UMass Department of Political Science and Legal Studies

What UMass Department of Political Science and Legal Studies does

The UMass Department of Political Science and Legal Studies is an academic unit within the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a public research university founded in 1863 and governed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in political science and legal studies, with staffing that includes undergraduate faculty, graduate faculty, adjunct faculty, affiliated faculty, emeriti faculty, and graduate students. Its core academic products are the Undergraduate Program, Graduate Programs, and a faculty-led Research portfolio covering issues from local challenges to global crises.

The department also operates the UMass Amherst Poll, a public opinion research initiative that combines online polling with academic expertise to produce snapshots of citizen attitudes, beliefs, and vote intentions in Massachusetts and nationally. Distribution is through the UMass Amherst website, news and events sections, and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube). There is no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capability disclosed, no mobile app, and no API.

As a government_state_entity and constituent part of the University of Massachusetts System, the department does not operate on a commercial revenue model; tuition and fees are set at the university level and vary by program and residency, and the unit is funded through state appropriations and university allocation rather than enterprise sales or venture capital. No funding rounds, M&A activity, partnerships, patents, certifications, or named enterprise customers are disclosed in the source material.

Name

UMass Department of Political Science and Legal Studies

Legal name

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Website

https://polsci.umass.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1863

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The UMass Department of Political Science and Legal Studies is an academic unit within UMass Amherst's College of Social & Behavioral Sciences that delivers undergraduate and graduate programs in political science and legal studies, conducts faculty research, and operates the UMass Amherst Poll for public opinion research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Political Science and Legal Studies

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Land-Grant Public Research Universities (EDAHAAAB)

Keywords

• Higher education programs
• Political science degrees
• Legal studies education
• Public opinion research
• Academic research

Headquarters

HQ city

Amherst

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The department delivers undergraduate and graduate academic degree programs in political science and legal studies, supports faculty-led research on political and legal topics, and operates the UMass Amherst Poll, a public opinion polling initiative that produces publicly released data on citizen attitudes and vote intentions. Programs are taught on the UMass Amherst campus in Thompson Hall and prepare students for careers in public service, law, policy, and academia.

Product overview

The UMass Department of Political Science and Legal Studies offers a unified academic portfolio consisting of an Undergraduate Program, Graduate Programs, Research activities, and the UMass Amherst Poll. These offerings form a cohesive educational and research ecosystem where students progress from undergraduate to graduate studies while engaging in faculty-led research and contributing to public opinion research through the Poll.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UMass Amherst Poll: A public opinion research initiative combining online polling with academic expertise to provide accurate snapshots of citizen attitudes, beliefs, and vote intentions in Massachusetts and nationally.

Products and services

• Undergraduate Program
• Graduate Programs
• Research
• UMass Amherst Poll

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Stanford University — Department of Political Science: Stanford's Political Science Department is a leading national research department with comparable BA/PhD offerings and a strong public opinion/political behavior research profile; serves as a top-tier peer for faculty recruiting and reputational benchmarking.
• Princeton University — Department of Politics: Princeton's Department of Politics is a leading political science department with closely parallel undergraduate and PhD programs and notable strength in American politics and political behavior — a relevant top-tier peer for research reputation.

Direct peers

• Brown University — Department of Political Science: Brown's Political Science Department offers comparable undergraduate concentrations and graduate programs in a New England setting, serving overlapping applicant pools and competing for similar research funding.
• University of Connecticut — Department of Political Science: UConn's Political Science Department is a fellow New England public research university department offering BA, MA, and PhD programs, competing directly for in-region students and state-level research funding.
• Boston University — Department of Political Science: BU's Political Science Department is a comparable New England research department offering BA, MA, and PhD programs in political science and closely related fields with overlapping applicant and faculty markets.
• MIT — Department of Political Science: MIT's Political Science Department sits at a peer private research institution in Massachusetts and offers parallel undergraduate and graduate political science programs with overlapping faculty research strengths.
• University of Wisconsin–Madison — Department of Political Science: UW–Madison's Political Science Department is a fellow land-grant public research university department offering parallel BA, MA, and PhD programs and a public opinion research tradition, comparable in mission and structure.
• Harvard University — Department of Government: Harvard's Government Department is the most prominent political science and policy research department in New England, comparable in scope of undergraduate/graduate programs, faculty research output, and public-facing policy commentary.
• Yale University — Department of Political Science: Yale's Political Science Department is a top-tier peer department offering BA, MA, and PhD programs with strong methodological and policy research output, directly comparable to UMass's research-oriented department.
• University of Massachusetts Boston — Department of Political Science: UMass Boston's Political Science Department is a sister UMass-system department offering parallel political science programs in the same Massachusetts market, sharing system-level administration and competing for similar in-state students.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/umasspolsci
• Facebookfacebook.com/umasspoliticalscience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/umass-department-of-political-science-and-legal-studies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UMass Department of Political Science and Legal Studies