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Political Science, Uppsala University Rejection after short-listing

Added on April 08, 2024

Economics, University Of Washington Seattle Ignore status. Please decline your funded offers from UW-SEATTLE if you have dominant offers. Please!!!! April 15 is so close. Thanks.

Mechanical engineering, university of hong kong if you are planning not to attend hku, please inform hku. hku is my top choice, and i am very willing to go here., economics, university of california, davis please, please, please decline your offer if you have a dominant offer. thank you very much, mechanical engineering, northwestern university, physics, new york university i have heard from anonymous sources that there is rolling admission, meaning that since i haven't heard back but was not outright rejected, i am effectively on a waitlist. if you are not planning on attending, i would greatly appreciate it if you would alert nyu so that i and other on the waitlist may stand a better chance of being admitted. like many of you, i have been pursuing physics for years, and i have struggled to find my footing due to persistent health problems. this is probably my last shot., mathematics, brandeis university hello, please consider declining your brandeis offer if you have a better one. i've been waitlisted for a while now and it'd help me a lot to get into this dream of a college. i trust you'll do the right thing., economics, northwestern university has anyone heard from northwestern i just got an email saying i am waiting listed., robotics, carnegie mellon university admit was converted from waitlist second class (division one) honors from the university of hong kong in computer engineering. 2 years of full-time work experience in robotics companies as robotics software engineer 2 years of part-time / internship experience in robotics / ai companies 2 part-time research assistant positions several extra-curricular projects in robotics and ai.

Added on April 07, 2024

Statistics, Penn State University

Social work, california state university, fullerton, physics, university of texas at austin i had heard nothing from them so i emailed to ask about the status of my application. they said if i hadn't received an offer at this point that i am rejected :( thought i'd let other people know who are still waiting as well, since apparently they can't just send out rejection letters...., economics, university of florida ignore status. did anyone hear back from uf did you get any notification about being getting rejected, accepted or waitlisted, social work, new york university, social work, suny albany, mechanical engineering, university of california, los angeles patents, publications, conferences, projects, philosophy, indiana university bloomington 2a/3w/16r/2p, community and regional planning, university of british columbia ubc geographical sciences undergrad., classics, university of cincinnati ignore status. i'm fully expecting a rejection, but has anyone heard anything at all from cincinnati the deadline for committing to a program is in one week and i've heard nothing., clinical mental health counseling, university of houston clear lake.

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A Commitment to Excellence

The Ph.D. program in Politics seeks to train students to assume faculty positions at a range of institutions of higher education and supports students pursuing a range of substantive research in the discipline. If you ask graduate students to identify the program’s strengths, they will mention:

• An across-the-board commitment to excellence in research and teaching.
• Respect for a variety of methods and approaches to political research.
• A strong sense of community among both faculty and graduate students.
• Unparalleled institutional support for research, ranging from one of the finest university libraries in the world to abundant resources for data collection, field work and conference travel.

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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of Political Science

Ph.d. in political science.

Gain advanced training and experience with a Ph.D. in Political Science from UConn.

The UConn Ph.D. program in political science prepares students to do innovative research and teaching at institutions of higher education. It also prepares them for careers in government, as well as a range of non-governmental organizations and research foundations.

Our Ph.D. students work closely with faculty in their classes and through research collaboration. Many students conduct their own research with guidance from faculty mentors, resulting in publications in some of the top journals in the field.

Ph.D. Subfields

Ph.D. students can specialize in one of several diverse subfields:

• American politics.
• Comparative politics.
• International relations.
• Political theory.
• Public law.

Learn more about Ph.D. Outcomes

View Admissions Requirements

Requirements and Options

The Ph.D. program includes two stages. In the first stage, students do course work to develop expertise in two chosen subfields in which they will take Ph.D. exams.

Once the student has completed their scope, method, and elective requirements and successfully passed the Ph.D. exams, they become ABD (or all but dissertation). At this stage, students form a dissertation committee and work with their committee to prepare a dissertation proposal outlining an original research project. When this project is complete, they defend the dissertation.

Students are required to take Ph.D. exams in two of the Department’s five subfields. In order to take the Ph.D. exam in a field, students must have completed the course requirements outlined below.

In addition, all doctoral candidates must take:

• POLS 5600. Nature of Political Inquiry.
• POLS 5605. Introduction to Quantitative Methods.
• POLS 5615. Introduction to Qualitative Methods.
• One advanced methods elective.

Finally, all Ph.D. students must enroll in GRAD 6950-003 in their first, second, third, and fourth semesters. To receive the grade of “Pass,” they must attend four scholarly presentations in the relevant semester. The student and major advisor should together determine which presentations to attend and what will constitute sufficient evidence of having attended.

Subfield Requirements

American politics.

In preparing for the Ph.D. Exam in American politics, students must successfully complete the following courses:

• POLS 5406. Seminar in the American Political System
• POLS 5407. Advanced Topics in American Political Institutions and Policy
• POLS 5408. Advanced Topics in American Political Behavior
• POLS 5409. Advanced Topics in American Race, Gender and Ethnic Politics

Comparative Politics

Students should take four courses in POLS 5240:

• Regime Types
• Political Institutions
• Comparative Political Economy
• Contentious Politics

International Relations

In preparing for the Ph.D. exam in international relations, students must successfully complete POLS 5300: Pro-seminar in International Relations and at least three other courses from the following list:

• POLS 5115. Theories of Human Rights
• POLS 5305. Foreign Policy Analysis
• POLS 5315. International Security
• POLS 5320. International Conflict and Cooperation
• POLS 5322. Assessing Human Security
• POLS 5325. International Political Economy
• POLS 5330. International Organization and Law
• POLS 5335. US Foreign Policy in the Middle East
• POLS 5340. Politics and Security in the Middle East
• POLS 5345. Foreign Policies of the Russian Federation and the Former USSR
• POLS 5390. Economic Rights
• A special topics course approved by the IR Field Committee (some prior examples include Special Topics in Human Rights, Feminist Political Methodologies, East Asian Political Economy, Africana Dialogues, and European Approaches to International Relations)

No more than two of the four required courses may be taken with a single international relations faculty member.

International Relations Subfield Comprehensive Exam Policy

In consultation with their faculty advisor, students who take the Ph.D. exam in international relations will choose one of the following options:

• Write a sole-authored research paper that meets at least a “revise and resubmit” peer- review standard. The paper can be a revision of a paper written for a seminar, conference, etc. The length of the paper is to be between 8,000 and 12,000 words, all-inclusive. The paper should build toward the student’s dissertation. The student will identify a journal for which it will be targeted and are required to note this choice on the manuscript’s title page. The format/style of the submission will be determined by the standards of the target journal. No actual submission to a journal is required. A three-member faculty committee will read and grade the paper, with the committee issuing a single rating of “Reject,” “Revise and Resubmit,” or “Accept.” A grade of “pass” for the exam requires a rating of either “Revise and Resubmit” or “Accept.” A grade of “Reject” is considered a failing grade for the exam.  At the discretion of the faculty committee, this option may include an oral defense of the paper with a three-member faculty committee.
• Write an annotated graduate-level syllabus for a 13-week course that introduces students to the field of international relations. This option also requires an oral defense of the syllabus with a three-member faculty committee. The syllabus may be theoretical or thematic in the type of overview of the field provided, with the understanding that theory is one of the major themes of international relations. Students will consult with their faculty advisor regarding which of these two types of syllabi to write. The syllabus must contain specified assignments which are justified relative to course goals and content. For each of the course’s 13 weeks, the syllabus must include: (i) a detailed reading list, and (ii) a fully realized description of the week’s pedagogical goals and content (e.g., How do these readings fit together in their address of the week’s theme/goals?” “How are these readings justified, pedagogically?” “How do these readings address the relevant disciplinary terrain?”).

Political theory

Prior to taking the Ph.D. exam in political theory, students must successfully complete at least four graduate courses in political theory, including POLS 5100: Pro-seminar in Political Theory. We strongly encourage students to take additional coursework with a strong theoretical component.

Some recently offered graduate seminars in political theory include:

• Critical Theory
• Critical Race Theory
• Theories of Human Rights
• Comparative Political Theory
• Women Political Thinkers
• Emotions and Politics
• Public Reason and Deliberation
• Black Feminist Theory and Politics

Political Theory Subfield Comprehensive Exam Policy

Field Designation and Exam Structure Students must pass four political theory courses with a grade of B or higher and with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in those courses before taking the exam. In consultation with their faculty advisor, and with the approval of the political theory subfield, students will designate if political theory will be a Field of Specialization (FOS) or a Field of Competence (FOC) for their PhD studies.

Field of Specialization (FOS)

• The exam for those who designate political theory as an FOS will comprise both the research paper and the annotated syllabus. They must pass both components to pass the Ph.D. exam. If they do not pass a single component at their first attempt, they will only retake that component during their second attempt. If they fail either component twice, they fail the exam.
• Those who designate political theory as an FOS must take a fifth course with significant political theory content, either graded or as an audit, prior to defending their dissertation.

Field of Competence (FOC) The exam for those who designate political theory as an FOC will comprise the annotated syllabus. If they do not pass at their first attempt, they may only attempt the exam a second time. If they fail at their second attempt, they fail the exam. Research Paper:

• The student will submit a single-authored research paper of between 8,000 and 12,000 words all-inclusive, which may be based upon a previously written, unpublished paper.
• They will identify a target journal for the paper and must note this choice on the manuscript’s title page. The format and style of the submission must meet the standards of the target journal, with the possible exception of the previously-stated word-length requirement. The student does not need to submit the paper to any journal.
• A three-member faculty committee will read the paper and each member will issue a single rating of “Accept,” “Revise and Resubmit,” or “Reject.” Two or more ratings of “Accept” will result in a grade of “pass with distinction” for the exam. Two or more ratings of “Revise and Resubmit” or better will result in a grade of “pass” for the exam. Two or more ratings of “Reject” will result in a grade of “fail” for the exam. Each committee member will provide written feedback to the student.

