Our students also intern for elected officials of all levels.
Our politics graduates find success across major organizations such as:
Our professors are active in political efforts off campus; Assistant Professor of Politics and Chair of Legal Studies Stephanie Caparelli and a group of students are assisting the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishment, which is a group of system-impacted individuals working on legislative initiatives to remove barriers to re-entry into society.
Assistant Professor of Politics Zachary Cook has extensive contacts in politics and government circles in the city of Chicago, as well as in Cook County and Lake County, Illinois. He has worked to create volunteer opportunities for Lake Forest College students to do community service in Chicago through Alderman Andre Vasquez’s 40th ward.
Chicago is a major political center in the United States. As the third-largest city in the US, the Chicago area is home to divervse political views and organizations. Students can get involved in political efforts in and around Chicago to gain career-making experience early in their undergraduate studies.
Here are a few advanced degree paths our recent politics graduates have pursued:
Evan Oxman
Associate Professor of Politics
Chair of Politics
Brown Hall 427
847-735-5127
oxman@lakeforest.edu
Kathy Hawkins
Department Assistant
Brown Hall 255
847-735-5122
khawkins@lakeforest.edu
Prachi Rangan
Department Assistant
Brown Hall 255
847-735-5121
prangan@lakeforest.edu
