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Program Requirements

Coursework

Students must complete a minimum of 14 regular graduate courses (42 semester hours) and spend a minimum of three years in residence.  A two-course sequence in research methodology is required of all students, along with any two of the departmental core courses in American Government, Comparative Politics, International Relations, or Political Theory. Students also participate in a two-semester dissertation colloquium during the third year of study.

Recent Course Offerings

Fields of Study

Regularly offered graduate courses in political science span the subfields of the discipline, including American Politics, Comparative Politics, Formal Theory, International Relations, Political Methodology, and Political Theory.

The Dissertation

Upon completion of coursework and second- and third-year papers, students must prepare a written proposal for the doctoral dissertation and defend it before the faculty of the department.

Successful defense of the dissertation proposal completes the requirements for admission to candidacy for the PhD. Students normally begin dissertation research during the fourth year of study.

Working closely with a departmental committee, students undertake systematic research on a significant problem in political science. Defense of the completed dissertation before the departmental committee completes the requirements for the PhD.

Language Requirements

There are no specific foreign language requirements for the PhD. However, students whose doctoral research requires knowledge of a foreign language may be required by the dissertation committee to acquire and demonstrate the necessary proficiency.