Annotated Syllabus:

• The student will submit an annotated syllabus for a 14-week, first-year, graduate-level course that introduces students to the field of political theory.
• This should cover a broad range of historical political thinkers and a variety of different approaches to and themes in political theory. The student must include a clear, written defense of their choices regarding the overall structure of the syllabus, including why figures, texts, and themes covered are indispensable to orienting students to the field of political theory. Students should consult the Highly Recommended and Recommended sources from the Political Theory subfield Ph.D. reading list in constructing their syllabus.
• The syllabus must contain a statement of the overall pedagogical goals of the course and a list of specific assignments with clear justifications for how they help achieve those goals.
• a complete description of that week’s topics or themes, connecting them, as appropriate, with themes from weeks that precede and follow it, and specific pedagogical goals,
• a detailed reading list, including annotations, for each reading; the annotations should be between 100 and 150 words for each article or group of two or fewer chapters from a book and 200 to 250 words for each book or group of three or more chapters from a book.
• A three-member faculty committee will read the syllabus and provide written feedback to the student. If the committee deems the syllabus as not possibly passing based upon the overall quality of the written syllabus, it will assign the student a grade of “fail” for the exam. If the committee deems the syllabus as possibly passing, the student must subsequently participate in an oral defense of the syllabus with the committee. At the end of the oral defense, the committee will assign the student a grade of “pass with distinction,” “pass,” or “fail” based upon the overall quality of the written syllabus and the oral defense.

In preparing for the Ph.D. Exam in public law, students must successfully complete all three of the following courses:

• POLS 5505. Law and Society
• POLS 5510. Judicial Decision-making
• POLS 5515. Constitutional Interpretation

And at least one of the following:

• POLS 5010. Law and Social Change
• POLS 5010. Seminar in Legal Theory/Jurisprudence

View the full requirements on the UConn Graduate Catalog's website.

Applicants for the Ph.D. program in political science must apply to and be accepted by both the UConn Graduate School and the Department of Political Science. Applicants must apply online via the UConn Graduate School website.

All application materials, including supporting documents, must be received by January 15. Applications will not be processed until the application fee is paid. The Graduate School can, when a genuine need is demonstrated, extend fee waivers. Applicants must meet a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Required Application Materials

The Department of Political Science is unable to consider applications until the requirements of the Graduate School have been fulfilled. In addition to the Graduate School materials:

• The Department of Political Science requires a personal statement, writing sample, and three letters of recommendation. The Department also recommends (but does not require) students submit the test scores from the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).
• The personal statement should indicate that you understand what undertaking a Ph.D. in political science involves, that you have relevant preparation for it, and that UConn’s program will enable you to work effectively toward your aims.
• Applicants without a master’s degree should apply directly to the Ph.D. program.
• Your writing sample should be a substantial piece of written work that demonstrates your ability to communicate effectively and to engage in sophisticated critical reasoning with materials and on themes related to the study of politics.
• Your letter writers should be sure that they will be able to submit their recommendations for you by the January 15th deadline and that they can write with considerable detail about your intellectual experience and talent and suitability to a doctoral program. There is no form for letters of recommendation, but they should appear on letterhead with complete contact information for the person writing the letter.
• Letter writers will receive an email asking them to upload your letter to the graduate application website.

International applicants must submit transcripts and degree statements both in the original language and an official English translation. Additionally, international applicants from countries where the official language is not English, or who have not received a degree from an institution where the language of instruction is English, must submit the results of the TOEFL examination to the Graduate Admissions Office:

Graduate School, University of Connecticut 438 Whitney Road Ext., Unit 1152 Storrs, CT 06269-1152 Phone: (860) 486-3617

Application Deadline:

Learn more about financial aid for Ph.D. students.

Apply to the UConn Graduate School

For questions about the Ph.D. in Political Science, please contact:

Christine Luberto

Graduate Coordinator, Department of Political Science [email protected]

Graduate Program

Graduate admissions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

All applications for the SM and PhD programs must be submitted online through GradApply by December 15, 2023 for Fall 2024 admission. Students are admitted as degree candidates only for September. The Political Science GradApply website is at https://gradapply.mit.edu/polisci . 

The admissions committee will not review late or incomplete applications.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required. The institution code is 3514, and the department code is 1902.

If your language of instruction from primary school through college/university was not English, you must take either the TOEFL iBT or the IELTS. We require a minimum TOEFL score of 100 on the internet-based test. On the IELTS you must score a minimum of 7. MIT only accepts official score reports. Degrees from US or English-speaking ­universities are not accepted in lieu of TOEFL or IELTS. In limited cases the department will consider a waiver. Applicants must request the waiver form from the department. The institution code for the TOEFL is 3514 and the department code is 92.

It is advised that these tests be taken as early as possible as official scores from ETS should be received by the deadline.

Special Instructions

In your Statement of Objectives, please be sure to discuss the research questions you would like to pursue in your graduate studies. We also require a personal statement of 250-500 words. You should use the personal statement to address how your background and life experiences (including cultural, geographical, financial, and educational opportunities and challenges) have shaped your academic career and your decision to pursue a graduate degree in political science. The personal statement is distinct from the statement of objectives in that it should focus on your personal journey to graduate school rather than your proposed academic plans.   Please submit two other documents, both in .pdf format: a copy of your resume and a writing sample. The writing sample should be no more than 50 pages in length and is used to assess your conceptual thinking and analytical skills. Therefore, please submit a writing sample that best represents your potential to conduct graduate-level research, such as a research paper or a portion of an undergraduate or master’s thesis. Writing samples are welcome from any discipline and do not need to be from a political science course.

Academic Transcripts

All applicants are required to scan and upload official transcripts with their applications . Accepted applicants will be required to provide a sealed official transcript from each school attended. Any discrepancy between the scanned and official transcript may result in a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

If you participated in a study abroad program and your coursework/credits are reflected on your home institution's official transcript, you do not need to list this or send an official transcript from that program.

If you attended a community college or university from which you did not receive a degree and transferred those credits to an institution from which you received a degree (for which you are submitting an official transcript) you do not need to list the community college/university or provide an official transcript.

Letters of Recommendation

We advise you to request letters of recommendation as soon as possible from individuals who can best evaluate your scholarly potential as a graduate student in political science. We ask that all recommendations be submitted electronically, using the online system. Use Letters of Recommendation and then Letter Status to ask for electronic recommendations and to check whether recommendations have arrived. You must e-mail your recommenders the instructions shown in Letter Status .

You may address additional questions about Political Science graduate programs and the application process to [email protected]   or [email protected] .

Application Mentorship Program

The Political Science Application Mentorship Program (PS AMP) is a student-run and student-initiated program specifically intended for PhD applicants from communities that have historically been underrepresented in higher education. This includes, but is not limited to: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), non-cisgender individuals, members of the LGBTQIA+/queer community, individuals with disabilities, first-generation college students, and individuals from low-income or otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds. If you think you fall into one of these groups but aren’t sure, we still encourage you to sign up. Applicants will be paired with graduate student mentors who can answer questions about MIT PoliSci and provide application assistance. Participating in PS AMP is completely voluntary and will not affect your graduate admissions decision. Please sign up here , and check out the FAQ page or email [email protected] .

Privacy Policy

MIT is committed to protecting the individual privacy of applicants and students by restricting the use of all collected information as specified by Institute policies. In accordance with these policies, the information in your application may be used by MIT officials only for appropriate administrative and research purposes.

This site uses cookies to maintain a session identifier while you are actively using the site, but does not use cookies for any other purpose. The software we use to process credit card payments uses secure encryption technology (SSL) to reduce the possibility of theft, manipulation, and other alteration of information that you provide to us.

Any changes to our policy will be posted on this page.

Doctoral Program

Program Overview

The principal goal of the Stanford Ph.D. program in political science is the training of scholars. Most students who receive doctorates in the program do research and teach at colleges or universities. We offer courses and research opportunities in a wide variety of fields in the discipline, including American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Political Methodology. The program is built around small seminars that analyze critically the literature of a field or focus on a research problem. These courses prepare students for the Ph.D. comprehensive exam requirement within a two-year period and for work on the doctoral dissertation.

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The Ph.D. Pathway at CU and Handbook

The Department of Political Science offers Ph.D. level courses in six fields:

• American Politics

Public Policy

• Comparative Politics
• International Politics
• Political Theory
• Empirical Theory and Methodology

Requirements for the Ph.D. in Political Science fall into four major categories: course work, qualifying paper defense, comprehensive examination, and doctoral dissertation.

Course Work

Students must complete a minimum of 42 credit hours with a “B” average or better. Of these 42 hours, 39 must be at the 7000 level or higher. Only six hours of independent study can be counted towards the credit requirement. Also, a minimum of 35 hours must be taken within the Political Science Department ( footnote ). During their first semester in residence, students are required to take two introductory courses: PSCI 7075: Scope and Methods and PSCI 7085: Introduction to Political Data Analysis.

Funded students must complete a minimum of nine graded credit hours per semester for their first five semesters or until they have passed comprehensive exams. Courses taken as pass/fail do not count as graded credit. As a condition of funding, all students appointed as teaching assistants are also required to enroll in PSCI 7008: Teaching Political Science during the first year.

Students should select their fields and courses keeping in mind that they must pass comprehensive exams in the major and minor fields that they choose. Students must take additional coursework with the consideration that they will fulfill all requirements needed to complete the program. Students are required to take at least three courses outside of their major and minor fields. (Students have option of constructing a thematic or cross-area concentration, with a created title, out of these three courses). All courses taken outside the department must be in agreement of the student’s advisor and Director of Graduate Studies. It should be noted that courses cannot double count to fulfill requirements in the separate fields.

If a student chooses Empirical Theory and Methodology as a minor field, then the student must take at least three additional courses beyond 7085.

Students must receive a B- or above as a grade requirement for all courses in the program. According to the Graduate School, grades of B- or above are only accepted towards Ph.D. Candidacy.

Required coursework to complete the Ph.D.:

• Must include courses PSCI 7075, PSCI 7085, and PSCI 7008
• A minimum of 35 credit hours in Political Science
• 39 credit hours must be 7000 level and above
• If a field offers a core seminar, it is required
• A minimum of three courses outside of the major and minor field
• No courses can be taken as “no credit”
• Courses taken as pass/fail do not count as credit towards degree
• 30 credit hours of dissertation work
• Research competence: two method courses beyond PSCI 7085 or language requirement

Graduate students whose first field is public policy will be required to take a total of seven courses including the core seminar, PSCI 7126: Introduction to Public Policy, and one of these two seminars: PSCI 7206: Public Policy and the Governance of Natural Resources or PSCI 7151: American Subnational Politics and Government. Students must take two elective courses that focus on a substantive policy area such as environment, health, education, development, etc. All courses taken outside of the department will require the approval of the student’s advisor as well as the graduate director prior to registration. 

PSCI courses in other department subfields could also qualify to be counted as a policy elective. If a course is identified as relevant for the student’s public policy training they may request that the course be counted. The graduate director, in consultation with the student’s advisor, will determine whether such a request is approved. 

