"... a well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people."

James Madison, State of the Union, 1810

"It is not enough for a handful of experts to attempt the solution of a problem, to solve it and then to apply it. The restriction of knowledge to an elite group destroys the spirit of society and leads to its intellectual impoverishment."

Albert Einstein, 1879-1955
Nobel Laureate in Physics
(Courtesy: Eigen's Political & Historical Quotations)

About the Department
The goals of the department of Political Science are to help students gain an understanding of political processes, government institutions and theories of politics - locally, nationally, and internationally. As part of the liberal arts, Political Science enables students to develop critical thinking and imaginative problem solving skills that are necessary for involved citizenship and useful for many careers.

Political Science is a broad discipline and consists of various sub-disciplines and fields of interest, among them American Politics and Government, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Methodology, Political Theory and Ideology, Public Administration, Public Law, and Public Policy.

Political Science courses at Anoka-Ramsey Community College are offered on both the Cambridge and Coon Rapids Campus, and through the 'College on your Corner' program in area schools. The Cambridge and Coon Rapids Campus each have their own Political Science faculty and may offer courses unique to that campus. Political Science courses are taught as on-campus seated courses, online courses, and open learning labs (students working at their own pace while communicating with a professor via office hours, phone, email, fax, or U.S. mail).

For current course offerings and delivery methods, see the Anoka-Ramsey Community College 'course schedule.'