Psephology: Top Universities, Courses and More

Did you know that nearly $6 billion dollars were spent in the last national elections held in India or that a whopping $7 billion dollars were the budget for the US Presidential elections? Elections and politics is a fascinating field of study; the art of predicting the winner, political forecasting, polling statistics, and political strategy is called Psephology. The quantitative analysis of elections and balloting is a subfield of political science. Psephology makes use of historical voting precinct data, public opinion polls, campaign finance data, and other statistical data to determine the different facets of rising political powers across the globe.

Also Read: How to Make a Sure-Shot Career in Political Science

Who is a Psephologist?

Psephologists, or people who work in polling and exit polling, are in high demand. With all stakeholders, including politicians, the media, opinion-makers, and the general public, eager to know who will win and lose, there is a high need for such practitioners to apply their renowned talents to accurately predict election outcomes. A psephologist studies past election results or tries to anticipate what will happen in the future. These knowledgeable professionals assist communities in making sense of the vast amounts of data generated during a national or regional election.

Role of a Psephologist

In general, a psephologist is a technical and formal name for a group of media professionals who supply election-related information in a certain country. Psephologists may examine electorate samples and develop materials to demonstrate to the public how the sample represents popular opinion in an election. These people could be freelancers or employees of a media organization or a political campaign, however, they might be performing significantly different tasks as private campaign workers. Some of the responsibilities of a psephologist would include :

• Researching electoral data from the past. This is crucial for establishing facts and determining a population’s swing and preferences.
• Understanding the population’s demographics, politics, and dynamics. If you want to understand how people act, you must first understand the law of the land. When you combine this knowledge with statistics, you can anticipate if a particular party’s techniques for gaining support in a given region will work or not.
• Analyzing the most recent election results. You will make an evidence-based view about an ongoing election using statistical tools and other ways. For example, to estimate which party won what seats, you’ll compile a list of regions (states, municipalities, and so on), including electorates, turnout, rejected ballot papers, and postal voting numbers.
• While on job, you should leave your political opinions at home. This is possibly psephologists’ most crucial responsibility. Many pollsters are politicians themselves, but they put their political allegiances aside in order to provide the most precise and unbiased results possible.

How to Become a Psephologist

A guide to this path would include the following steps :

• Step 1: Complete Your High School: Consider sociology, political science,  in the arts, or mathematics and commerce in the sciences. Read about current events to broaden your understanding of society and politics.
• Step 2: Entrance Examinations: You can take an entrance exam for the arts and humanities (Bachelors of Arts or BA) or the sciences (Bachelors of Science or BS) (Bachelors of Science or BSc).
• Step 3: Graduation: You can study political science, psychology, history, sociology, and other relevant disciplines if you choose arts. Take mathematics and political science if you want to pursue a career in the sciences. The political science you learn in a BA and a BSc program is slightly different. Choosing the latter will give you a leg up on the competition and propel your career into psephology.
• Step 4: Post Graduation and Internship: You can pursue mathematics and politics further by pursuing a master’s degree (and, if possible, a Ph.D.). Internships with political parties, political research businesses, and marketing analyst firms are also options for getting hands-on experience with math in politics.
• Step 5: Land a Job: This is when it becomes tricky. You can work in journalism, analytics, or as a professor, among other fields. If you want to learn more about politics, you can become a politician. The most important thing is to be vocal and involved in politics (in an academic sense, not a political one). You’re ready to forecast who will seize the throne now that you have a relevant degree(s) and several years of experience analyzing political trends and socializing with public leaders.

Top Universities in the World for Psephology

Here is a list of colleges in India and Abroad for such courses:

• Harvard University
• Yale University
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• University of Cambridge
• University of Stanford
• National University of Singapore
• Oxford University

Top Universities in India

• Lady Shri Ram, Delhi
• St.Xavier’s College, Mumba
• Christ University, Bangalore
• Miranda House, Delhi
• Presidency College, Chennai
• Madras Christian College, Chennai
• Hindu College, Delhi

Popular Courses

Bachelor’s

• BA in Political Science
• BSc in Political Science
• BA in Sociology
• BSc in Sociology

Master’s

• MA in Political Science
• MSc in Political Science
• MA in Sociology
• MSc  in Sociology

Job Prospects

Although there aren’t many career opportunities in political science, there are a few agencies that specifically seek out psephologists. We’ve compiled a list of a few below:

• Media Houses
• Print Media
• Magazines
• Research Agencies
• Academic Institutions
• Political Parties

The Psephologist is in higher demand these days, with an expanding number of news networks and magazines devoting large portions of their programming to elections. Particularly during election season. With elections being held in every state on a regular basis, psephologists are in high demand throughout the year. They are also officially linked to media outlets to produce columns and stories about election outcomes, their consequences, and so on. Psephologists are also employed by research agencies and institutes.

Salary

The actual figure will be determined by your current profession and level of popularity. Freshers are paid roughly INR 15,000 to INR 25,000 per month for the duration of the election because being a psephologist is merely a campaign job. However, if you are successful and well-known in your district, you can expect to get paid roughly INR 75,000 each month for the duration of the election. 

FAQs

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