The Master of Arts
For most students, the M.A. is the first step toward the Ph.D. Course work leads to an intermediate level of research expertise that is reflected in the M.A. essay, a brief but high-quality contribution to scholarly debates in political science.
We view the M.A. essay as a student’s first piece of original, professional-quality research. In many cases, the findings of the M.A. essay are reported to political scientists at national and regional conferences. We also encourage students to publish their M.A. essays as journal articles.
M.A. Requirements in Brief:
30 credit hours (most seminars are 3 credits), including:
Three core methodology classes, political analysis, introductory statistics, and multivariate statistics
Four courses in a major subfield
Two courses in a minor subfield
M.A. Essay
The Doctor of Philosophy
The Ph.D. degree is intended to prepare students for careers as college and university faculty members. The path to the Ph.D. begins with a good deal of structure in the first year. Over time, however, students’ programs of study become more individualized as they assume greater responsibility for their own education. Successful completion of the Ph.D. reflects the ability to develop and undertake significant research projects independently, as well as to design and teach college level courses.
Ph.D. Requirements in Brief:
Complete all requirements for M.A. degree.
Plus 30 additional credit hours, including:
- fifth course in a major subfield
- third course in a minor subfield
- three courses in a second minor subfield (may be outside political science and/or developed and defined by the student)
Written qualifying examinations
Oral comprehensive examination
Doctoral dissertation