Public policy students are also required to take PSCI 7095: Advanced Political Data Analysis and two other advanced methods courses, one of which may be taken outside of the department. 

Students who declare public policy as a second field are required to take the core seminar, PSCI 7126: Introduction to Public Policy, and one of these two seminars: PSCI 7206: Public Policy and the Governance of Natural Resources or PSCI 7151: American Subnational Politics and Government. Second field public policy students are required to take two advanced methods courses beyond PSCI 7085 Introduction to Political Science Data Analysis, which may include PSCI 7095: Advanced Political Data Analysis. One or both advanced methods courses may be taken outside of the department with the approval of the student’s advisor as well as the graduate director prior to registration.

Research Competency

Students must acquire a “research competence” through their coursework or demonstrate that they have acquired it elsewhere. Research competence is demonstrated through either the completion of at least two methodology courses beyond PSCI 7085: Introduction to Data Analysis with a “B” average or better, or through the completion of a 5th semester college-level foreign language course with a “B” average or better ( footnote ). Students must complete this research competency requirement by their seventh semester in residence. If required for dissertation work, a student’s prospectus committee may set higher standards for research competence.

As is often the case, competence in a foreign language requires intensive study. Students can satisfy the foreign language through courses taken over the summer both at the University of Colorado and at intensive summer language programs at other institutions. More specifically, competence in a foreign language can be demonstrated by the GSFLT (Graduate School Foreign Language Test) or a standardized examination recognized by language departments at the University of Colorado (CU). The most common placement exam at CU is the Continuing Student Language Placement exam offered by CU's Orientation Office free of charge. This test allows continuing students to take language placement tests in ONLY Chinese, French, German, Russian or Spanish. Students may also provide a college transcript that indicates what language courses have been completed, which the Director of Graduate Studies will review and assess if the student has met the requirements.

Transferring Credit from Outside Institution

The Department of Political Science will consider up to 9 credits maximum to transfer from outside CU Boulder that count as part of Ph.D. Graduate Program requirements. Students interested in transferring credits from a previous degree or outside institution must consult with the Graduate Program Assistant to review whether or not the course(s) would fulfill program credit requirements. An official transcript, syllabus, and supporting documentation of each course wishing to be transferred must be provided for review. From there, the course(s) will be further reviewed by faculty in the field(s) most applicable to assess rigor, equivalency, and eligibility of the transfer. Final approval will be determined by Director of Graduate Studies. Other rules and restrictions apply. For more information, please consult with the Graduate Program Assistant.

The Department offers a Master of Arts in Political Science (Plan II: non-thesis with final exam) for students enrolled in the Ph.D. program. This degree will be awarded following completion of 30 hours of course work including the core course work requirements for the Ph.D. degree, the teaching seminar, and successful defense of the Qualifying Research Paper.

Specifically, the Plan II degree requirements include:

Required Course work to complete the MA (30 hours):

• PSCI 7008 Teaching Political Science
• PSCI 7075 Introduction to Professional Political Science
• PSCI 7085 Introduction to Data Analysis

Qualifying Paper

With the assistance of their advisor, students select a qualifying paper committee of three faculty members (at least two from the Political Science Department). All Ph.D. students must submit a qualifying research paper to their qualifying paper committee by April 1 of their fourth semester in residence. This paper must be defended in an oral examination by the end of that semester. The qualifying paper committee will write a report which will include a recommendation to the Graduate Committee to 1) admit the candidate into the Ph.D. program, 2) award a terminal M.A. ( footnote ), or 3) fail the student.

The primary purpose of the qualifying paper is to demonstrate the student’s ability to independently identify an important question in political science and to bring relevant theory and evidence to bear in evaluating that topic. The genesis of the ideas in this paper may come from a variety of sources. For example, students may rework a seminar paper, condense and elaborate prior M.A. work undertaken at C.U. or elsewhere, or start an entirely new project.

Students in the Ph.D. program earn a M.A. in Political Science after the completion of a successful qualifying paper and defense at the end of the second year in the program. The department does not accept applications for a terminal M.A. in political science.

The award of a terminal M.A. will be contingent on the completion of course work into the fourth semester.

Comprehensive Examinations

Students must take rigorous comprehensive examinations by the end of their 6th semester in residence ( footnote ). The student’s major and minor field are to be the subject of the Ph.D. comprehensive examination. The exams have both written and oral components and are designed to demonstrate intellectual maturity and creativity, a command of the literatures relevant to the chosen fields of study, and an ability to articulate and defend a position on the important controversies in those literatures. The comprehensive examinations serve to demonstrate that the student has acquired the skills and knowledge necessary to function as an independent scholar in the field of Political Science generally, and in their chosen subfield of specialization. We expect not only broad knowledge, but also a critical understanding of the literatures and the ability to apply that understanding to the central, enduring questions of politics and government.

Comprehensive examinations will be administered in-house. The exams are “closed book” with no outside materials allowed. Comprehensive examinations are administered once each semester and the written portions are usually held during the last week of the break before the semester begins. The oral portions are held during the first two weeks of the semester. Oral examinations are scheduled individually. The written portion of the major field lasts two days and the minor field lasts one day. The oral component lasts one to two hours for each field.

The written examinations are constructed by faculty members within each designated field. The structure of the exam will be established for the entire academic year by the examination committee and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. It is the general practice that students have some range of choice in the questions they answer; that range, however, is at the discretion of the examination committee.

The Director of Graduate Studies will select the examination committees for each field. The oral part of the comprehensive examination is conducted by the same committee that graded the written examination. A final grade of pass or fail in each field is determined by the majority vote of the examination committee. Each committee has three members, so a student must receive a vote of “satisfactory” from at least two members of the committee to pass that field’s examination. Students must pass examinations in both their major and minor fields to be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy and proceed in the Ph.D. program. Failing a field involves retaking both the written and oral examination at the next administration of the exam. According to Graduate School policy, students are allowed only one retake attempt. If a student fails the exam, the committee provides a written explanation to the student.

Comprehensive exams may be scheduled earlier for those students who have entered the program with a M.A upon approval. Students, with the support of their advisor, may also petition (in writing) the Graduate Committee for a one-time postponement of the examinations. Petitions must be filed and reviewed by the Graduate Committee two months in advance of scheduled exam date.

Prospectus Defense

Once students have successfully completed their comprehensive examinations, they should be involved in consultations with their advisor regarding the formation of a dissertation prospectus committee. The dissertation prospectus committee (which often becomes the dissertation committee) is comprised of at least three faculty members (two of which must be from the Political Science Department). This committee guides the student through the writing of a dissertation prospectus: a written document laying out the intended course of doctoral dissertation research.

Students who pass both the major and minor field comprehensive exams in their first attempt must successfully defend the dissertation prospectus through an oral examination within 9 months of being notified of the passage of their comprehensive exams. Students who fail one or both of their comprehensive exams must successfully defend the dissertation prospectus through an oral examination within 11 months of completing the first attempt of their comprehensive exams. The specifics of the dissertation prospectus vary from student to student and are worked out between the student and their advisor with these deadlines in mind. Approval of selected committee members and date of dissertation prospectus defense must be confirmed with the Director of Graduate Studies and Graduate Program Assistant.

Doctoral Dissertation

Timely completion of the dissertation is an important part of the consideration to provide financial support. The department’s rule denies funding for students who have received this support for ten semesters, unless there is sufficient funding available to fund students for longer periods. The department takes into account this factor as well as other criteria for funding timely and adequate academic progress in allocating the limited funds for financial support. Two other important requirements at the doctoral dissertation stage are the following:

• Students must enroll for at least 30 hours of doctoral dissertation credit with no more than 10 credits in any one semester.
• Students must be continuously enrolled in at least three (part-time status) or five (full- time status) dissertation hours each fall and spring semester after passing the comprehensive exams. Students who fail to enroll continuously at this stage can only re-enroll and finish their Ph.D. after (1) applying for admissions and being accepted again into the program and (2) retaking and passing comprehensive examinations. Students who leave and re-enter must take comprehensive exams on the prevailing schedule and under prevailing rules within their first three semesters of re-entry.

Other Requirements

A number of other important requirements bear mentioning:

• Students must be able to use the English language with precision and distinction.
• Students must remain in good standing. A GPA of at least 3.0 (“B” average) is required; students falling below may be suspended by the graduate school. Students are also expected to make satisfactory progress toward their degree in each semester or face suspension. Timely and successful completion of course work, comprehensive examinations, prospectus defense, and dissertation defense as specified in various parts of this document is indicative of satisfactory academic progress.
• Ph.D. candidates must have successfully defended their dissertation in order to “walk,” be hooded by advisor, and participate in the commencement ceremonies the semester in which the ceremony is to take place.

Funded Students

Departmental funding includes a position as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or a Graduate Part-Time Instructor (GPTI) and departmentally awarded fellowships.

Teaching Assistants (TA): Graduate appointees who supervise and lead quiz sections, discussion sections, recitations or laboratory sections, serve as class assistants, or perform comparable activities. Students must be enrolled full-time, as a regular degree- seeking graduate student. Each TA must be under the guidance of a particular professor(s) designated by the department chair or his/her delegate. TAs are not placed in overall charge of courses.

Graduate Part-Time Instructors (GPTI): In addition to having a master’s degree, to be eligible for a GPTI position, students must have successfully passed both their first and second field of the comprehensive exam and be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. GPTI positions are not guaranteed to the student once they have passed the comprehensive examination. GPTIs generally are given full responsibility for an undergraduate class. The activities may include preparing the course syllabus, instructing their class, holding office hours, determining of grades, etc. GPTIs must be enrolled as a full-time, regularly enrolled, degree-seeking graduate student.

Funded students must complete a minimum of nine graded credit hours per semester for their first five semesters or until they have passed comprehensive exams. Continued funding is dependent on satisfactory progress toward a degree, meeting required deadlines, and performance in assigned duties. All students will have their progress reviewed by the entire faculty during the spring semester (see below). The department will make a recommendation to either renew funding, place students on probationary (or provisional) funding, suspend funding for one semester, or revoke funding. The revocation of funding will be exercised only for reasons pertaining to unsatisfactory progress of the students, such as not meeting qualifying paper and prospectus defense deadlines. These reasons will be made known to the student.

Non-funded Students

Students who enter the program without funding have the opportunity to win funding if they show scholarly promise and achievement. Their files as well as their record at Colorado (e.g., GPA, reports from faculty) will be considered during the yearly admissions process. Non-funded students will either be 1) awarded funding, 2) not awarded funding but will be eligible for temporary funding, or 3) denied funding. The Graduate Committee will rank those in categories 1 and 2 so that when funds become available there is a queue.

