UCSD's Career Services Center also has expert career counselors. The Center also has some informative web pages for our majors, including:
Be sure to visit the alumni page on our website which highlights accomplished graduates in both our undergraduate and graduate programs.
The School of Global Policy and Strategy at UCSD has an excellent page, titled "Industry Resources", that is curated with job boards, career blogs, and other helpful sites, all categorized into different industry sectors.
Tritons Connect is a new, free professional network is designed just for UCSD students and alumni.
What can you do with UC San Diego Tritons Connect?
- Find a mentor or be mentored
- Tap into the global Triton community
- Post career opportunities and recruit Triton talent
- Connect in over 25+ affinity groups based on interest or industry
- Keep up-to-date with upcoming campus news, programs, and events.
Tritons Connect Website
Tritons Connect Video Tour
The American Political Science Association's Careers and the Study of Political Science handbook is an excellent resource for Political Science majors. It may be purchased directly from the APSA website or borrowed from the Department (SSB 301) for up to one week. The APSA website also provides excellent information about careers for students who graduate with a degree in political science.
APSA also has some very informative web pages for our majors regarding internships and careers, including:
There are many options available to Political Science students after earning a bachelor's degree
O*NET OnLine has detailed descriptions of various occupations and is used by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more.
The U.S. Department of Labor provides the OOH to help people explore pertinent information relating to hundreds of occupations. Explore duties, responsibilities, training, pay ranges, education, and other important factors to consider when it come to deciding on an occupation. You can search occupations in alphabetical order as well.
Website: https://extension.ucsd.edu/student-resources/Career-Resources/LAUNCH
The LAUNCH program covers the cost* of one certificate program for full-time UC San Diego students who want to ensure their first step into the workplace puts them on the right path to career success.
* Please note that the application for LAUNCH and the certificate program differs. To be considered for the LAUNCH program, students must submit a LAUNCH application.
To apply, must be:
A current Junior or Senior at UC San Diego
- Interested in entering the workforce after graduation
- Able to complete the certificate program a quarter after you graduate from UC San Diego
Next steps:
Apply within dates listed in the website
- Application will be reviewed and students will be selected for interviews (via Zoom)
- Qualified students will be notified and offered a conditional acceptance with instructions on how to finalize their LAUNCH status
*LAUNCH students are responsible for $95 certificate application fee, textbooks, and any lab/materials fees
Questions? Email launch@ucsd.edu for more information.
Many graduate school programs, internships, and even career opportunities ask that students provide letters of recommendation as part of the application process.
HERE is a great website on how to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation.
As part of your request to obtain a letter of recommendation from a Political Science professor, instructor, supervisor, or graduate TA, and in accordance with FERPA guidelines, please send those from whom you are requesting a letter a link to the Instructional Support for Faculty page and the quoted statement below:
“I consent to the release of personal and educational information about me in the letter of recommendation that I have requested from you. This authorization allows you to release all information about me, within the University’s possession, to [fill in details (e.g., any other educational institution, any centralized application processing services (list by name if possible), both, etc.]. This authorization shall remain valid unless and until it is rescinded in writing.”
The alumni office has partnered with the Career Center to provide students with additional career development support. With an additional 75 staff members available to help; students can sign up on Handshake for resume, LinkedIn, interview tips and alumni connections. These individual can help students strategically leverage the alumni network including Tritons Connect, LinkedIn and Handshake.
How to sign up for career development appointments via Handshake
1) Create a new appointment on Handshake
- Select your degree level
- Select one of the following: Resume Review, Personal Introduction/Networking,
2) Scroll through the list of names to make an appointment
List of companies hiring students on Handshake: https://learn.joinhandshake.com/students/hiring-on-handshake-500/
Success Coaching: The Student Success Coaching Program facilitates the transition and promotes the success of a cohort of incoming and continuing first-generation college students at UC San Diego. Students are part of a collaborative, holistically supportive and validating environment that applies a strengths-based approach.
Transfer Peer Coaching: Modeled after UC San Diego's Student Success Coaching Program, Transfer Peer Coaching is here to support transfer students' academic, personal, and professional success through a variety of coaching programs and services.
Tri-Alpha Honors Society: Tri-Alpha, also known as Alpha Alpha Alpha, is a national honor society for first-generation scholars. UC San Diego is the first UC to be chartered for Tri-Alpha, and is known as the Beta Kappa Chapter. This honor society is a way to celebrate the academic achievements of our first-generation students and is open to undergraduate, graduate, professional, medical, and pharmacy students.