Politics and Law (new)

Students in the Department of Politics and Law learn to address fundamental questions regarding the constitutional, legal, demographic, and political structures in the United States. Our curriculum emphasizes skills in research methods, public policy analysis, and legal analysis. Our faculty direct the national award-winning Mock Trial program, advise the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, and connect students to internships in public affairs, political advocacy, public policy, and law, at the local, state, and national levels. Our faculty is committed to student-centered programming for majors and non-majors, regardless of partisanship or ideology. Our approach is the dispassionate study of politics. 

Students can earn a major in Political Science, or a bridge major in Political Science and International Studies. Students can also earn a minor in Political Science. Through the new Washington, D.C. summer program, students now have the opportunity to earn credit toward these programs. We also contribute to an interdisciplinary minor in Law & Society.

• Five years after graduation, more than half of our graduates are enrolled in graduate school or law school, while another 40% work in government affairs or politics, business, law, or nonprofit sectors.
• Graduates are prepared for a variety of careers in government service, public policy, law, education, criminal justice, business, and journalism. 
• Recent political science graduates have secured positions with the Federal Reserve Bank, the American Way, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Republican National Committee, the Democratic Leadership Conference, the State Department, Teach for America, secondary schools, banks, public policy organizations, advocacy groups, various government agencies, a wide variety of law firms across the country, consulting firms, Congressional committees, public interest groups, academic departments of colleges and universities, and private lobbying firms. Graduates are regularly hired to work in the offices of state and national senators and representatives.
• Recent graduates have attended law schools including University of Alabama, University of Chicago, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, University of Georgia, Harvard University, University of Tennessee, University of Texas, Tulane University, Vanderbilt University, University of Virginia, Washington and Lee University, and Washington University, among others. 
• Recent graduates have also pursued advanced degrees in political science at Boston College, Brandeis University, Harvard, University of Texas, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin, as well as in fields like public administration, business, journalism, education, history, and even medicine and veterinary science.

The Politics & Law Department encourages all students—regardless of major—to engage in vibrant cocurricular opportunities that connect classroom learning with real-world impact.

Mock Trial is one of Rhodes’ most accomplished programs. In 40 seasons, the team has competed at every in-person national championship. Among 600 annual competitors, Rhodes holds more individual All-American awards and more team trophies than any program in history. Each year, 50–60 students participate; in 2025–2026, Rhodes fields five teams and is ranked 9th nationally. The program also hosts national qualifying tournaments and contributes to case writing.

For more than a decade, Rhodes students have competed in the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL), a hands-on simulation of state government held annually at the capitol in Nashville. The 2024 delegation included students from Art History, Politics & Law, Educational Studies, PPE, International Studies, Chinese Studies, Urban Studies, and Philosophy—reflecting the program’s interdisciplinary reach.

Students also engage through advocacy and dialogue-based organizations. IGNITE empowers young women to explore and exercise their political leadership through networking events, workshops, debate watch parties, and issue-based panels. Just City Advocates partners with a local criminal justice reform organization founded by a Rhodes alum, supporting initiatives such as the Court Watch Program. All Students Interested in Asia (A.S.I.A.) celebrates Asian cultures through campus programming and community events.

Since 2016, Pizza & Politics has fostered monthly, student-led conversations designed to promote nonpartisan, respectful dialogue across differences. Faculty introduce topics selected by a student steering committee, with recent discussions addressing presidential power, immigration, impeachment, polarization, healthcare, Syria, homelessness, abortion, and gun policy.