Temporary Funding

Non-funded students who received temporary funding are still in principle “non-funded” and must go through the above process to become “funded.”

Maximum Length of Funding

Satisfactory progress will result in the maximum of 10 semesters of departmental funding. Under exceptional circumstances students may request and receive funding beyond the 10- semester limit. Departmental funding includes assistantships (TA and GPTI assignments) and departmentally awarded fellowships. Departmental money does not include such things as outside grants and fellowships or funding provided by faculty research grants and fellowships.

Yearly Review

Every year the entire faculty will meet and review the progress of all students. Advisors as well as those faculty teaching first year students will make a short report on progress and an evaluation of whether the student is on track.

Students may have their funding revoked for any of the following reasons:

• Unsatisfactory performance in seminars
• One or more incomplete grades past one semester
• Failure to meet the qualifying paper deadline
• Unsatisfactory defense of the qualifying paper
• Failure to meet the comprehensive exam deadline
• Unsatisfactory defense of the comprehensive exams
• Failure to meet the dissertation proposal deadline

Conference Travel

Between ten and fifteen papers are normally presented by department students at national and regional conferences each year. The Director of Graduate Studies has been able to help defray costs of travel to Political Science conferences for those graduate students presenting professional papers. Funding for conference travel and presentations is also available from the Graduate School and from United Government of Graduate Students (UGGS).

Political Science Graduate Research Grant

The Graduate Program of the Department of Political Science annually awards small grants to current graduate students to fund research activities that enhance training and research. Students can use these funds for off-site training programs and workshops (such as ICPSR, EITM, and CQRM), fieldwork, language courses, data collection, or other relevant research activities. The Graduate Program expects to grant awards each year pending availability of University Fellowship Funds. Awards are granted through a competitive process in which the Graduate Program Committee chooses which proposals are to be funded.

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• About the Graduate Program
• Prospective Students
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• Ph.D. Requirements and Handbook
• Grants & Funding
• Dissertation Proposal Workshop
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Choosing a PhD Program in Political Science: What You Need to Know

Suppose you want to influence the way our society works. You’re certain that enrolling in a PhD program in political science is a good next step, but you’re looking for some guidance on which schools to apply to. In this podcast, IHS’s Jeanne Hoffman sits down with Dr. Nigel Ash ford to discuss how to choose a PhD program in political science.

The topics covered include:

• The five types of political science programs.
• The importance of a program’s rankings.
• What you should be looking for in a faculty advisor.
• Programs for people who believe in limited government or are libertarians.
• What you can do to increase your chances of getting into your top-choice program.

Transcription for “Choosing a PhD Program in Political Science”

Jeanne Hoffman: Welcome to this IHS online podcast. I’m Jeanne Hoffman. Today my guest is Nigel Ashford, and we’re talking about choosing a political science graduate program and using your degree. Dr. Ashford is the Senior Program Officer at the Institute for Humane Studies. Welcome Dr. Ashford, thanks for joining us once again.

Nigel Ashford: Thanks for the invitation.

Jeanne Hoffman: What should you think about when applying to political science programs?

Nigel Ashford: I’m going to start by the assumption that your goal is going into academia. If you’re not, there may be other considerations, but let me assume for the moment that it is. You need to think about who are the people who get academic jobs if that’s your goal. The evidence suggests that there are two main factors determining where you get an academic job. The first is the ranking of the department of your institution.

One thing we need to be clear about is that when you looked for undergraduate programs you looked at the ranking of the university.

One thing you need to be clear about is that’s not necessarily the same thing as the ranking of the department. Sometimes, you’ll have a good school, but the political science department isn’t great, or you’ll have a mid-ranking school but the political science department is really good.

You need to know about the ranking of the political science departments. You can look, for example, at US News and World Report have a website or APSA. If you go to APSA, American Political Science Association, they have a ranking of schools. So the ranking of the department is one thing.

The second thing that’s most important is your faculty advisor.

That’s going to make a big difference to whether you get an academic job or not. One of the things you need to know before you’re going there is. “What is the general area I’m going to work with? What are the field I want to work with?”

In political science, we usually identify five fields:

• American politics
• comparative politics
• international politics or international relations
• political methodology
• political theory

You need to know, “Which of those fields do I expect to work on?” That may change as you go through your graduate program, but you know in advance. Then you need to ask, “Well, who does American politics if that’s my field? Is anybody in American politics in that department doing stuff that relates to the things that I’m interested in?” You need to delve down quite deeply into looking at individual faculty members in making a decision.

The third thing, you also have to take into account your own quality of life.

Do you want to live on the West Coast, do you happy to live in a big city, etc.? These things may also affect your decisions, but the most important thing in terms of getting a job is the ranking of your department and who your faculty advisor is.

Jeanne Hoffman: Is there much difference between the programs themselves?

Nigel Ashford: Generally speaking, they’ll be the same. Some of them are stronger in others. Again, that’s something you might want to, when you look at the ranking of the sub-fields, you might want to look at. “Oh, that’s really good in political theory, but I don’t want to do political theory,” or, “I want to do American politics, and this school looks really good. It seems to have a lot of people working in American politics.” You may have a very specific interest. “I want to do research on India.” You need to do the research about in which departments that have faculty members that work on something like India.

I think once you’re there, you will be expected to do a variety of different coursework so you get some sense about all these different fields, and indeed you may then change your mind about where you’re going. Broadly speaking though, it’s fairly similar, and if you go to their websites they will often say, “We’re known for our strength in one of these sub fields.”

Jeanne Hoffman: What about specifically in the top programs?

Nigel Ashford: Again, the top programs, most of them are fairly large departments, so that means they should have good people in all the sub-fields that you’re looking at. Again, you may want to be careful that maybe the top person in your field that you’re interested in is retiring soon, so they’ll be gone. Is there somebody else there who’s also of good name in your field?

The thing I was thinking you should think about when you’re applying to graduate school: “What’s the question that interests me? What drives my interest, my intellectual interest? What are the things that I’ve read that have stimulated that interest? Where do the professors who I’ve read, what departments are they at?”

That may give you a clue, “Oh, that’s the sort of person I would like to work with, because they seem to be interested in the same things that I’m interested in.”

Jeanne Hoffman: Are there any programs that are overtly friendly to Classical Liberals?

Nigel Ashford: No. There may be specific individuals who are, but I can’t say, “Oh, you should go to this particular department because it particularly sympathetic to classical liberals.” What you may want to do is, where you see where is a good department that looks good in what you’re interested in, you might want to contact the IHS and say, “Is there anybody in that department who’s sympathetic to classical liberal ideas?”

There might be somebody in your field that you we can tell you, or they may not be in your field but they’re at least in your department. I come out of the question, the most important thing is a ranking and the faculty advisor. There’s no “The Classical Liberal School” that you should go to.

Jeanne Hoffman: Once I decide what programs I want to apply to, do you have any advice that’s specific to political science for the application process?

Nigel Ashford: I think you’ll find most of the departments have on their own websites, “This is the process. These are the things you’re going to apply for.” It tends to be the same sorts of things you’d expect elsewhere.

The GRE is very important. So is how well you did at school. Getting good recommendations from your professors matters. They tend not to vary that much in political science than from other disciplines.

It’s also very important to find a reason for why  you’re applying to that school. You’re giving a clear reason about why you’re interested in that particular school. I don’t think political science is that much different than other sorts of disciplines.

Jeanne Hoffman: How open should I be when applying to programs or discussing applying with faculty with my classical liberal views?

Nigel Ashford: You don’t want to label yourself as a classical liberal. You’re going to work with people who are not classical liberals. You shouldn’t be accepted onto a program because you’re a classical liberal. You shouldn’t be accepted onto a program because you’re a Marxist.

What you should be accepted for is you have interesting questions. Things that interest you.

Now, you presumably think that by pursuing this question it will lead you to classical liberal friendly results, but you should start from the question, because you want to find a faculty member to work with who’s interested in the same question. As long as you do good work, they won’t mind that it ends up with a classical liberal solution.

I think you should these sorts of situations with “What’s a question that interests me?” Not: “I’m a Classical Liberal; therefore, you should accept me at your school.”

Jeanne Hoffman: What kinds of coursework could I expect in my first year and is there anything I can read to prepare for that?

Nigel Ashford: One of the things you should look at are the courses. There may be some courses which are compulsory that you have to take. For example, you’ll probably have to take some courses in political methodology.

• Look at what the courses are that you’ll have to take, and often the syllabi are on the website.
• Familiarize yourself with the courses that are going to be your choices in your first year.
• Look at what those courses are that you’re going to take and what are the books that are recommended for that. The more work you can do before you arrive for the courses you’re going to take, the better.

Jeanne Hoffman: Aside from academic careers, what type of careers could I get after completing a PhD program in political science?

Nigel Ashford: The American Political Science Association has a section, indeed a whole booklet, on careers in political science. They list sixty different careers other than academia that are interested in people with a political science graduate program. Some obvious choices might include working in government in executive or the congressional branches.

Remember to not only think about the federal level, but to consider the state and local level as well.

There may be opportunities like working in journalism or working for a think-tank or a policy analyst. Working in government affairs for corporations and business, is also an option. (Sad to say, they’re strongly affected by what goes on in government and most business people have no idea how the political system works.)

You can bring your knowledge to table and explain how the political system affects their business and what they need to do to try and (as I would put it) limit the damages that government will do to them.

There are lots of opportunities other than academia. Just to mention, if you are interested in non-academic careers, that might actually affect where you go to do your PhD. Some places may not be so highly ranked for academic purposes, but might actually be more highly ranked for non-academic careers.

Jeanne Hoffman: Thank you very much for your insight into political science programs.

Nigel Ashford: Thank you.

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Political Science PhD admission decisions

less than 1 minute read

Published: November 18, 2020

After I submitted my last application to Political Science PhD programs in 2019, my admission-induced anxiety was mainly coming from not knowing when I’d hear back.

I made a little app using results posted on GradCafe so it would be easier to look up admission dates this year.

Data is coming from self-reported results and as such is subject to a number of biases. This year will also plausibly differ from previous cycles because of the pandemic, but this may still prove helpful to some people. You can find discussions about this and about more on Grad Cafe’s political science forum .

I have only included US schools from this USNWR ranking , because of time considerations linked with the data cleaning.

