BA Political Science

Program Details

• Live What You Learn

  • Student interns work in Congressional offices in Washington, DC. Students have also interned at the White House, and the Office of the First Lady. For those pursuing a pre-law track, students have interned in various law firms.
  • Many students continue their work with issue advocacy groups such as First Budget and AARP.
  • Be part of an election campaign! Our political science majors have staffed election campaigns and worked to get presidents, governors, senators, members of congress, and Mayors elected.
  • NEC has been described as a place where the road to the White House begins. We host town-hall events for major presidential candidates Meet the candidates. Ask them questions directly. NEC students help facilitate town halls, and a student is selected to formally introduce each and every candidate for president.
  • Participate in the College Convention, held every four years. This event—organized and run by NEC students—brings together hundreds of students from a variety of educational backgrounds—from public, private, homeschool, and charter high schools to technical schools and colleges—to engage in the political process in an exciting, hands-on, and unique way. Meet presidential candidates, media personalities, and issue advocacy groups.
  • With the help of student facilitators, NEC hosts debates for U.S. Senate, House, and governors’ races.
  • Study abroad to learn about international politics and global affairs.

• Career Opportunities

  • Local, state, and national election campaign staff
  • Issue Advocacy Groups: communications, policy, programs
  • Policy Analyst
  • Government service at the local, state, and national levels
  • Media: Reporter, Researcher, Analyst
  • Law school
  • Graduate school

Student Involvement

Faculty

• Nathan Shrader

  Associate Professor of Political Science
  Co-Director, Center for Civic Engagement
  Phone: 603.428.2591
  Email: nshrader@nec.edu

  Education
  B.A., Thiel College (2003)
  M.S., Suffolk University (2007)
  PhD, Temple University (2015)

  Bio
  Before arriving at New England College in July 2022, Nathan Shrader served as chair and associate professor of Government and Politics as well as director of American Studies at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. Prior to this he served successively as legislative aide and deputy director of communications to Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll, legislative aide in the Virginia General Assembly, and research analyst at Abrams Learning and Information Systems under General John N. Abrams (retired). He worked from 2009 to 2014 at the Center on Regional Politics at Temple University and was an adjunct professor at Drexel and Neumann Universities. Shrader was also a freelance writer for the Philadelphia Public Record.

  He earlier served as legislative intern in Washington for United States Senator Arlen Specter, legislative intern to Pennsylvania State Representative Rod E. Wilt, and as a clerk under Westmoreland County (PA) Recorder of Deeds Tom Murphy. He has also been a consultant, manager, staffer, and volunteer on scores of political campaigns at the state, local, and national levels.

  Shrader appears as a regular political analyst for television, radio, online, and print media sources. He has appeared in national and international news coverage of American politics through the Washington Post, Fox News, BBC World Radio, NPR, Bloomberg, Teen Vogue, Governing, USA Today, Newsweek, Clarion-Ledger, Mississippi Today, and others. He regularly contributes on-air to network news affiliates to discuss national, state, and local politics and elections. In addition to his teaching and efforts to assist in keeping citizens informed about politics, Shrader helped to create and conduct the quarterly Millsaps College/Chism Strategies polling series that examined public opinion trends pertaining to government and politics in the state between 2017-2021 and the Millsaps College/Women’s Foundation of Mississippi Legislative Fellowship program.

  Through his own unique experiences both studying and practicing the art of politics and governance, Shrader encourages his students to build bridges between the theoretical and the real-world application of political science. His main areas of scholarly interest include state and local government, political history, the presidency, political marketing, campaigns and elections, and political parties.

  Shrader is a member of the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), American Political Item Collectors (APIC), founding member of the President Joseph R. Biden Collectors Association, and the International Churchill Society. He is a past member of the Common Cause Mississippi Board of Directors, president of the Mississippi Political Science Association, the Mississippi Coalition to Against Domestic Violence Board of Directors, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Utility Workers Union of America. Shrader was also elected as a delegate to the 2022 Democratic National Convention from Mississippi’s Third Congressional District and served as Deputy Whip for the Mississippi delegation.

Degree Requirements