Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics
Overview
School of Arts and Sciences / Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics
The best and the brightest minds around the globe have expertise in multiple backgrounds.
The political science, philosophy, and economics (PPE) program was created to satisfy a growing interest among our student body in a challenging, cross-disciplinary degree program that samples from theoretical literature from a number of disciplines. The result is a degree program comparable to many taught in Europe but unique among other colleges in our area.
PPE utilizes existing strengths in the three areas – political science, philosophy, and economics – to allow students to develop a broader, interconnected vision of the forces driving today’s most important events. While students will choose a concentration in one of the departments, they will integrate the material from all three in order to evaluate and analyze social, political, ethical, and economic policy issues around the globe.
Departmental Programming
Faculty in the Political Science Department host and participate in a number of events throughout the year for our majors and the wider La Salle community. Among these events are the annual Constitution Day Panel, the Lasallian Forum for Politics and Policy, film nights, and election night parties. They are also actively involved in supporting University initiatives like those of the Diplomat-in-Residence Program (DRP) and Explorer Cafés.
Lasallian Forum for Politics and Policy
The Lasallian Forum for Politics and Policy, established in 2010, brings informative speakers from a range of fields—federal, state, and local governments, nonprofits, law firms, court officials, campaign officials, lobbyists, and interest group activists—onto campus to talk about their work and career trajectory. The Forum aims to give students a firsthand account of each speaker’s field of practice and expose them to the multiple career opportunities in political science. Recent forum speakers and topics include:
- Amilcar Moreira, Ph.D., Institute of Social Science, University of Lisbon, Portugal, “The Economic Crisis and European Labor Markets”
- Michael Cleary, Esq., Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, former military officer in Iraq and Kuwait, “Issuing Warrants: Pursuing ”
- Karen Kaiser, Esq., Associate General Counsel for The Associated Press and La Salle alumnus Thomas Curley, former CEO of The Associated Press, “Government Seizing Phone and E-Mail Records”
- Jamie Malanowski, author and journalist, “Commander Will Cushing: Daredevil Hero of the Civil War”
Student Awards
The Political Science Department offers two awards to members of each graduating class for outstanding academic achievement.
Political Science Department Academic Award
This Departmental Award is given each year to the graduating student with the highest cumulative grade point average (GPA). The award is given during Commencement Weekend at a special awards luncheon for all Department winners and their parents.
Joseph V. Brogan Senior Research Seminar Award
Inaugurated in 2011, the Joseph V. Brogan Award, named in honor of Dr. Joseph Brogan, ’72, who taught political theory in the Department from 1987 to 2009, is given each year to a graduating senior to honor excellence in undergraduate student research. The award is given to the best paper produced in the senior seminar classes. The award winner is presented with a plaque after graduation and his/her name is engraved on a larger plaque maintained in the Department.
Courses in this Major
Students enjoy a wide range of interesting and unique courses including:
POL 171 Political Analysis
This course surveys the theoretical foundations, approaches, and methodologies of political analysis, introducing students to the “science of politics” and providing a basic grounding in the social scientific study of political behavior and phenomena. The course equips students with the tools of inquiry (such as the description and analysis of quantitative data and the systematic use of case studies) most commonly used in the discipline of political science.
POL 221 Politics of the Developing World
This course is an introductory survey to the politics of the developing world, where most of humanity lives. We will examine some of the extraordinarily complex challenges faced by the developing world. Among these are poverty, environmental change and degradation, violence, population growth, the status of women and the forms and sources of misrule.
PPE 300 Readings in PPE Classics / POL 361 Democracy and its Critics
This course is an analysis of modern liberal democratic thought and the various criticisms of it from both the left and the right are topics to be addressed in this course. Emphasis is on the reading of original sources by Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, J.S. Mill, Rousseau, Burke, Marx, Nietzsche, etc. This course is required of all political science majors.
PHL 303 American Philosophy
This course presents a critical history of thought in North America, tracing its gradual transformation from 17th-century Puritanism to 20th-century pragmatism
"PPE enables students to understand and critically evaluate the social, political and economic world in which they live and will become leaders."
— Michael R. Dillon, Ph.D. J.D., Marc Moreau, Ph.D., H. David Robison, Ph.D.
Blaze Your Own Path
Career Paths
A thorough understanding in political science, philosophy, and economics helps students to analyze and evaluate information quickly and thoroughly. Our program trains students to address social, political, ethical, and economic policy issues seen globally. The program aims to broadly educate students in all three areas and later allow them focus on whichever will propel them farther down their path to success. All of these skills and abilities will prepare our graduates for positions in international business, global nonprofits, public service, or public policy.
Research
Each student in the PPE program completes a senior research project on a subject of their choosing. The project must fall under one of the three areas of study and can be on any topic that interests the student. The work our students produce shows how the PPE program has helped them develop a higher level reasoning ability. Students have used this research to apply for law and graduate school or when applying for jobs.
Graduate School
The breadth of the PPE program exposes students to critical and logical thinking in all three areas. Their experience in persuasive speaking and writing, comprehensive reading, and critical evaluation of arguments will leave them prepared for the GRE, GMAT, and LSAT.
While in their graduate and law programs, students will have the resources and foundation to succeed. Having practiced and developed their research and study skills, they’ll be prepared for rigorous curricula in the U.S. and abroad.