Select the school you have applied to and hover over past admission decisions (the colored dots) to get an idea of when you might expect results this year.

The app is built with R Shiny (code is available on GitHub ).

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Ph.d. in political science.

We are ranked as a top-ten research department and our graduate program has an excellent job placement record. Over the past decade, the vast majority of our PhD graduates have gone on to attain tenure-track positions, and many other students have become leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. 

In addition to a demanding sequence of courses during the first two years, our graduates begin working with faculty from the very first day, to gain an appreciation of the challenges involved in producing innovative research.

This paves the way to their own intellectual development, the first major milestone of which is a solo-authored research paper to be presented to the department during their second year in the program. From that point on, until the completion of the dissertation in year five, the focus is primarily on independent and collaborative research.

Our graduate program is organized around subfields that address major theoretical questions about political life, encourage collaboration across intellectual boundaries, and place us at the frontiers of the discipline. As a graduate student here, you will become certified in two major fields and gain exposure to other fields through our graduate workshop series.

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Political Science, PhD

Zanvyl krieger school of arts and sciences.

The Johns Hopkins University Department of Political Science is known for its strength in theory and in innovative and trans-disciplinary approaches to uncovering new knowledge, and the program of doctoral study draws on these strengths to provide rigorous training. Our program is designed for highly qualified, intellectually curious, and creative graduate students who can benefit by learning from and contributing to this community of scholars.

Doctoral students develop in-depth knowledge of a major field and a minor field (or two major fields), chosen from American politics, comparative politics, international relations, law and politics, and political theory. In addition, doctoral students may complete a certificate in comparative racial politics.

Students have opportunities to work closely with faculty and to pursue independent research, and faculty and doctoral students benefit from strong connections with colleagues in other social science and humanities disciplines and opportunities to collaborate with them.

The preparation of the next generation of scholars in the field of political science is a key part of the Johns Hopkins political science department faculty's commitment to research and advancing the understanding of politics. The doctoral program reflects the distinctive strengths of the department's cross-cutting intellectual orientations (encompassing the themes of power and inequality, identities and allegiances, agency and structure, and borders and flows), realized in faculty and PhD student research and teaching.

The department and Krieger School of Arts and Sciences provide opportunities for developing teaching and other career-related skills.

Financial Support

The department ordinarily provides financial aid to all students admitted to the graduate program unless they hold fellowships from sources outside the university. Departmental fellowships cover full tuition and an annual stipend. Assuming satisfactory progress toward the PhD, students can normally expect to receive funding for five years. All students receiving financial aid are expected to serve as teaching assistants for one semester of each academic year beginning their second year at the university.

Admission Requirements

The Department of Political Science admits approximately 16 new graduate students each year, selected from approximately 200 applications. Our entering class is typically around 10 students. 

The deadline for application for admission to graduate study and the award of financial assistance is December 15 (most years). Decisions are made exclusively in late February or early March and announced by March 15.

A bachelor's degree (or equivalent) and results of the Graduate Record Examination are required for application. Students whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL examinations or provide other evidence of fluency in English (such as a degree from an institution in which the language of instruction is English.) A broad background in the liberal arts and sciences is preferred. 

More information on applying can be found at  http://grad.jhu.edu/apply/application-process/ .

All applications should be submitted online.

Program Requirements  

The requirements for the PhD in political science are divided between those that must be satisfied by all candidates for that degree and those particular to the student's major and minor fields.

Department-wide Requirements

All candidates for the PhD must satisfy the following requirements:

Course Requirements

• To fulfill the requirements for the PhD in Political Science students must complete 12 courses at the 600-level with a grade of B or better.
• Of these 12 courses, eight must be graduate-level (600-level) courses taken in the Political Science Department.
• No more than two of these eight courses (600-level) may be Independent Studies.
• If a graduate student is interested in taking an undergraduate-level course, the student must make arrangements to take a graduate-level Independent Study with the professor teaching that course. (NB: As noted above, a student may take no more than two Independent Studies for credit toward fulfilling the requirements of the PhD).
• A graduate student may take no more than one graduate-level course at another division of Johns Hopkins University (i.e. SAIS, Public Health, etc.) for credit toward fulfilling the requirements of the PhD in Political Science.
• Students may make a formal request to the DGS to have up to two graduate-level courses taken at another institution count for credit toward fulfilling the requirements of the PhD in Political Science at JHU.

Foreign Language Requirement

All students must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language. This requirement can be fulfilled as follows:

• Demonstrate fluency in a foreign language (granted automatically for students whose first language is not English).
• Complete four semesters of college-level foreign language instruction.
• Pass a translation exam.
• Earn a degree from a University where instruction is not in English.
• With a degree from an institution in which the language of instruction is a language other than English.
• Place into a third-year foreign language course through online placement tests (see GRLL website).

Comprehensive Examination Requirement

Students are required, at a minimum, to take comprehensive exams in one major field and one minor field. Students may also elect to take two major exams or a major exam and two minor exams (one of which may be outside the Department of Political Science).

Faculty members in the field write and evaluate the exams and determine the format. Major field comprehensive exams take place over two days (8 hours per day); minor field exams take place over one day. The fields within the department are: American Politics, Law and Politics, Political Theory, Comparative Politics and International Relations.

Students choosing a second minor outside the Political Science Department must devise a coherent program of study in that discipline, in consultation with their Political Science faculty advisor and with faculty from the other department. Students choosing an external minor must complete a minimum of three courses at the 600 level in the external minor's discipline, earning a grade of B or better. They must also pass a comprehensive examination prepared and evaluated in consultation with faculty of the Department of Political Science by the instructors in those courses.

Dissertation

The dissertation is the capstone of doctoral education, and it must be a substantial work of independent scholarship that contributes to knowledge in the student's field of study. Students must identify a tenure-track or tenured member of the Political Science faculty who is willing to supervise the preparation of their dissertation. A dissertation prospectus must be submitted to two professors (one of whom must be the dissertation advisor) and that prospectus must be accepted by them both.

Students must pass a final examination that takes the form of a defense of the doctoral dissertation that is conducted under the rules of the Graduate Board of Johns Hopkins University.

Note: Exceptions may be made to some of these requirements but only with the approval of the graduate student's advisor and the Political Science Department's Director of Graduate Studies.

Field-specific Requirements

Field-specific basic expectations, procedures, and requirements are stated below. These are implemented, interpreted, and adjusted in the light of the intellectual orientations and objectives of individual students. It is important that students work closely with their advisors and with the faculty in their major and minor fields in constructing and pursuing their programs of study.

American Politics

Students majoring and minoring in American Politics will work with at least two faculty members to develop a plan of study that includes recommended course work and other preparation needed to pass a comprehensive exam. Students completing a major are expected to demonstrate a breadth of knowledge sufficient for framing a dissertation in the relevant disciplinary literature and teaching undergraduate courses in the field; students who pursue a minor may focus more narrowly on an area of study in which they demonstrate fluency. These may include, but are not limited to, the following areas of faculty interest:

• American Political Institutions (Congress, Courts, and the Executive)
• Urban Politics
• American Political Development
• Race and Politics
• Political Behavior and Public Opinion
• Public Policy
• American Political Thought
• Political Parties and Elections

In addition, students majoring in the field are strongly encouraged to take AS.190.602 Introduction to Quantitative Political Science as part of their course of study.

Comparative Politics

All students majoring and minoring in this Comparative Politics will become conversant with major substantive and methodological debates in the field, and be able to comment on the key theoretical literature in several of those debates. They will normally also develop knowledge of at least one world region. Students majoring or minoring in Comparative Politics are required to take AS.190.625 Theories of Comparative Politics and at least one seminar in quantitative or qualitative methods. Students are expected to master the material covered in these courses, as well as others with more specialized topics.

Students will take a comprehensive exam that will test their ability to engage with several areas of theoretical debate in Comparative Politics, and their ability to use comparative examples to support their arguments. Students may focus on (but are not limited to):

• Civil Society
• Institutional Theories
• Transnational Relations, Social Movements, and Contentious Politics
• Political Parties, Interest Groups, Representation, and Political Behavior
• Comparative Political Economy
• Comparative Racial Politics, Nationalism, and Migration and Citizenship
• The Political Economy of Development
• Economic and Political Transitions
• Ideas and Politics

Within the spirit of this division of the overall field, students may propose alternative delineations of thematic subfields.

Students working in specific thematic and substantive subfields within Comparative Politics will be required to demonstrate competence in methodologies and bodies of theory judged by the faculty to be necessary for quality research and teaching in those subfields.

Requirements for the Major Exam

Student taking the major exam are expected to compile a reading list that includes at least six fields, including a general "Theories of Comparative Politics" field. The reading list must be approved by the student's advisor at least six weeks before the exam. We strongly advise students to submit their reading lists to all of the CP faculty for feedback at least a few months before the exam. A minimum of three CP faculty members will read each major exam.

Requirements for the Minor Exam

Students taking the minor exam should seek two readers among the CP faculty for their exams. Students are expected to compile a reading lists that includes at least four fields, including a general “Theories of Comparative Politics” field. The reading list must be approved by the two readers at least six weeks before the exam. We strongly advise students to submit their reading lists to all of the CP faculty for feedback at least a few months before the exam.

International Relations

All students majoring or minoring in International Relations will be required to be conversant with the major theoretical, substantive, and methodological themes and debates of the field. It is strongly recommended that students take AS.190.676 Field Survey of International Relations and a methods course. 

Students majoring in International Relations will take an examination covering two subfields. The first subfield must be International Politics. The other subfield is to be determined in consultation with faculty teaching International Relations. Choices include but are not restricted to:

• International Law and Diplomacy
• International Relations Theory
• International Security Studies
• Science, Technology, and Art and International Relations

Global Political Economy

Students minoring in International Relations will take a comprehensive examination in International Politics.

Political Theory

Students majoring in Political Theory will take a comprehensive examination covering the following two subfields:

• Contemporary Political Theory
• History of Political Thought

Each student preparing for a major comprehensive exam will propose six or seven thinkers in the history of thought, six or seven recent or contemporary thinkers, and three or four issue areas. Examination questions are composed in light of the theorists and issues articulated in the exam prospectus.

The minor comprehensive exam in political theory asks the student to select half the number of thinkers required for the major exam and three issue areas.

Preparation for these examinations will be arranged in consultation with relevant faculty.

Students majoring in political theory will also take at least one minor field from American Politics, Law and Politics, Comparative Politics, or International Relations.

