Message from the Chair
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The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas surveyed human resources executives in 2007, asking them: "What skills do entry-level job seekers lack the most?" Only five percent mentioned computer or technology skills. Nearly half of the executives said writing skills, and over a quarter said that new workers were deficient in critical thinking (New York Times, 8/26/2007).
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Mary Palevsky was compelled to write her book, Atomic Fragments: a Daughter's Questions, by the regrets her parents had about their work on the Manhattan Project, the top-secret World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb. "Remember," Palevsky warned a student audience at the University of California-Riverside in 2001, "your ideas cease to be your own once they are published."
Technology does not develop in a vacuum. Forming the context in which it evolves are a host of political, social, legal, economic, and ethical factors. They strongly affect which technological advances are made, how quickly, and to what ends for society. The Department of Social Sciences at IIT is dedicated to helping students develop the critical analytical skills that they need in order to put technology in context.
The Department confers a B.S. degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration, as well as minors in Political Science, Sociology, and Public Management. We also offer a pair of accelerated degree programs: a B.S. / J.D. program with IIT’s excellent Chicago-Kent College of Law that can be completed in 6 years and a B.S. / M.P.A. program with IIT Stuart School of Business that can be completed in 5 years.
We take full advantage of IIT's location in Chicago - an exciting city much studied by social scientists and home to numerous municipal, state, federal, and international organizations and agencies and a major hub of global commerce. Our architecturally renowned main campus lies just south of the Loop, the business and cultural center of the Midwest.
In addition to our general political science offerings, we have established tracks in the following areas, where our faculty members have special strengths:
- American Politics
- Urban Studies
- Policy Analysis
- Society, Politics, and Values
Most of our classes are small and taught by professors with a terminal degree in their discipline. Our faculty members enjoy working with students and are also active researchers with national and international reputations in their fields. Our students receive the rigorous, multidisciplinary training that they need to embark on successful careers in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. A major in political science is ideal preparation for law school and for advanced degree programs in any of the social sciences.
Thank you for visiting our website. Do not hesitate to contact any of us for more information. We hope to see you soon in Chicago!
Patrick R. Ireland
Chair, Department of Social Sciences, Professor of Political Science
