Why So Many Poli-Sci Students Go To Law School

[RickLax.com]

In terms of employability, political science degrees make English degrees look like business degrees. Politics isn’t a science and, therefore, there’s no such thing as a political scientist, and, therefore, Poli-Sci students generally need to find other fields to actually enter upon graduation.

-RickLax

P.S., At my old school, the University of Michigan, my Poli-Sci classmates swore they’d never go into teaching political science...but fraternity pledges say the same thing about abolishing hazing once they become upper-classmen. And yet, year after year, these ridiculous, pointless rituals continue.

As does fraternity hazing. 

[Shark Week]

stop spamming your bad f-ing blog you utter tool

[Socrates]

Equivocation FTL.

And maybe thinking in terms of "poli students go to law school" entails the wrong idea. Rather, maybe it's people who want to go to law school and think it'll help them (mistakenly it seems). Mixing up the cause with the effect.

[maryceleste]

stop spamming your bad f-ing blog you utter tool

Thank you!!!
Someone finally said it.

[RickLax.com]

Equivocation FTL.

And maybe thinking in terms of "poli students go to law school" entails the wrong idea. Rather, maybe it's people who want to go to law school and think it'll help them (mistakenly it seems). Mixing up the cause with the effect.

Maybe I just have trouble thinking in the long-term...

[muharulz]

political science IS a science. although, i will admit that the scientific aspect of political science does not really appear until post-graduate work.

[Freak]

PS a science? Name one study where they control for even half the possible variables and I'll believe you.

[RickLax.com]

PS a science? Name one study where they control for even half the possible variables and I'll believe you.

agreed. and this is coming from a poli-sci major.

[CrnchyCereal]

PS a science? Name one study where they control for even half the possible variables and I'll believe you.

I can't name any off the top of my head, but there is a surprising amount of statistical regression analysis and number crunching in certain fields of political science research.  Democratic peace theory comes to mind.  I've read some studies that used an absurd number of variables to isolate for the effects of things like democratic institutions, economic interdependence, influence of international organizations, etc.  Political science is a social science and as such is a "soft science", but that doesn't mean that much of it isn't analytically rigorous. 

Note: I'm a political science major, but I specialize in international relations, which has a rich and diverse body of theoretical literature.  I can't speak to the merits of things like "American Politics", comparative political science, or political theory. 

[CrnchyCereal]

Personally, I'm not into the big regression analysis side of political science.  That's not really something one's heavily exposed to as an undergrad anyway, and I'm not planning on getting a masters in political science.  And though I think skepticism of Big Truth models is valid, I really do think that certain political science theories hold a lot of water.  No one framework is perfect, but there are significant insights in most of the major theories (at least in international relations theory).