Student groups

Undergraduates of Political Science

The Undergraduates of Political Science (UPS) at UVic is a student run organization operating year round. The Society engages in a number of events throughout the academic year including games nights, mixers, pub crawls, career nights, movie nights, rooftop volleyball, debates and discussions.

The UPS acts as a liaison between students and professors and promotes the department informally throughout the campus. The organization works with the department and the UVic Students' Society to make your experience at UVic memorable.

Involvement in the UPS is a great way for undergraduate students to engage in an informal Political Science atmosphere, exchanging course secrets, swapping books, rating professors, debating the latest political events and forming lifelong friendships. Society executive are elected in April and September.

General membership is open to all students taking at least one Political Science course throughout the year. Join our Facebook group "The UPS" or visit our website - a great resource for upcoming events and important dates from the department and university.

Model United Nations Club

Model United Nations (MUN) is an academic simulation of the United Nations. The purpose is to educate students about the international community and about how the Nation States of the world interact. In MUN, students take on the role of a diplomat, and are expected to represent their nation's foreign policy on a variety of international issues. During the simulations students are expected to research and promote their nations foreign policy in an effort to reach consensus on resolutions.

Model simulations have been around even before there was a United Nations. During the 1920s students would gather together and simulate the League of Nations, the predecessor to the United Nations. Model simulations exist for many inter-governmental organizations such as: Model European Union, Model NATO, and even a Model Parliament which simulates the Canadian Parliament!

The University of Victoria Model UN Club has been operating for almost a decade. It was starting by a group of students who were interested in learning more about the international community. Each year the UVic Model UN club has participated in the National Model United Nations conference in the New York City. UVic has represented such countries as the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, China, and most recently Saudi Arabia.

The UVic Model UN club is an entirely student run organization. We have weekly meetings where we discuss current issues as well as the various organs of the UN. We also host a conference here at the University for local high school students. Throughout the year we host many educational days as well as panel discussions for any students interested. MUN is open to all students in any program, and we welcome new members all the time!

If you are interested in our club please do not hesitate to contact us or join us for our weekly meetings.

On Politics

On Politics is the journal of the University of Victoria Undergraduates of Political Science. It seeks to provide opportunities for undergraduate publishing and to encourage undergraduate scholarship. The journal publishes high-quality academic writing from a multitude of theoretical perspectices and sub-fields within the discipline of political science, as well as interdisciplinary perspectives. With these broad aims and inclusive features, On Politics presents an accomodating format to disseminate scholarship of a political nature from those who seldom gain the opportunity. On Politics publishes two issues per year.

Submissions to On Politics are welcomed from students during our Fall and Spring call for papers. Although published articles are typically found within the realm of political science, On Politics does not maintain a stringet allegiance to the discipline per se.

If you have questions, feel free to email the Editor-in-Chief at onpol@uvic.ca. We can also be found on Facebook.

Canadian Political Science Students' Association

The Canadian Political Science Students' Association (CPSSA) is a national organization run entirely by students studying political science at the undergraduate level. The national executive is elected yearly from universities across Canada.

Every year the organization hosts a national conference. The 2011 conference will be hosted by the University of Victoria with the topic "Politics and the Environment". Recent conference hosts include McGill, Memorial, U. Alberta, and Mount St. Vincent. The association also publishes a biannual, bilingual electronic journal and welcomes submissions from students in all disciplines of political science.