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Programs

Department of Political Science

The Department of Political Science offers a program of graduate study leading to the degree Doctor of Philosophy. The primary purpose of the PhD program is to train scholars who will contribute to the future development of political science through careers in research, teaching, or the private sector. The doctoral program typically entails five or six years of full-time study.

Information about faculty and research can be found on the Department of Political Science website.

AdmissionsLink to section

Applying to Doctoral ProgramsLink to section

Students applying to the Political Science PhD program must complete an application consisting of the following elements:

  • Personal statement
  • GRE scores
  • Transcripts
  • Letters of recommendation
  • Writing sample
  • CV (optional)

International students must also supply TOEFL, TOEFL iBT at Home, IELTS, or Duolingo scores.

All entering students are expected to have a basic command of spoken and written English. One year of college-level calculus is desirable, but not required. The deadline for submitting application materials is typically in early January (for a fall start date). There is an application fee.

AcademicsLink to section

Master's Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

Students enrolled in the PhD program are eligible to receive a STEM-certified MA after completing 30 credit hours of coursework and passing the PhD qualifying examination.

Doctoral Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

Students must complete at least 14 graded courses in the PhD program, all with a grade of B- or better. Incoming students must also complete a math camp held in August before their first year. All students take two courses in formal modeling (407, 408) and in statistical methods (404, 405) in their first year, in addition to exploring substantive fields.

The second year is spent on additional coursework and research culminating with the preparation of a research paper by the beginning of year three. Two fields of concentration (American politics, comparative politics, formal theory, international relations, political methodology, or political philosophy) must be completed by the end of fall semester of the third year. One of the two fields must be either formal theory or political methodology. Students must also complete two additional substantive courses beyond the minimum requirements for fields of concentration. In their third year, students complete a comprehensive literature survey in an area of research, due in the fall, and a third-year paper to be presented to the department at the end of their third year of study.

A STEM-certified master of arts degree is awarded after the student passes the PhD qualifying examination by the end of the third year of study. Writing the PhD thesis is the major task of the remainder of the program. In addition, all PhD students serve as teaching assistants during their third and fourth years.

Graduate Course TitlesLink to section

  • PSCI 404. Quantitative Methods 1
  • PSCI 405. Quantitative Methods 2
  • PSCI 407. Mathematical Modeling
  • PSCI 408. Positive Political Theory II
  • PSCI 446. Environmental Law and Policy
  • PSCI 447. Green Markets: Environmental Opportunities and Pitfalls
  • PSCI 449. Environmental Policy in Action
  • PSCI 479. War and the Nation State
  • PSCI 482. Making Public Policy
  • PSCI 504. Causal Inference
  • PSCI 505. Quantitative Methods 3
  • PSCI 506. Advanced Topics in Methods
  • PSCI 507. Experiments in Political Science Research
  • PSCI 508. Theoretical Implications of Empirical Models
  • PSCI 512. Survey Methods
  • PSCI 513. Interest Group Politics
  • PSCI 518. Emergence of the Modern Congress
  • PSCI 527. Models of Domestic Institutions
  • PSCI 529. Race and Ethnic Politics in the United States
  • PSCI 530. Race, History, and Urban Politics
  • PSCI 535. Bureaucratic Politics
  • PSCI 540. American Political Institutions
  • PSCI 541. U.S. Political Behavior
  • PSCI 551. State Building and Conflict
  • PSCI 552. Dictatorship and Democracy
  • PSCI 555. Democratic Political Processes
  • PSCI 556. Political Institutions and Behavior
  • PSCI 557. Topics in Comparative Politics: Parties and Party Competition
  • PSCI 558. Comparative Parties and Elections
  • PSCI 559. Historical Political Economy
  • PSCI 561. Revealed Political Preferences
  • PSCI 564. Development and Political Economy
  • PSCI 565. Political Economy of Development
  • PSCI 566. International Relations Field Seminar I
  • PSCI 568. International Organization
  • PSCI 571. Quantitative Approaches to International Politics
  • PSCI 572. International Relations Field Seminar II
  • PSCI 573. Territory and Group Conflict
  • PSCI 575. Topics in Political Economy
  • PSCI 576. Graduate Research Seminar
  • PSCI 577. Theories of Conflict
  • PSCI 579. Politics of International Finance
  • PSCI 580. Models of Non-Democratic Politics
  • PSCI 584. Game Theory
  • PSCI 585. Dynamic Models: Structure, Computation, and Estimation
  • PSCI 586. Voting and Elections
  • PSCI 587. Structural Modeling and Estimation
  • PSCI 588. Models of Democratic Politics
  • PSCI 589. Advanced Formal Methods in Political Economy
  • PSCI 591. PhD Readings in Political Science
  • PSCI 594. Research Internship
  • PSCI 595. PhD Research in Political Science
  • PSCI 595A. PhD Research in Absentia
  • PSCI 995. Continuation of Doctoral Enrollment
  • PSCI 997. Doctoral Dissertation
  • PSCI 997A. Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia
  • PSCI 997B. Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia – Abroad
  • PSCI 999. Doctoral Dissertation
  • PSCI 999A. Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia
  • PSCI 999B. Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia – Abroad