Careers in Political Science, Foreign Service Officer

I have decided to start a blog series about jobs in political science (and international relations specifically) to help out those looking for future opportunities. One option is to work for the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer. Dept of State is hiring now and will be for the foreseeable future. To be competitive, you should have language aptitude and also have some experience aboard (intern, Peace Corps, military).

“So, in the last several months — with a new president on the horizon and new funding from Congress — both the State Department and Usaid, are ramping back up. A supplemental war funding bill has provided money for Foreign Service hiring. And President-elect Barack Obama “has talked explicitly about the need to increase the Foreign Service and we hope he will make that a priority,” said John Naland. The State Department has asked for funding for 1,500 new positions for the current fiscal year.”

UIC maintains an Office of International Affairs (OIA) with a career Foreign Service Officer stationed on campus. Consult him at if you wish to setup a meeting to find out about more opportunities.

Academic BCS

This annual academic BCS ranking looks at graduation rates as well as performance on the field. Some schools, ahem Texas, should be ashamed of themselves.

"Every year, college football fans get caught up in some "major" controversy with the BCS rankings. They spend hours talking about obscure statistics and cursing computer formulas. This year, it was Oklahoma and Texas fans battling it out for the right to play in the Big 12 and National Championship games. Texas fans were devastated when they lost the rankings fight.

But the real tragedy for this team is that only 40 percent of its players, and only 27 percent of its black players, will graduate. Texas' football players put the University on the national stage. And what do they get in return? Besides the precious few that will make it to the NFL, most will leave school without a degree and with few career prospects."

Change of Cuban Politics

New York Times article details the change in the wind regarding Cuban politics.

"Three generations on from the revolution, being a Democrat is no longer equated by Cuban-Americans with being a Communist. The fixation on removing Fidel, the dreams of return and the raw anger of loss have faded. “We have gone from the politics of passion to the politics of reality,”

Extra Credit Repost

Guidelines for Extra Credit

You may choose to either write a report on a movie or a book (treat an event or lecture as a book) for extra credit. This report is due when you turn in your final paper. The movie review will be worth up to 7 points; a book/event review will be worth up to 15 points.

Details:
Movie: The movie must deal with international issues (or international Latino issues if that is your class) including anything we have covered in class. No movies on interpersonal relationships or tenuous connections to international events will be accepted (Borat). The movie can come from any time period. It would be best to get the movie approved before you watch. You must write at least a 4 page paper that will include one half review of the movie and the issues it covers. The second half will consider how it is relevant to the class and what lessons we can take from it. This assignment will be graded like any other essay, 7 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the movie.

Book: The book must deal with contemporary international issues (see above). It should be published after 9/11. The same issues mentioned in the movie option are fair game. It would be best to get the book approved by me before attempting to write a review. Your review must be at least 7 pages. It should be completed as your normal required book report (1/3 review, 1/3 connection to international issues, and 1/3 criticisms or support). This assignment will be graded like any other essay, 15 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the book/event.

Changing the Game

I suggested this article to my dog park friend. I was getting annoyed at how many times I used in a NSF proposal. The word must die. Truly a game-changer