Distance Learning Degree in Political Science - Is It Worth It?

You may be a person who hasn't made it into any of the Ivy League Universities. You may be one with commitments to work or family and can't afford, financially or otherwise, to attend a university. You may be a US Marine posted abroad. You may be anyone who just can't attend university but wants a good degree in political science. Well, here comes a distance learning degree in political science. But, is it worth it? This is the question I shall like to address in this article.

To start with, let me concede that there is no 'yes' or 'no' answer to this. Add to this, the answer for this shall vary from person to person. However, you shall find this article very helpful in making you find an answer for yourself. Let us now move and start delving into the issues involved to know if a distance learning degree in political science is really worth it for you!

Have you got the Aptitude?

Some people may be taken aback when being asked this question in regards to a subject like political science. This may be because they think that watching all the mess on news channels makes them perfectly suited for the course. Some may be simply curious to understand how do politicians operate and all such Machiavellian stuff knowing which would one day shoot them into some political office. If you are one of these persons, let me assure you that you are terribly mistaken if you are thinking of pursuing a distance learning degree in political science. What you shall study in this degree shall have nothing to do with this. In fact, you would not frequently find an issue in any news channel being worthy of finding a place in the curriculum. The degree is purely theoretical. It simply DOES NOT teach you how to be a politician. IT doesn't.

What you shall find in a degree are issues of theoretical significance. For example, what are the philosophical bases for the modern notion of statehood? What did many great political thinkers think about it? What is international law? How does it operate? What are interest groups? How are different political systems similar to each other? How does the Westminster Parliament differ from Congress? Are the British Prime Minister and US president true counterparts of each other? And just don't forget political philosophy, the toughest part of the course, which will simply make no-sense or relevance to anything modern. To the extent it does, it is that the questions we debate now are what the world has been debating for thousands of years.