Please refer to the Political Science graduate program section for information including departmental contact information, list of graduate faculty members, program description, and course descriptions.
Students in the integrated program are allowed to use nine semester hours of B-level courses to satisfy both the Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in Political Science. The following courses may be used: POLS 400G/B, POLS 410G/B, POLS 411G/B, POLS 440G/B, POLS 446G/B, POLS 447G/B, POLS 448G/B, POLS 451G/B, POLS 454G/B, POLS 465G/B, POLS 484G/B, POLS 490G/B, POLS 493G/B, POLS 494G/B, POLS 546B, POLS 553B, POLS 558B, POLS 563B, POLS 568B. If taken after the undergraduate degree has been completed, the courses should not be taken with the “B” designator. Student must meet with academic advisor prior to registration.
*Students choosing the Comparative Politics and International Relations specialization must take both POLS 553 and POLS 568 to satisfy core requirements and 9 sh in area of specialization.
Theses and the two papers must be defended before a committee of three faculty members selected by the student and approved by the chair of the Graduate Committee. For the two-paper option, at least one paper must be in the area of specialization.
Up to six semester hours (at least three of which must be at the 500 level) may be taken outside the department for graduate credit if approved by the chairperson of the Departmental Graduate Committee. Each student may take a maximum of three semester hours in POLS 501, Independent Study. Additional hours in POLS 501 may be taken only by petitioning the Departmental Graduate Committee.
To satisfy the requirements for the M.A. degree, a student must pass a comprehensive exam in his/her area of specialization (POLS 603). The department will administer the comprehensive exams three times a year. Students must pass both parts of the comprehensive exam by the second attempt. Students failing to do so will be removed from the program. In a case where the student believes that extraordinary circumstances prevented him/her from passing the exam on the second attempt, the student may petition the department graduate committee requesting a third attempt. The petition should identify the precise circumstances justifying an exception to the two-attempt rule.