Graduate School Bulletin
Spring 2025
Requirements for the M.A. Degree
In addition to the minimum requirements of the Graduate School, the Department requires all candidates to complete 30 credits of approved graduate coursework in which a grade of B or higher has been received.
Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in Political Science
In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, the following are required:
A. Required Courses
- POL 600 Research Project
- POL 601 Public Policy and Political Economy
- POL 602 Applied Data Analysis I
- POL 603 Applied Data Analysis II
- POL 604 Applied Data Analysis III
- POL 605 American Government
- POL 608 Political Psychology
- POL 610 Experimental Design or POL 613 Game Theory for Political Scientists. If both courses are taken, one of them can count as an elective course.
B. Electives
Students are required to take a minimum of eight elective advanced seminars. The seminars are typically at the 600 level and can be within the department or can be in cognate fields such as psychology, economics, sociology, applied math, computer science, among others.
C. Qualifying Examinations
Students making satisfactory progress toward the Ph.D. are required to pass a qualifying examination following the second year of coursework.
D. Dissertation
The third year includes developing a dissertation proposal (prospectus) under the supervision of a dissertation advisor. The proposal must be defended at the end of the third year at which point the student is advanced to candidacy.
Upon successful conclusion of research (typically, at the end of the fifth year), the student defends the completed dissertation.
