Department of Political Science

As reflected in Emory’s recent ranking¹as a top 20 political science graduate program we have an outstanding Ph.D. program in political science here at Emory. We pride ourselves on producing both first-rate scholars and teachers. Our students have been tremendously successful over the years. Emory graduates have taken tenure track jobs at a number of the leading research universities and liberal arts colleges in America, including the University of Chicago, Washington University (St. Louis), the University of Iowa, Indiana University, Michigan State University, Brown University, Rice University, the University of North Carolina, the University of Washington (Seattle), Georgetown University, the University of Colorado, and the University of Texas among others. Emory Ph.D.s continue to break new ground in scholarship.

Our greatest strength is our faculty. Nearly thirty internationally recognized faculty cover a wide range of scholarly interests, including international conflict, international political economy, American and comparative judicial politics, congressional politics, elections, urban public policy, the politics of authoritarian regimes, the politics of Southeast Asia, gender and politics, Islam and politics, and the European Union. We also are committed to rigorous methods training at the graduate level. Emory has been ranked as a top twenty department by a number of measures of faculty research productivity. The relatively small size of the graduate program (we admit about seven students per year) ensures a very high faculty to student ratio, which allows for the development of close and fruitful mentoring relationships between faculty and students.

Graduate students benefit from generous financial assistance from the department and the university. Every student admitted into the doctoral program receives five years of financial support, including a full tuition grant, a stipend for living expenses, and partial coverage of health insurance. Most students are able to receive support beyond their fifth year, as well as during summers. We also offer substantial funding for students to present papers at conferences, take summer courses in foreign languages and research methodology, and pursue their own research projects on campus, across the country, and around the world.

We focus on training our graduate students to be excellent teachers as well as superior scholars. The Teacher Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity (TATTO) program is an intensive colloquium in which third year students are exposed to a variety of pedagogical tools. With this background, our Ph.D.s are fully prepared to be the educator/scholars that colleges and universities demand.

Emory has a number of institutions outside the political science department which offer wonderful opportunities for students with diverse and interdisciplinary interests. There are several area studies centers, including the Institute for African Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Russian and East European Studies and others. There is also the African-American Studies program, Environmental Studies, Women's Studies, and the Office of University-Community Partnerships which supports graduate research in the greater Atlanta community. Further, Emory is affiliated with the internationally renowned Carter Center, which engages in research on a wide variety of issues, including democratization, conflict, and development.

Last, our program is very successful at the "bottom line" of graduate training, placing our Ph.D.s in good jobs. Notre Dame has collected data on the placement records of several political science departments. In the most recent year for which data are available (2001-2002), Emory placed 75% of its Ph.D.s in tenure track academic jobs. This puts Emory at the top of all departments surveyed, ahead of departments such as Princeton, Cornell, Duke, and Washington University. During the 2004-2005 academic year, five of the six Emory graduate students and new Ph.D.s on the academic job market accepted tenure-track job offers.

I'm very glad that you are considering Emory. For questions regarding the application process and admissions, please do not hesitate to contact Professor Eric Reinhardt, Director of Graduate Admissions and Placement (erein@emory.edu). For all other questions, please contact me at ccarrub@emory.edu.

Sincerely,

Cliff Carrubba

¹Schmidt, Benjamin M., and Matthew M. Chingos. 2007. “Ranking Doctoral Programs by Placement: A New Method”. PS Political Science & Politics. XL(3)523-30.

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© 2005 Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
The Department of Political Science, 327 Tarbutton Hall, 1555 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, 404-727-6572 phone, 404-727-4586 fax
For web comments or questions, contact polisci@emory.edu. Last update March 12, 2008
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