Iowa State has experienced a considerable increase in the number of students declaring political science majors in the past few years.

Since the fall of 1999, the department has seen a 56 percent jump, from 220 undergraduate majors to this fall’s count of 391.

Dana Schumacher, undergraduate adviser in the political science department, said she expects the number to continue to rise.

The number of undergraduates declaring political science majors started to rise dramatically after the 2000 election, Schumacher said.

Many factors have contributed to the heightened interest, said James McCormick, professor and chairman of the political science department.

“As an election occurs there tends to be an increase,” McCormick said.

He also estimated the Sept. 11 attacks had an effect, as did the reputation of faculty and the range of classes offered by the department.

“We are fortunate to offer a wide array of courses at the introductory level,” McCormick said.

Political science majors may specify their field by choosing courses based on four subfields: theory and methods, American government and politics, comparative politics and international relations.

McCormick and Schumacher estimated there may be a slightly higher number of students pursuing an emphasis in the international relations subfield.

McCormick highlighted the paths many students with political science majors take after graduation.

“About 25 percent go on to law school, while 20 to 25 percent go on to other graduate work,” he said. “The rest engage in a whole series on careers.”

Many become directly involved in government-related careers, while others enter into another field, McCormick said.

Schumacher said the majority of political science majors she talks to during their freshman year have plans of going on to law school after graduation, although many discover other options for after graduation over the course of their undergraduate work.

McCormick said the department has looked at trying to create more courses to accommodate the increase in majors, but is limited somewhat by classroom and faculty size.

The number of students continuing their education to obtain a master’s degree in political science at Iowa State has increased over the past few years as well, from 42 in the fall of 2001 to 63 this fall.