I am an Explorer
Mike Boyle, Ph.D., ’98
At La Salle, you’re not a number, you’re a person. People take an interest in you and your intellectual development; they push you to read, push you to think about things, and allow you to find your own feet. I came to La Salle as a nervous 18-year-old and I was pushed to explore intellectual avenues I probably wouldn’t have. I’m not sure that would have happened had I been in a place with 300 people in a classroom or where you wouldn’t see the same faculty members over and over again. La Salle played an enormous role in shaping me and putting me on my way, and I owe the University a huge debt of gratitude.
Mike Boyle, Ph.D., ’98
Mike Boyle, Ph.D., ‘98
Hometown: Philadelphia
Title: Associate Professor of Political Science, La Salle University
Years at La Salle: Four as a student, six as a professor
Degrees: B.A., La Salle University
M.Phil., University of Cambridge
MPP, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Ph.D., University of Cambridge
Tell me about the work and research you do.
I predominantly work in the areas of terrorism and political violence, the use of new technology, and also U.S. foreign policy.
What sparked this interest?
I was a political science student here at La Salle, and went into international politics because I found it exciting. I got started in my specific area of research as a Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University) master’s student, and as an intern in the State Department in 2001 in the Balkans bureau. My job was to read intelligence reports about political violence in the Balkans in the post-conflict period. It struck me that people were struggling to predict post-conflict violence. Was it criminal? Was it political? Was it an attempt to overturn a peace settlement? That became the focus of my doctoral dissertation at Cambridge.
What was your role with the Obama campaign?
I worked with the Obama campaign in 2007–08 as an adviser on counter terrorism and on drones. Later, when I saw the Obama administration expand the use of drone strikes, I became concerned they were doing it in excess, and decided to write a series of critiques that raised questions about whether drone strikes were as strategically effective as people implied they were. My conclusion is that drone advocates have an attenuated definition of effectiveness. A narrow definition might be if the strikes eliminated a bad guy. But you have to ask the question whether it disposes the population against you and whether there are longer-term strategic consequences of other states beginning to use drones in the same way. If others are emulating U.S. actions, are you producing a more violent world?
What is the biggest mistake in our thinking about terrorism?
We believe stereotypes that these are angry young religious believers in caves—they are not. Early on, Al Qaeda had application forms and a benefit plan to sustain involvement. If you go back to the 1990s and 2000s you find documentation about their personnel problems and bureaucratic infrastructure. ISIS also has a bureaucratic infrastructure. To sustain involvement of these young men, they need to be paid, they need access to regular benefits like health care. If they’re married, they need to ensure that their wives are cared for, and that there is effectively a life insurance policy. The Islamic State has learned this very effectively. They are even more organized than Al Qaeda.
When you think back to your time at La Salle as a student what stands out?
At La Salle, you’re not a number, you’re a person. People take an interest in you and your intellectual development; they push you to read, push you to think about things, and allow you to find your own feet. I came to La Salle as a nervous 18-year-old and I was pushed to explore intellectual avenues I probably wouldn’t have. I’m not sure that would have happened had I been in a place with 300 people in a classroom or where you wouldn’t see the same faculty members over and over again. La Salle played an enormous role in shaping me and putting me on my way, and I owe the University a huge debt of gratitude.
Beyond the Classroom
Clubs
Clubs and activities to compliment your degree
Clubs
La Salle is home to over 120 clubs and activities. Our organizations include honor societies, service and advocacy groups, spiritual opportunities and more. Some organizations directly related to PPE include:
The Students’ Government Association
The Students’ Government Association (SGA) is the officially-recognized representative of the student body. The main role of the SGA is to serve as a liaison between students and University administration in order to enrich the academic integrity and social environment of the La Salle community. SGA protects individual interests through collective action and fosters academic freedom, academic responsibility, and student rights. Elected members of SGA sit on all University committees.
The Students’ Government Association is comprised of 25 elected members. The SGA consists of an executive board and a senate. The executive board members consist of a President, and Executive Vice President of Student Affairs, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Public Affairs, and Vice President of Business Affairs. The senate is comprised of five members from each class. SGA elections for both the executive board and senate are in early April.
Thomas More Pre-Law Society
The St. Thomas More Pre-Law Society is an officially-recognized organization on La Salle’s campus and was established to foster awareness and to provide information to those La Salle students interested in a career in the legal field. The Pre-Law Society is open to any student with an interest in working in law. The Pre-Law Society invites practicing lawyers and law school admissions officers to campus to speak about specific legal topics. Student officers are elected in the fall of each year. The Pre-Law Society assists students to understand the nature of the law school admissions process, prepare for the LSAT examination, and decide whether or not go to law school after graduation. For more information, contact faculty adviser Nicholas Staffieri at staffieri70@lasalle.edu.
The La Salle Mock Trial Association
Initially formed in 2008-2009, the La Salle Mock Trial Association is an officially-recognized organization on the La Salle’s campus open to students of all years and all majors. Utilizing a national competition case presented each year, students prepare and practice for their roles as plaintiff/defense attorneys or as witnesses. The team travels to and has successfully competed in competitions at the Coast Guard Academy, Princeton, Penn, and Villanova. The team also inaugurated a very successful High School Mock Trial Tournament held on La Salle’s campus every January.
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
This organization is an academic honor society for all students who maintain a GPA of 3.4 or above. NSCS was founded on the principles of scholarship, leadership, and service, and seeks to train the best and the brightest students to give back to the community. New members are inducted in early fall and several service projects, as well as social functions, are organized each year for members.
92% of graduates are employed, volunteering full-time through service programs or pursuing additional education full time within one year of graduation.
Ranked in Forbes 2017 Top U.S. Colleges.
83% of faculty hold a Ph.D. or the highest degree in their field.
Listed by the New York Times in the Top 6% for median income of graduates at age 34.