The Department of Political Sciences

About the Department:

The department of political sciences is deemed as one of the well-rooted departments at King Saud University. It became an independent department in 1392 Hijri, but before that it used to represent a joint program with the department of economy.

The department is interested in all aspects of political knowledge and the interaction between this knowledge and other social and economic phenomena in the society. The department allows its students the opportunity to have full awareness of the basic topics related to this specialization  such as the different regime systems, the rule system in Islam, international relations, the foreign policies of the county, international laws and regulations, the Islamic and western political philosophies, and public policies.

The department is also interested in international and regional political studies such as the political regime systems is the East, North America, Europe, Africa, and south east Asia. It also shows interest in the political development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as other Gulf countries. In addition, the department also focuses on the international contemporary political problems, the interactions among such problems, and the political, social and economic outcomes resulting from these problems whether regionally or internationally.

 

Development of the Department

Work is currently going on in the department to upgrade the study curricula according to the most recent standards that are internationally recognized. This upgrading includes improving the quality of the existent curricula as well as adding new ones. A comprehensive training program in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organizations is also being planned for. Besides, the college administration is doing its best to make the specialization of political science serve the requirements of the work market such represented in the various governmental associations, international organizations and companies existent in the Saudi market, and the requirements of the other college departments such as mass media, economy and law.

 

Job Opportunities for the Department Graduates

 

There are many fields of job opportunities for the graduates of the political sciences department. For example, the department graduates may work in many politics-related fields such as the ministry of interior, the ministry of foreign affairs, the cabinet, the regional county councils, the local and international papers and magazines. The department graduates also have job opportunities in other Saudi governmental associations that have departments concerned with international cooperation or information and research centers. Regional associations that are concerned with politics such as the Gulf Cooperation Council can also represent a good job opportunity for the department graduates. Finally, the political department graduates may also work in the private sector companies that might be in need of skills possessed by the department graduates such as analysis of the investment risks and international relations.

 

 

Community Service

 

The department of political sciences plays an important role in the community service through research, and training sessions organized by the department staff members. Such activities include different issues related to international politics as well as regional and local ones. To illustrate, the research interests of the department staff extent to include important regions in the world such as North America, South-east Asia, the Islamic Republics, Russia and Eastern Europe, Africa, and Western Europe. The department staff research interests also include top issues in both the international and regional communities such as the issue of political economy, globalization, political development, political violence, security in the Gulf area, etc.

 

The department staff members also cooperate with mass media organizations such as the TV, radio and local newspapers and periodicals. They also offer their consultation services to various governmental and non-governmental associations such as:

-         King Abd El Aziz center for national dialogue

-         The national organization for human rights

-         King Faisal center for research and Islamic studies

-         The ministry of interior

-         The ministry of foreign affairs

-         The ministry of guidance and Islamic affairs

-         The ministry of culture and mass media

-         The diplomatic institute