Law and Politics

Law and politics focuses on American constitutional thought, judicial politics, law and society, and philosophy of law. Students learn not only about the history and context of American constitutional developments, but also about the operation of the judicial branch of government in the past and the present. Studying how courts and judges do their work, students also consider how that work has changed over time. Students explore how legislation as well as court decisions reflect and influence a society’s policies, politics, and moral commitments. In addition, they examine how social movements, interest groups, and professional networks help to shape law’s content and implementation.

Students may major or minor in law and politics. In either case, students work closely with at least two members of the faculty to develop a plan of study regarding coursework and additional reading to prepare them for comprehensive exams. Majors are expected to demonstrate a breadth of knowledge in the field sufficient for framing a dissertation and for teaching undergraduate courses; minors may focus more narrowly on a particular area of study.

Progress Toward the PhD

The time necessary to obtain a PhD in the department varies according to the preparation individual students bring to the program, the scope and complexity of their dissertation topics, and other factors. Students are required to make satisfactory progress, meaning that they must work toward fulfilling the requirements in a timely manner. Students are encouraged to satisfy the department's foreign language requirement by the time of their first comprehensive exam. Most students take their comprehensive examinations in the third year in the program. Students who have completed all requirements except the dissertation must work to complete their dissertations as quickly as is reasonable given the unique circumstances of their course of study, and they must periodically demonstrate progress on the dissertation.

The Master of Arts degree is offered only to students who have been admitted into the PhD program. For the M.A., the student must complete at least seven one-semester courses at the 600-level with a grade of B or better, and demonstrate an effective reading knowledge of one approved foreign language.

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College of Arts and Science

Truman School of Government and Public Affairs

Phd in political science, program overview .

Our program is organized into the traditional major subfields of political science (including American politics, public policy/administration, international relations and comparative politics).  Beyond that, we focus on a number of research cores on the cutting edge of political science research including race and ethnic politics, voting behavior, political movements, civil wars, American political institutions, and conflict management.  We offer comprehensive methodological training in quantitative techniques, formal modeling and game theory, and qualitative techniques (such as interviews and archival research).  Students are trained in state-of-the-art methodologies such as experiments, spatial econometrics, and techniques to collect and analyze big data (including automated data collection and text analysis).   We are looking for promising students to help us answer important research questions with the most advanced techniques.  

At Mizzou, we provide opportunities for collaborative research projects with faculty members who are experts in their area.  Our vibrant program  features professors who publish their research in top academic journals and university presses, edit leading journals in the discipline, and teach classes on advanced techniques at international methods institutes.  The result is that our PhD students consistently publish in top academic journals while in graduate school.  Nationally, it is somewhat rare to see students graduate with multiple publications, both solo and co-authored with faculty members; at Mizzou, it is the norm.   

Coursework in our program consists of small seminars, allowing for intensive study of political science concepts and research, close interaction with faculty, and individual attention to student progress. Advised by graduate faculty, students at MU are encouraged to become active scholars capable of conducting independent analysis and research of political and social phenomena. 

Mizzou Political Science maintains a low graduate student to faculty ratio, a commitment to student success, and a high rate of retention and graduation. 

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The COVID pandemic has been extremely hard on students, especially for students from the developing world, rural backgrounds, or from groups that are underrepresented in academia.  The significant disruptions caused by lockdowns, health issues, and local ordinances mean that it may be difficult to prepare for the GRE exam, or even travel to the testing facility.  In the interests of fairness, we have removed this requirement for applicants for the Fall 2024 admissions cycle.  We hope that this small step makes it easier for a diverse group of students to reach their goals at Mizzou.  

We don’t have minimum scores for the GRE.  As for the GRE averages, the above figure shows admitted students from a previous application cycle (circled) across quantitative and verbal percentiles (50th, 75th and 95th percentiles).  As you can see, higher GRE scores improve your chances of being admitted.  At the same time, it is not a perfect relationship.  Unlike other top schools, we prefer to take a comprehensive or holistic approach to evaluating applicants.  

Keep in mind that we have waived the GRE requirement for applicants for Fall 2023, so it your choice as to whether to provide GRE scores or not. 

The Truman School strives to be a diverse and inclusive environment where students are encouraged to pursue their research interests in vibrant intellectual community.  As such, we take a holistic approach to  admissions .  This means that we look for students with unique backgrounds, exceptional academic performance, research interests that overlap those of our faculty, strong letters of recommendation, and experience conducting political science research.  Exceptional performance in one area could certainly compensate for less experience in another. 

More specifically, the best personal statements are those that a) describe your post-PhD employment goals, b) lay out your skills and tools—such as experience with data analysis, statistical software, language skills, and conducting independent research—that will help you succeed in graduate school, and c) show why Mizzou’s graduate program appeals to you—this includes noting how your research interests overlap with those of our faculty. 

No, there is no need to secure a professor’s approval before noting in the personal statement that you would like to work with them.  If you would like to chat with a particular professor, contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Laron Williams, and he would be happy to establish the connection and get the conversation going. 

While having an MA helps demonstrate that you are familiar with the intellectual demands of graduate school, it is not a requirement for admission.  In fact, the majority of our PhD students choose to begin the program immediately after graduating from their undergraduate institution.  In short, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds: applying straight from undergrad, after pursuing an MA, and mid-career applicants. 

All Ph.D. students have graduate assistantships and receive a tuition waiver and a health insurance subsidy.  Remaining expenses include course fees which—depending on the number of credit hours—typically do not exceed $1,000 a semester.  

Our graduate student stipends are highly competitive (over $18,000) and quite generous when one factors in the low cost-of-living of Columbia ( example ).  Historically, our students have won multiple university fellowships that provide additional funding (often $11,000-16,000). 

The Truman School is also unique in guaranteeing funding for the five years it takes students to complete their PhD requirements, rather than make acquiring funding a competition between students.  We have found that our approach reduces student anxiety about their economic situation.  When students don’t compete with each other for their funding, they are free to build lasting friendships and connections.      

Graduate assistants typically work 20 hours a week as either a teaching assistant or a research assistant.  Graduate students in RA positions are paired with faculty members with similar research interests, so promising research assistantships often evolve into full-fledged co-authored projects.  Teaching assistant duties vary according to the class, sometimes involving mostly grading while other times involving leading discussion sections. We also have opportunities for students interested in applied policy research to work as an RA with the  Institute of Public Policy .   

Students are allocated to either TA or RA positions based on a mixture of departmental need and the strengths and preferences of students.  

Most of our PhD alumni work in academia as professors, so a critical part of the graduate training at Mizzou revolves around teaching.  The ideal sequence is for students to serve as teaching assistants in substantive courses for a few semesters and then become lab instructors.  As a lab instructor, TAs build teaching experience by providing one-on-one and small group instruction to a lab.  We also encourage students to pursue guest lecturing opportunities so that they can strengthen their teaching skills.  Moreover, our students have taken advantage of the additional training offered by the  Teaching for Learning Center  and the  Minor in College Teaching . 

Advanced graduate students are allowed to take the reins and teach their own independent courses.  The goal is for our graduates to have a diverse teaching portfolio of classes so that they can hit the ground running in their first post-graduation academic job.    

Yes!  The professors in the Truman School believe that a critical part of training graduate students is collaborating with them on  research projects .  So much of the research process can only be learned by getting your hands dirty, brainstorming with coauthors, and writing on interests that you share with faculty.  Graduate education is certainly less rewarding if you don’t have these experiences.  

These collaborative opportunities arise organically, and often come out of a research assistantship position or as the result of a research paper for a graduate course.  The result is that the vast majority of students go on the academic job market with multiple publications—often with faculty and other graduate students as coauthors—which places them in a stronger competitive position than their peers.  Nationally, it is somewhat rare for graduate students to have multiple publications; at Mizzou, it’s the norm. 

We expect our students to produce high-quality, innovative political science research, so we provide the funds that help them along the way.  We group these funds into three categories: 

• All students receive  funding  to attend and present at academic conferences.  Academic conferences are a great way to network with others who share your passions, stay current on cutting-edge research, and receive feedback on your own research projects.  We encourage students to begin attending smaller or regional conferences early on so that they are comfortable with presenting research at national conferences later on in the program.  
• For some students, their research and teaching interests require additional training.  This could include immersive language training in other countries or classes on advanced methodological topics.  For example, in the past few years, we have funded students to receive additional training on Political Psychology, qualitative methods, and a variety of quantitative methods at American and international summer schools.  
• During the research process, students often discover that their project requires data that has never been collected before.  Whether the data comes from fieldwork in other countries, through experiments, or surveys, we are happy to provide small grants to get the ball rolling. 

Students choose to spend their summers in a variety of ways, whether it is taking a course or two, doing fieldwork or original data collection, gaining language training in an immersive environment, or attending summer schools in methodologies.  These decisions are made by the student in consultation with their advisor and committee. 

Departmental assistantships are based on 10-month appointments (you can spread payments over 12 months), but there are limited opportunities for 1- to 2-month summer research assistantships.  Any student with a departmental assistantship receives a tuition waiver for summer classes. 

Full-time PhD students take three classes a week and each class meets for 2.5 hours once a week.  We make sure that these graduate courses don’t conflict with the undergraduate courses related to your teaching assistantship.  

Students select a primary and a secondary field out of American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Public Policy/Public Administration.  Students must take four classes from their primary field, three from their secondary field, and four methods classes.  Besides that, we encourage students to take classes outside of their two fields and outside of the Truman School.  For more information on these courses—as well as available syllabi— click here . 

Here is a rough outline of the 2.5 years of coursework. 

Fall  Methods Core I, Primary Core, Secondary Core 

Spring  Methods Core II, Substantive (Primary), Substantive (Secondary) 

Fall  Methods, Substantive (Primary), Elective from outside TSGPA 

Spring  Methods, Substantive (Primary), Substantive (Secondary) 

Fall  Methods, Core, Substantive (Primary) 

Spring  Comprehensive Examinations and Dissertation Proposal Defense 

Fall  Dissertation Research 

Spring  Dissertation Research 

Fall   Dissertation Research and Job Market 

Core Courses:  each field has a broad seminar that introduces the fundamental topics and big questions in that field: Public Policy, Introduction to International Relations, and Introduction to Comparative Politics.  American Politics offers two core courses: American Political Behavior and American Political Institutions. 

Methods Courses:  each PhD student must take at least 13 hours of advanced methods courses.  The two core courses include Introductory Statistics for Political Science (and its 1-hour lab) in the Fall of Year 1, and Linear Models in Politics in the Spring of Year 2.  After that, students can take two other 3-hour courses on topics including Maximum Likelihood Estimation, Time Series Analysis, Formal Models, and Qualitative Research Methods.  Students are also encouraged to pursue methods training from other departments at Mizzou and at summer methods schools. 

