Andhra Pradesh   

A field with vast scope

Vidya K.S.

Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behaviour.

India is a `sovereign, socialist secular democratic republic'. Curious to know how that came about in the Indian Constitution? Interested in understanding government policies, forms and functions, then political science is your calling.

Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behaviour. The discipline includes fields such as political theory and philosophy, comparative politics, foreign policy, public administration, international studies, public law, administrative behaviour and public policy.

"At the under-graduate level in most colleges, political science is taught in combination with other subjects such as history, economics and sociology," said Teaching Associate Department of Politics and Public Administration at Andhra University in Visakhapatnam G. Lakshmi. Admission to these courses is based on intermediate and +2 marks. Some colleges give preference to students who have studied history, economics or sociology at the intermediate or +2 level.

Course content

Students study the fundamentals of political thought, political structures, Indian political system, processes, international studies and public administration at the under-graduate level.

After graduation, to gain admission to post-graduate courses in political science, students must pass the respective entrance examinations conducted by universities at the post-graduate level. M.A. in political science is much more detailed and concentrates around subjects such as analysing political texts, contemporary liberal political theories, western political thought, public policy analysis, Indian foreign policy, Indian nationalist movement, constitutional development, modern political theory and analysis, gender studies and women, environmental politics, international relations, research methods, approaches and quantitative techniques.

The Andhra University has been updating the politics and public administration curriculum by introducing subjects such as environmental politics and computer applications. Next year the Department hopes to introduce e-governance. "The main idea for introducing these subjects is to give more scope to the discipline and broaden its applications," said G. Lakshmi.

Job opportunities

Those who complete MA political science can apply for the Civil service examinations, State service public examinations and University Grants Commission's (UGC) NET/JRF-Lectureship examination. Those who qualify for the Junior Research Fellowship can go for Ph.D programme with a fellowship.

Teaching is another option as students pursue BEd courses and take up teaching positions in government, central and private educational institutes. "Students even appear for the District Selection Committee examinations which make them eligible for teaching jobs at the Zilla Parishad level," said G. Lakshmi.

Post-graduate political science students can also secure jobs in the Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat) and State Assemblies as research assistants. Vacancies for these posts appear in the Employment News and these jobs are open only for political science students. "Students need to be aware of the numerous opportunities available apart from the regular civil services," said G. Lakshmi.

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