Marymount Political Science and International Relations

In general I advise students in the political science and international relations major as well as students in the international studies minor. 

I am happy to write letters of recommendation for current and former students. Here are some guidelines on how to ask me for a letter.

Each student majoring in politics and interested in international and comparative politics should seriously consider:

• adding International Studies as a minor

• applying for a government-sponsored language program abroad, such as a critical language scholarship

• completing at least one and up to four full semesters studying abroad (and if you are a Pell Grant recipient you can get a Gilman Scholarship to cover study abroad costs)

• teaching English abroad, for example in Japan, South Korea, or Poland

• looking through opportunities for internships and early careers at the State Department, including regular internships, the pathways program, and the Foreign Service Internship program.

Students pursuing degree programs in politics and international studies typically have a wide variety of career options and typically do reasonably well on the job market, earning above average starting salaries for liberal arts majors.

Students interested in the possibility of graduate school in international affairs should consider:

• attending events hosted by Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, a clearinghouse for information about graduate schools in international affairs, with occasional grad school fairs.

• applying for the Charles Rangel International Affairs program

• applying for the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs fellowship 

Students should always feel free to meet with me individually or in groups. Schedule a meeting with me by sending me a polite email. We can meet in-person or by videoconference. If you want to meet with me during a time that I don’t have hours posted (e.g. summer or a break) it’s okay to email me to ask.

Feel free to email me at crector@marymount.edu with questions.

Here are course evaluations from all of my classes. Note that there is close to a scientific consensus (for example) that course evaluations in general are biased to the point of uselessness. However, I post these from a preference for transparency.