Substantive Courses:  each field offers at least one substantive course per semester on an important topic in that field.  Click on this  link  to see the substantive courses we’ve offered in the last few years.   

Elective:  students are free to take classes outside of the Truman School at Mizzou.  Oftentimes students will want to gain expertise or learn some methodological skill that is found outside of political science.  In the past, students have taken courses in Black Studies, Statistics, Economics, Philosophy, Communications, and Sociology, to name a few. 

Comprehensive Examinations:  in the Spring of Year 3, students take comprehensive examinations in both their primary and secondary fields.  The examinations take place over two days (one for each field) and assess whether students understand the foundational research on big questions in their field.  After passing comprehensive examinations, students start writing their dissertation proposal. 

The Graduate Association of Political Scientists ( GAPS ) is the student organization for graduate students involved in political science degree programs.  It hosts monthly meetings with informational sessions, seminars on health and wellness, professional development activities, and social activities. 

GAPS also runs the Truman School’s mentoring program, which connects all first-year students with an advanced student in the program with similar research interests.  The mentors provide advice and guidance about how to navigate the PhD program.  We have found that this eases the transition to full-time graduate student and improves student retention. 

Since we recruit students from diverse backgrounds, there is considerable variance in students’ previous academic experiences.  To help the transition from undergraduate education (or full-time employment) to a PhD program, we provide a comprehensive professional development program.  The goal is to train students on all the tools and skills they’ll need to make the most out of the PhD program.  The professional development program is made up of three main components: 

• Boot camp :  This 3-hour graduate class (POLS 9010: Research Design and Analysis) is offered immediately prior to the start of the fall semester and is required for all first-year PhD students.  The primary objective of the course is to make sure that all students have the necessary skills to succeed in the first year of the program, regardless of their prior training or academic experiences.  The class provides a strong foundation in mathematics, statistics and probability theory so that students have the knowledge required for the methods sequence.  Other topics covered include professionalization, writing for a political science audience, the typesetting program LaTeX, and an introduction to Stata.  
• Methods workshops : 3-4 times a semester the Truman School offers a 2- or 3-hour methods workshop for graduate students.  The workshops focus on a topic that is not covered in our graduate methods sequence, but is useful for students wanting to produce high-quality research.  While these classes are typically taught by Mizzou faculty, we are happy to give advanced graduate students the opportunity to teach their peers in their area of expertise.  Over the last four years there have been almost 30 different workshops, ranging from Race and Ethnicity to Python, to Text Analysis and Network Analysis. 
• Mini-conferences : Presenting at academic conferences is a critical part of success in graduate school.  Of course, some people might be stressed at the thought of finishing their paper, producing their presentation, and presenting it in front of strangers.  We get it, as we were students at one point too.  To help our students become more comfortable with academic conferences, we host a number of mini-conferences through the year.  These mini-conferences typically take place about a month before a major political science conference and they give students the opportunity to practice presenting and receive feedback before they attend the conference.  We have found that presenting the project in a low-stress environment not only improves the overall research quality, but also puts students in the best chance to succeed. 

Degree Options 

Doctoral students identify a primary and a secondary field among four areas of study offered in the Political Science: 

• American Politics 
• Comparative Politics 
• International Relations 
• Public Policy and Administration 

The PhD program of study consists of 45 hours of graduate course work, including: 

• 12 hours in a primary field of study 
• 9 hours in a secondary field of study 
• 13 hours in methodology 

Up to 24 hours of courses from a student's master's program may be counted toward the doctoral degree, at the discretion of the student's doctoral committee. The doctoral degree requires a minimum of 72 hours of course credit including reading and research hours. 

Students typically take comprehensive exams in the spring of the third year. After passing the comprehensive examination, students work on independent research and a dissertation under the advisement of a doctoral committee.   

PhD Placement 

Our assistance to students doesn’t end when the student gets their PhD.  Each student pursuing a job on the academic job market goes through the placement program, where we review job market materials, discuss strategy, and offer interview prep.  We also offer seminars on how to succeed in non-academic careers, and have placed recent graduates in all levels of government, think tanks, and the private sector. 

The Truman School is extremely proud of its recent placement efforts (see below). In addition to placing students in tenure-track professor positions in research-dominated universities, we have an excellent track record in students gaining employment at small state universities and liberal arts colleges.  Professors in the latter type of universities can engage in their teaching passions while still having the opportunity to conduct research. 

Tenure-track Assistant Professor Placement Institutions: 

• Knox College
• Anderson University
• University of Louisiana-Lafayette
• Luther College
• Mount St. Mary's University
• Texas Tech University
• University of Macau
• University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley
• Lincoln University
• Baylor University
• State University of New York—Geneseo 
• University of South Carolina 
• Arkansas State University 
• University of Stavanger (Norway) 
• Georgia Southern University 
• University of Reading (UK) 
• University of South Carolina—Aiken 
• University of York (UK) 

Post-Doctoral Fellowships Placement Institutions: 

• Stanford University
• University of Kentucky
• Dartmouth College
• Korea University
• University of Georgia
• Ohio State University
• University of Gothenburg 
• Arizona State University 
• University of Copenhagen 
• Columbia University
• Vanderbilt University

PhD Political Science

Program overview.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Science program serves students interested in academic positions as well as research and policy careers. The department and its  faculty  are committed to providing doctoral students with an excellent educational experience through coursework, comprehensive examinations, and the dissertation. 

The curriculum introduces students to all four fields and also develops their research skills through a series of methodology courses. Students may develop a traditional, academic focus in one of the fields, or they may combine it with public policy to highlight a policy orientation.

The PhD in Political Science covers four major fields in the discipline:

• American Government and Politics
• Comparative Politics
• International Relations
• Public Policy

All PhD students are fully funded for 5 years via a Tuition Assistantship which includes stipend, full tuition, and student health insurance. Answers to frequently asked questions can be found here from the department and here from the College of Social Sciences and Humanities.

For more information on curricular requirements for the PhD program see the  Course Catalog .

Type of Program

• PhD Program

Get more information about this graduate program.

More programs, bachelor of arts, political science, bachelor of science, political science, certificate in security and resilience studies, master of arts in political science, master of science in resilience studies.

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PhD Scholarship for Research Project “DelibRef”

Applications are invited for a 3-year PhD scholarship in political science to be based at the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense.The position will be part of a newly funded research ...

Doctoral scholarship holder trust & intellectual property law and governance

Let’s shape the future - University of AntwerpThe University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pio...

Doctoral researcher (PhD) in Private International Law

The University of Luxembourg aspires to be one of Europe's most highly regarded universities with a distinctly international and interdisciplinary character. It fosters the cross-fertilisation of r...

Assistant department Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law (26569)

    →   Apply until 23/04/2024 (DD/MM/YYYY) 23:59 (Brussels time)    →   Faculty of Law and Criminology    →   Department RE23 - Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law    →   AAP temporary appointment - 100%    →   Number of openings: 1    →   R...

2024 New Year Famous Universities and Enterprises PhDs Recruitment and Cooperation Video Matchmaking Meeting

1、 Event Introduction In the Chinese New Year of 2024, Juqi Consulting collaborated with the Famous universities and enterprises club to organize global PhDs visits to well-known Chinese enterprises and universities, coordinating job recruitment a...

2 Full Time Research and Teaching Assistant Positions in Political Science - Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences

Reference : 2024/S006Application deadline: 15/04/2024Start date : 01/10/2024Job DescriptionThe Faculty of Philosophy and social sciences at the ULB seeks to recruit two full-time teaching assistants in political science. The qualified candidates w...

 Reference : 2024/S006Application deadline: 15/04/2024Start date : 01/10/2024Job DescriptionThe Faculty of Philosophy and social sciences at the ULB seeks to recruit two full-time teaching assistants in political science. The qualified candidates ...

Doctoral scholarship holder human rights and international law

Let’s shape the future - University of AntwerpThe University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking, European university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, c...

Doctoral Position City-university twin transition partnerships

The Public Governance Institute conducts research into different aspects of public governance from a public administration and political science perspective. The selected candidate will be part of ...

PhD Candidate in Political Science (Politics of Climate and Migration)

The Institute of Political Science in Leiden University’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences invites applications for the position ofPhD Candidate in Political Science (Politics of Climate and Migration) (1.0 FTE)Vacancy number 14512Key re...

Ph.D. position on Finance and Earth system tipping points [transdisciplinary]

Lille Economics and Management (LEM, CNRS UMR 9221) and IÉSEG School of Management invite applications for a fully funded Ph.D. position on financial system and Earth system tipping points, at its Lille/Paris Campus.PROJECT DESCRIPTIONThis researc...

Doctoral researcher (PhD) in Law

The Department of Law of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance of the University of Luxembourg is looking for a PhD candidate to conduct research in Law.Your Role...The doctoral researcher will...

PhD Disability Rights

1 - Working at the VUBFor more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike.  At the VUB, you will find a diverse collectio...

PhD Fellowships: MSCA-DN Understanding Latin American Challenges: Human Rights

The Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (GGS) is an inter-faculty interdisciplinary research centre of excellence of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Leuven which con...

Two PhD positions in political science

Two PhD positions in political scienceThe Research Group on Multilevel Politics (MLP) led by Christian Freudlsperger at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (D-GESS) of ETH Z...

PhD in Empirical Legal Research on Responsible Corporate Conduct in Global Value Chains (GVCs)

Phd researcher in (multi-disciplinary) legal research in the field of migration, jobs by field.

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Ph.D. in Political Science: Overview, Course, Eligibility Criteria, Admission, Syllabus, Fees, Scope, Result and Cutoffs, & FAQs

Best Ph.D. in Political Science Colleges in India 2023: Ph.D. in Political Science stands for the Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science subject. It is a higher-level degree that is done after completing a master’s-level program in the relevant field. It takes up to 3 years to complete the course if you are a full-time candidate and it may take up to 5 years if you are a part-time candidate. If you choose to be a student for a doctorate in political sciences, then you will be doing in-depth research on all the areas of political sciences. Having prior knowledge of Decentralisation, Governance, Economy, Development, and Community Empowerment for Indian politics as well as in other countries is going to be an added advantage.

