Enhancing Political Science Education: Evaluating the Impact of Networking Skills Training

Networking is a critical skill, but many undergraduate students struggle to network beyond their peer group. This study explores the effectiveness of integrating networking skills training into a political science curriculum. In this course, students engage in a variety of information-gathering and connection-building networking activities. By surveying both the treatment group of students who took the course and a control group, this study assesses the impact of these interactions on students' networking comfort, confidence, and experiences. Findings indicate that the treatment group scores higher in every area, but it identifies some gender effects that are difficult to interpret.