Ranking
The CPP Advantage
Ranked for What Comes Next
Study political science at a highly ranked polytechnic university where classroom learning leads to experience, work and graduate school.
Ranking the Political Science Department
Thinking about going to Cal Poly Pomona? Our political science department is one of the best in Southern California, with the university highly ranked by mutiple publications, with fascinating courses, a world-class faculty, and highly-active student clubs and organizations. Located on a beautiful sprawling campus in Pomona, CPP is a stone's throw away from Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and San Diego. Students thrive at Cal Poly Pomona. We are the "Best CSU for political science"! Become a political science major at one of the most dynamic, exciting institutions in the country, with some excellent career opporunities!
Political science at a polytechnic university means learning by doing. Students do not only study politics. They gain experience through internships, extracurriculars, and working directly with world-class experts that connect coursework to practice. This polytechnic approach helps students graduate with experience they can explain to employers or graduate programs. Study political science at one of the highest-ranked public universities in the West and prepare to put your degree to work.
Highly Ranked Programs & World Class University
When it comes to quality education, affordability, and career prospects, we are one of the best in the country. Cal Poly Pomona consistently ranks as one of the best universities in the country:
-
No. 2 Regional University in the West and No. 2 Public University in the West, U.S. News & World Report, 2027
-
No. 2 Best Value for In-State Students in the West, U.S. News & World Report, 2027
-
No. 22 Best College in America and the nation’s highest-ranked polytechnic university, The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse, 2026
-
No. 13 in Social Mobility and the nation’s highest-ranked polytechnic in that category, The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse, 2026
-
No. 1 Best Bang for the Buck Polytechnic in the West, Washington Monthly, 2025
-
4.5 out of 5 stars among the Best Colleges in America, Money, 2026
Fascinating and Interesting Coursework
Our department offers a number of different courses to help students understand the basics and fundamentals of politics. While underclassmen take introductory courses familiarizing themselves with all aspects of political science, upperclassmen choose elective courses in American Politics, Public Law, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Public Administration.
Elective courses include Terrorism, where students learn about how to define terrorism, its origins, and contemporary tactics and strategies of different organization; Constitutional Law: Rights and Liberties, where students debate the meaning and application of freedom of speech, press, religion, and equal protection of law; and Political Communication and Media, where students learn about how media and political communication have affected voters and campaigns, especially in the digital era. These are only three upper-division courses, but we offer approximately 15 different courses every semester.
World-Renowned Faculty
Our department faculty have been trained and educated at world-class institutions, but have also been recognized for their outstanding acheivements in scholarship and teaching. Trained at institutions such as Harvard University, Berkeley, USC, and UCLA, our faculty bring a remarkable amount of varied expertise learned from scholars worldwide.
Our department faculty regularly publish scholarly manuscripts in leading journals. Cal Poly Pomona is home to one of the discipline's preeminent journals: Political Research Quarterly. Our faculty have been recognized by Fulbright, the Ford Foundation, and RAND. Our faculty have participated in activities that include serving as an independent election observer in Guatemala, hosted distinguished campus guests such as Cornell West, James Carville and Mary Matalin, and have even delivered Ted Talks based on their research.
More so than our scholarly and academic acheivements, our faculty invest themselves in teaching and advising, dedicating their careers to their students and majors.
Active Student Clubs and Organizations
Political science students are some of the most active on campus. The Political Science Club brings together our majors to help students acclimate themsleves to student life and the department. The National Model UN Team has a long history of competiting at the national level, winning prestigious individual and team awards. Our Mock Trial Team, also competing at the national level, trains many of our students for legal careers and law school beyond Cal Poly Pomona. And finally, our department even offers our own international field trips that bring together our coursework in an international framework.
This is only a sampling of the clubs and activities that our majors participate in. Our students also are committed to their own research and are active in student government. Without question, the political science major is one of the most exciting on campus.
Location, Location, Location
We are exceptionally well-situated in the Greater Los Angeles area. Cal Poly Pomona is only a 25-minute drive to Downtown Los Angeles (with exciting nightlife and entertainment such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA Live, Staples Center, MOCA, and Broad Museum), a slightly further jaunt to areas such as Hollywood, Malibu, Venice, and Santa Monica, a 1-hour drive to sunny Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park, a 30-minute drive to the sandy beaches of Orange County (along with Disneyland), and a 2-hour drive to San Diego (with its own beaches and area attractions).
Our students benefit from an incredible location, with no shortage of things to do outside of our university.
You can do a lot with a political science degree!
Learn By Doing
Politics in Practice
Our students connect political science to civic life through faculty-guided research, internships and work with real institutions.