Political Science
Division: Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Division Chair: Martha Rottman, mrottman@sunyrockland.edu
Department Chair: Bruce Delfini, bdelfini@sunyrockland.edu
Department Support Staff: Joan Asch, jasch@sunyrockland.edu
Department Office: Academic II, Room 2231, Phone: 845-574-4331
Why Study Political Science?
Political Science provides students with the ability to understand and analyze political and government institutions and their processes. Students will explore the conduct of government and the creation of government policy and study the structure and activities of political parties and the social, cultural, ethnic and historical factors that drive these activities.
Students interested in a degree in Political Science can begin their educational goals by pursuing the Liberal Arts and Science: Humanities and Social Science degree at Rockland Community College.
Degrees Offered:
Occupational Objectives:
Students who wish to pursue a career in political science can continue their education by transferring to a four-year institution. Upon completion of their education students can obtain positions in politics, education, public service and other related areas.
5 Top Reasons
To Study Political Science at RCC:
- FACULTY: Learn from instructors with the rare combination of practical work experience in the field and advanced academic degrees.
- VALUE: Affordable tuition for a quality education. Scholarships, financial aid.
- CONVENIENT: Balance part-time study with work, family or other time commitments. On-campus childcare available.
- TRANSFER: Agreements with many four-year colleges for seamless transfer to pursue multiple bachelor’s degree options.
- SUPPORT: Small class sizes, individual attention, free tutoring.
Opportunities at Rockland Community College:
There are more than 40 student clubs with special interests and socializing opportunities. Activities include sports, student government and clubs like Robotics, Video Game & Animé, Chess, Computers, Art, Christian Fellowship, Environment, Haitian, Habitat for Humanity, Hillel, and Outlook, the award-winning student newspaper.
Discipline Goals:
The political science discipline provides students with the ability to understand the basic rights and responsibilities of citizenship; and the philosophical and theoretical foundations of government and the political process.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of political science, students will be able to:
- Define important terms regarding politics and government
- Understand and analyze the formal institutional systems of government
- Understand the nature of politics and be able to distinguish it from government
- Comprehend public policy-making as the result of the interaction between government policies and political action