Who We Are

The Political Science Undergraduate Association (PSUA) is a non-partisan, registered, not-for-profit student organization and is an integral part of the Political Science department at the University of Alberta. Our mission is to provide opportunities for student involvement and to act as a liaison between the Political Science department and all Political Science students. In addition, the PSUA organizes a number of social and extra-curricular activities which provide excellent opportunities to interact with faculty members and other Political Science students. All current undergraduate students who are registered in the Political Science Honours, Major, or Minor program are considered members of the PSUA.

Want to Get Involved?

There are many ways to get involved with the PSUA. Doing so can be incredibly beneficial to you in building your resume for graduate school and future job opportunities, meeting other students and faculty within the Political Science department, developing valuable life skills such as leadership and managerial skills, and making your undergraduate experience at the University of Alberta memorable! Here is how you can get more involved:

01. Join the PSUA executive team
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The PSUA executive team is a group of eight people elected by the PSUA to serve the organization for a period of one year. There is a President, Vice-President Academic, Vice-President Communications, Vice-President Events (Community), Vice-President Events (Fundraising), Vice-President External, Vice-President Finance, and Vice-President Internal. These eight individuals promote and plan events for the PSUA, among other duties. To learn more about the PSUA executive team, please click the “Constitution” header at the top of the page. To meet the current PSUA executive team, please click the “Meet the PSUA Teams” header at the top of the page.

02. Submit your essays to the Political Science Undergraduate Review (PSUR)
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The PSUR is an academic, peer-reviewed journal publishing scholarly work completed by undergraduate students at the University of Alberta. If you have written an excellent essay for a Political Science class at the University of Alberta and would like to be recognized for your hard work, consider submitting it to the PSUR! To learn more about the PSUR and to read last year’s journal, please click the “PSUR” header at the top of the page.

03. Join the PSUR editorial team
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The PSUR editorial team is made up of the Vice-President Academic, a multitude of peer-reviewers and copy-editors, and executive positions such as Communications Liaison, Publishing Coordinator, and Cover Designer that all work together to produce the journal. These positions are chosen by the Vice-President Academic through an application and interview process though no previous experience is required. To learn more about the PSUR, please click the “PSUR” header at the top of the page to be taken to the PSUR website, to meet the current editorial team, and to read the PSUR blog.

04. Join the Research Communications Committee
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The Research Communications Committee is a new PSUA committee created by the Vice-President Communications that is in charge of researching figures/events in accordance with provincial/national/international observances, creating social media posts that commemorate these figures/events or calls attention to pertinent issues, interviewing political science students to learn more about research they are conducting or volunteer work they are completing that is relevant to these observances, and promoting current events so that all political science students can stay informed of what is going on in the world around them. The committee is composed of the Vice-President Communications and five committee members chosen by the Vice-President Communications through an application and interview process though no previous experience is required. To learn more about the Research Communications Committee and to meet the team, please click the “Meet the PSUA Teams” header at the top of the page.