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Ph.D. in Political Science: Application and Admissions
Department of Political Science
Washington State University
P.O. Box 644880
Pullman, WA 99164-4880
Ph: 509-335-2545 / Fax: 509-335-7990
Recommendation Form
We consider an application only after all of the relevant information is on hand. Be sure to complete your on-line application for admission from the Graduate School also. Please complete the following to facilitate our admission process:
- A form, "Reviewer Comments to Supplement Application for Admission," from 3 professors or others who are qualified to speak to your academic activities and potential.
- A brief (one-page) statement, outlining your career objectives and areas of interest in political science or criminal justice.
- An official copy of your GRE scores sent to our department.
In order for your application to be considered for admission, all application materials, including recommendation forms and official GRE scores, must be sent to the Department of Political Science by February 1 for fall admission and by November 1 for spring admission. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.
This degree program is designed for the student entering the graduate program with an M.A. from WSU or another institution.
Admission Information
To be eligible for admission to regular student status, the student must:
- have at least a B (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) grade point average in the last 60 hours of the student's graded undergraduate work, from a recognized college or university
OR
at least 12 semester hours of approved course work from recognized graduate schools with at least a B grade point average;
- submit an official copy of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (verbal and quantitative);
- submit a form, "Reviewer Comments to Supplement Application for Admission," from 3 academic referees or others who are qualified to speak to the student's academic activities and potential;
- submit a brief (1- to 2-page) statement, outlining areas of interest in political science and the student's career objectives.
Requirements for Ph.D. in Political Science
Overview
A student aspiring to the Ph.D. should expect to spend 3 to 4 years, depending on the individual, in study and research beyond the M.A. degree, of which at least 2 years must be at Washington State University, and at least 2 consecutive semesters must be spent in residence as a graduate student in political science. This degree program is designed for the student entering the graduate program with an M.A. Students in the M.A. program here must submit a regular application to the Ph.D. program. After successful passage of the preliminary examination the student is admitted to candidacy (ABD status). In the semester following preliminary exams, Ph.D. students who have received their M.A. from a different institution are required to defend a dissertation prospectus. Normally, the last year of graduate study is devoted entirely to the preparation and defense of the dissertation.
Hour Requirements
- 72 semester hours (includes those from the M.A., transferred from other institutions or received at WSU);
- at least 34 graded graduate credit hours;
- no more than three 300- or 400-level classes in Graduate School Program Statement;
- at least 20 hours of 800 dissertation credits, usually taken during the dissertation phase, when course work is completed;
- for students new to the program, Pol S 599, a one-credit pass/fail practicum.
Course Requirements
There are 4 different types of requirements for a Ph.D.: core courses, research tool, course field, and preliminary exam field.
Core Courses
All Ph.D. candidates must take these classes. Although transfer courses will still be counted in general programs, students are not allowed to transfer-in courses or do reading classes as a substitute.
- Pol S 539: Professionalization Practicum, 1 credit, pass/fail
- Pol S 501: The Scope of Political Science.
Basic issues in social science epistemology, elements of social science theory-building, theoretic frameworks in social science. Offered every fall.
- Pol S 502: Seminar in Normative Theory.
Elements of normative theory construction and overview of historical development of normative debates. Overview of controversies and approaches in the modern literature. Offered every other fall.
- Pol S 503: Introduction to Political Science Research Methods.
Introduction to general topics in the area of social science research design, including measurement, sampling, data sources, experimental and quasi-experimental designs, field and historical designs, and content analytic designs. Offered every spring.
Research Tool Requirement
Common Core: Each student will be required to complete Pol S 503 and one graduate course in statistical methods. It is highly recommended that students take Pol S 504 Quantitative Methods in Political Science and Criminal Justice to fulfill this requirement. However, other graduate courses may also suffice, Soc 521, for example. Pol S 504 is only offered every other year and students must have a basic understanding of statistics to take it. Dr. Robert Jackson is quite familiar with the various statistics courses offered in other departments at WSU. Students should consult with him before registering for stats classes outside of the department.
Additional Tools: All other research tool requirements will be decided upon by the student and his/her committee, permitting a fine-tuned combination of quantitative, qualitative, and/or linguistic competencies based upon the student's area and research skill needs. Additional course work may be assigned to the student to fulfill the second part of this requirement.
Course Field
There are three course fields of study:
- American Institutions and Processes
- Comparative and International Politics
- Criminal Justice
Preliminary Exam Fields
The preliminary exam fields include the following:
- American Institutions
- Public Law
- Political Theory
- International Politics
- Comparative Politics
- Public Policy Studies
- Public Administration
- Criminal Justice
- Political Psychology
- Gender, Justice and Politics
Students may also create their own independent exam field. This exam field must be approved by the student’s committee, the graduate coordinator, and the chair.
Prelim exam fields are constituted from a narrower array of courses and subfields than the course fields. The purpose of this separation is to provide a broad background in a general area in political science through course fields and to permit specialization in areas of particular interest to students, areas in which they would like to take a preliminary examination. Students choose a single course field and must take minimum course requirements in that field. |
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