The government major, or “Gov” as it as referred to at the Academy, is the largest major, making up nearly one-fifth of the Corps of Cadets. The government major focuses on history, political science, and the humanities, while still taking most of the engineering prerequisites, working towards earning a Bachelor of Science degree, and fulfilling the nautical science requirements. I love studying government at the Academy, because of the diversity of classes I can take as a Cadet. So far as a sophomore, I have taken an introductory composition course, a gender studies and sexual orientation course, an American government course, an introductory political science research course, a comparative politics course, two intelligence courses, two Spanish language courses, and a diplomacy course. Through the diversity in courses I have taken, I have become very interested in intelligence. This is why I have chosen my concentration to be Security Studies. There are three concentrations within the major: Public, Policy, and Law (PPL), International Relations (IR), and Security Studies (SS). Each concentration focuses on that specific topic, with Security Studies focusing on intelligence and cyber operations.
As a government major, I have seen multiple distinguished officials speak at the Academy, including Senator Ben Sasse, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Admiral Schultz (former Commandant of the Coast Guard), and many other Coast Guard flag officers and senior officials. I am very excited for the summer opportunities that I will have as a senior (1/c) cadet at the Academy. Every summer countless of government majors go to internships across the country, including the FBI, Coast Guard intelligence units, the NSA, the NGA, studies abroad in Europe and Asia, and even to Congress. I am excited to see where the government major will take me!
