Northwestern University's Political Science Department was established by vote of the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts at their meeting of March 30, 1915. In the academic year 1915–1916 the department, under the chairmanship of Norman Dwight Harris, began offering coursework leading to both an undergraduate major and minor. Prior to the department's establishment, coursework in the field, particularly relating to diplomatics and government, was offered through Northwestern's History Department.
The department grew gradually, in the size of its faculty, in the number of courses offered, and in course enrollments, through the 1920s and 1930s. It awarded its first doctoral degree in 1932. Early instruction in the department emphasized values of citizenship and offered training in political Leadership. Coursework centered on public administration, political history, and the detailed study of existing governmental structures. After World War II courses in statistics, political theory, and comparative political systems expanded the curriculum. More recent offerings have emphasized empirical theory and abstract generalizations of political activity as well as policy processes and methods of research. Teaching and research within the department have reflected these changes and now concentrate in the areas of comparative politics, international relations, community politics, law and politics, and political behavior.
From the guide to the Department of Political Science, Records of the, 1940-1984, 1964-1979, (Northwestern University Archives)
