Graduate Handbook

VII. PLACEMENT

At the beginning of each new academic year, qualified Ph.D. candidates who are interested in applying for academic positions may use our departmental services to help them find a job. Students should first consult with their committee to make sure all members feel that they are ready to go on the market. Next, students should make an appointment to see the Placement Coordinator. The department will only help students who have committee approval, who are ABD, and have made significant progress on completing the dissertation. Completion of these requirements does not make the placement clock start automatically. The student can decide when he/she wishes to begin. These placement services are extended to students for a period not to exceed two years and only apply to the student's first position.

Advertisements for academic jobs in Political Science appear in the APSA Personnel Newsletter; for jobs in Public Administration see P.A. Times; for jobs in Criminal Justice see the ACJS job newsletter, Employment Bulletin; The Criminologist; or ACJS Today. The Department has a subscription to the APSA newsletter and it may be signed-out for student consultation from the front office. Once students have consulted their committee, the personnel service newsletter and have met with the Placement Coordinator, they should compile a list of all schools to which they will send applications. Students should ask that letters of recommendation be sent either directly to the institution to which they apply or to the placement coordinator who will include them in the placement dossier. The student needs to supply copies of all other application items for each application as well as the complete mailing address. The department will add the letters of recommendation and the cover letter and will then send the entire packet; thus covering postage for all student applications. When materials are sent out to prospective employers, WSU faculty are informed of the target employer and the names of that department's faculty in order to assist in placement.

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