Graduate Program

Curriculum and Program Requirements

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The formal requirements for the Ph.D. are listed below. Please consult the designated sections for additional details.

  • Twelve courses completed with a grade of B or better of which ten of those courses must be taken in the Department of Political Science and eight of those must be 2000-level graduate seminars. You may take up two courses in a related discipline without prior approval.
  • The following courses are required:
    • POLS2000
    • One of two statistics courses: POLS2580 or POLS2590
    • Two of the four pro-seminars: POLS2100, POLS2110, POLS2120, POLS2130
    • A year long prospectus writing seminar worth one course credit, POLS2050 / POLS2051
  • Passing preliminary examinations in two of the four general areas (American, Comparative, International Relations, and Political Theory).
  • Completing all coursework and passing the preliminary exams (both written and oral) constitute the requirements for formal admission to candidacy for the Ph.D.
  • Teaching experience under the supervision of a member of the faculty in both the main field of expertise and in a second field.
  • A written prospectus and a public defense of the proposal for the dissertation.
  • Completion and successful defense of the Ph.D. dissertation.