The Department of Political Science was formally established in 1968 under the College of Liberal Arts although the program of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science was already offered in 1964 and administered by the defunct Asian Studies Department. The faculty was originally composed of foreign (Indonesian and British) and Filipino professors. The succeeding professors were responsible then for
revising the original BA Political Science curriculum in 1993, 1999, and 2011. In the 2011 curriculum revision, the Program Curriculum Committee and the whole faculty found it logical to rename the office into the Political Studies Department, giving recognition to the various specializations of its faculty members. It was also in 2006 that the MSU Board of Regents approved the Master of Arts in Global Studies major in American Studies program which is a brainchild of one of its faculty. Some of the department's professors are handling courses in political science and graduate programs in Global Studies, Peace and Development Studies, and Philippine Studies in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. The Department of Political Studies at the Mindanao State University-Main Campus in Marawi City is known for its high academic standard in instruction and research as evidenced by its quality graduates. Students enrolled in its BA Political Science program are required to take a wide range of courses in several tracks of the curriculum which include Political Theory, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Public Administration, Philippine Politics and Governance, and Research and Methodology in Political Science. A one-semester internship program during the senior level equivalent to 400 hours in teaching, research, staff work, and community advocacy works from public and government institutions provides political science majors the opportunity to apply in the real world what they have learned in the classroom setting. The curriculum of the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science is designed not only to develop informed, active, and responsible citizens but also to be useful for those who plan to pursue careers in higher education, local and regional government, the national bureaucracy, the legal profession, advocacy works, or any other field that requires critical thinking and analysis. Graduates of the program gained an excellent academic background as the foundation in pursuing advanced studies in Political Science, Public Administration, International Relations, Law, and other multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary studies such as Global Studies, Peace and Development Studies, and Philippine Studies.