You will be choosing the topic according to your preference and conducting in-depth research as well as case studies on that topic whose outcomes shall be included in your thesis for final approval from your higher authorities. The candidate needs to clear various university-level examinations to get admitted into the best political science Ph.D. programs like CRET, PET, RET, etc. You can earn up to 3 to 10 lakh per annum as a fresher after completing your research and getting your thesis approved by the professors. You can look up to good opportunities further & work as Professor, Political Scientist, Public Relations Specialist, Market trend Research analyst, and Survey Researcher ahead. Let’s now jump into the Political Science Ph.D. program details.

Course Highlights

Also Read:  Top Engineering Colleges in India

Eligibility Criteria

The Ph.D. in Political Science admission 2023 process has various parameters & eligibility criteria that a student needs to meet before he can join the best university for Ph.D. in Political Science in India.

• All the aspirants from the general category should have at least 55% aggregate marks in their 10th and 12th standards. ST, OBC, and SC aspirants should have at least 50% aggregate marks in their 10th and 12th standards.
• Candidates undergoing the Ph.D. in Political Science admission 2023, should have completed their undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the relevant field with at least a 55% aggregate score. Whereas various Central universities demand 80% UG/PG scores for eligibility.
• Before you complete the Ph.D. entrance exams syllabus for the political sciences program, you should know that various universities consider students with a high research-oriented mindset and academic excellence along with having strong political and economical knowledge.
• Despite having academic excellence, you need to clear the entrance examinations with at least passing scores to be eligible for admission to Ph.D. in the Political Science program.

Admission Process

The Ph.D. in Political Science admission process takes place through merit scores or the entrance examination. The admission process is very rigorous, so even lagging by 1% would not let you join the university. The best university for political science Ph.D. programs held their university-level entrance exam, whose syllabus, cut-off score, exam date, etc get published on their official website a few months before. You can get Ph.D. in Political Science admission in 2023 in the following ways-

• Merit-Based Admission: While the institutions that use a merit-based admissions system do not conduct entrance exams, they do demand strong grades, such as a cumulative grade point average of at least 55% from the applicant’s prior academic years. A candidate’s interest, political system knowledge, and research plans are all taken into consideration during interview rounds at various universities in India.
• Entrance Exam-based admission: For separating qualified applicants from those who are not, certain prestigious universities like Delhi University choose an entrance-based examination method. A candidate must attempt the university’s entrance exam and receive at least a passing grade to be considered. CSIR-Net/JRF exams are accepted by the majority of India’s top universities for Ph.D. political science. Multiple-choice questions are in the questionnaire, and you must choose the correct answer from the list of options. Every year in January, the procedure for applying to the best political science Ph.D. programs through entrance exams begins. Starting in August, lessons are held.

Syllabus for Ph.D. in Political Science

The Ph.D. in political science syllabus covers various topics related to politics and the economic system. The entire syllabus of Ph.D. political science is divided into 6 semesters and one year will have two semesters. Here is the detailed list of all the topics that you will be studying in the Doctorate of political science course –

Ist Year Syllabus

Iind year syllabus , iiird year syllabus , fee structure for ph.d. in political science.

The fee structure of the best Political Science Ph.D. programs is very nominal and ranges between INR 1,000 to INR 15 lakh per annum. Fees for the private Ph.D. in Political Science universities are higher than the government Ph.D. in political science universities. In total, we have 213 best universities for Ph.D. in Political Science in India. From these 213 institutions, we have 110 Government Ph.D. in Political Science universities & 103 Private Ph.D. in Political Science universities in India. Almost 47 of these universities from 213 have secured a place in the 2021 NIRF rankings. The ranking is determined by MHRD so that the process of choosing the best Ph.D. in Political Science universities whether government or private can become easy.

If you are looking for the best government Ph.D. universities having affordable fees between INR 1,000/- per annum to INR 10,000/- per annum with top-notch academic delivery, then you can apply for ‘Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi,’ ‘The University of Hyderabad (UOH), Hyderabad,’ ‘University of Calcutta, Kolkata,’ ‘Savitribai Phule University, Pune’, etc. Other well-known universities like ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), Aurangabad,’ ‘Assam University, Silchar,’ ‘Annamalai University (AU), Tamil Nadu,’ ‘Delhi University (DU), New Delhi’ have fees structure approximately between INR 25,000/- per annum to INR 70,000/- per annum.

Top Entrance Examinations for Ph.D. in Political Science

The best university for Ph.D. in Political Science in India like Hindu College, New Delhi considers conducting entrance examinations instead of accepting students based on their merit. The following examinations you need to clear before getting admitted to renowned universities for Ph.D. in Political Science –

• DUET 2023: DUET or Delhi University Entrance Test entrance exam is held by the ‘Delhi University,’ New Delhi each year. The doctorate of philosophy in political sciences entrance exam is generally conducted to select students for research-associated admissions.
• RET 2023: RET or Research Entrance Test, is held by every university. It is conducted for selecting political science aspirants and research scholars.
• UGC NET 2023: The full form of UGC NET is the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test. It is a type of university-level entrance examination held by UGC following the ‘Government of India.’ The UGC NET exam is helpful in the various courses of the admission process & Ph.D. Political Science is one of them. It is a powerful exam with a huge weightage which means that clearing UGC NET could save you from various other entrance examinations.
• CRET 2023: CRET or Combined Research Entrance Test is held by Assam University, Silchar every year. The entrance examination helps in filtering the right candidates for the admission process in the MPhil course as well as Ph.D. level programs.
• PET 2023: PET is a short form for the Ph.D. Entrance Test. The PET entrance test is generally held by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), Aurangabad. It helps with Ph.D. admission in political science and various other doctorate-level programs.

Syllabus for Entrance Exam

UGC-NET is the exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is accepted by all Indian colleges affiliated with the University Grants Commission (UGC). The syllabus for the UGC-NET Political Science exam is mentioned below.

Scholarship and Fellowship

Candidates can get the full benefit from the various fellowship & scholarship schemes made by the government of India to provide financial aid to deserving students. Attempt for the UGC NET / NET JRF examination in a political science subject. Once you successfully clear the exam, the government is going to sponsor your entire fee. The JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) is chosen by clearing the UGC NET entrance exam – (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test). He is eligible to receive the INR 31,000 stipend every month. The INR 20,000/- contingency grant is provided to the university for every candidate. The candidate can attempt the SRF (Senior Research Fellowship) program after 2 years. He will get an INR 35,000 stipend every month.

Result and Cutoffs

Candidates need to meet the cutoff score set by their desired University to be eligible to be admitted there. Various parameters make the university come to a particular cutoff number. It is generally based on the infrastructure, the curriculum, the location, the student population, and the popularity of that particular university. The cutoff marks are going to vary for every university, so you need to make sure that you have scored the minimum eligible marks in your 10th and 12th standards along with meeting the minimum cut-off mark requirements in the entrance examination conducted by the university. You can check the previous year’s cut-off marks of your desired university to get an idea of how much the university expects from a candidate, as well as browse through their official website to get a clear idea on this subject & recent updates on cutoff 2023.

Future Scope and Career Options after Ph.D. in Political Science

The future seems bright for the candidates after taking Ph.D. admission in political sciences in 2023. The salary is not only the major attractive point to get admitted to a Ph.D. in Political Science 2023. In the future, you will be part of major decision-making in our political and economical system. Henceforth, you are going to get into various dignified job roles. According to your preference, you can either get into research-based profiles, government job roles, or even private sector job roles. The scope of a doctorate in philosophy in political sciences is not limited to a particular industry, you will get a chance to work with various sectors like publishing houses, universities, schools, etc. The top recruiters like Times of India, NDTV, and India Today will be coming to your campus for recruitment purposes so it in itself is a very big opportunity after completing Ph.D. in Political Science. Here in the below section, we have compiled the list of job roles, employment sectors as well as top recruiters-

Job Roles 

Employment sectors , top recruiters, salary package after completing ph.d. in political science.

According to the pay scale, the highest salary, lowest salary, and average salary for a Ph.D. in Political Science graduate are INR 20,00,000/-, INR 2,00,000/-, and INR 3,00,000/-. As per Glassdoor, the average salary for a Ph.D. in organic chemistry graduate is INR 9, 00,000/-. The same source also revealed the average salary for private & government careers. If you wish to pursue a career in government jobs of a Ph.D. in Political Science like survey researcher, political associate, etc, then your average salary would be INR 6, 00,000/-. If you get hired in a public sector career job role with Ph.D. in Political Science then your average salary is going to be INR 10, 00,000/-. Here is the list of job roles with their salary packages per annum respectively –

Top Cities for Ph.D. in Political Science

Candidates will find that every corner of India is filled with Ph.D. universities for political sciences, but the best of them are very few. The choice of the best location for a political science doctorate course is based on factors such as placements, infrastructure, laboratories, research centers, live projects, internships, etc. Here is a list of the best cities that you can choose for doing your political science doctorate course –

Top university for Ph.D. in Political Science in India

Candidates are becoming more alert before choosing government and private universities for their Ph.D. in Political Science. Both university types have their pros and cons. Government Universities have lower fee structures and more job opportunities. Whereas private Universities have a higher fee structure and a decent amount of job opportunities although admission criteria in government universities are quite difficult as compared to private Universities. Let’s discuss them below –

Best Private/Government Ph.D. in Political Science Universities in India: Here is the list of top-ranked government & private doctorate in political science universities according to ‘The Week, ‘ ‘India today’ & ‘Outlook’ –

Top University for Ph.D. in Political Science in World : According to the source, ‘QS top universities,’ the ranking of best Ph.D. in Political Sciences universities with a score in the World are mentioned below –

FAQ’s Related to Ph.D. in Political Science

Q. What is the full form of a Ph.D. in political science? Ans. Ph.D. political science stands for ‘Doctorate of Philosophy in Political Sciences. ‘

Q. What is the average salary of a Ph.D. political science graduate? Ans. The doctorate in political science graduate has an average salary of INR 9 lakh per annum according to glassdoor. He can make between INR 2 lakh per annum to 20 lakhs per annum based on his knowledge, expertise & hands-on experience.

Q. Mention the top recruiters that hire Ph.D. in political science graduates. Ans. The top companies that hire political science doctorate graduates are Times of India, India Today, NDTV sector, etc.

Q. What career options do I have after completing a Ph.D. political science course? Ans. After completing Ph.D. in political science abroad or India, you can get into job roles like Political Science Professor, Political Associate, Education Developer, Political Research Associate, etc.

Q. What entrance exams are held for admission to Ph.D. in political science? Ans. PET, CRET, RET, and UGC NET are the general exams that will help you to get admission to Ph.D. political science.

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