Political Science, MA

30 credit hours and a portfolio

Required Core Course (3 credit hours)
POS 503 Empirical Political Inquiry (3)

Other Requirements (6 credit hours)
focus area course (3)
POS 603 Polimetrics I or second focus area course for political theory (3)

Electives (15 or 21 credit hours)

Culminating Experience (0 or 6 credit hours)
POS 599 Thesis (6) or
portfolio (0)

Additional Curriculum Information
Students who select the thesis option must submit a written thesis and hold an oral defense. Students who select the portfolio option must submit a written paper and hold an oral defense.

The course POS 603 Polimetrics I may be substituted with permission of both the director of Graduate studies and the faculty advisor. Students in the political theory focus area take a second focus area course instead of POS 603.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

1. graduate admission application and application fee
2. official transcripts
3. personal statement
4. writing sample
5. three letters of recommendation
6. list of political science courses taken
7. proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information
An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

The personal statement should be one to three pages and should describe the areas of political science the applicant wishes to study, post-graduation goals and why the School of Politics and Global Studies is the best fit for the applicant. Applicants may also mention any faculty members with whom they are interested in working and why, as well as provide context for any discrepancies in their educational background.

The writing sample is typically a research paper or other similar paper that demonstrates the applicant's critical thinking and writing skills in political science or a related field. There is no length requirement for the writing sample, but it should be a sufficient length for the admissions committee to evaluate the applicant's knowledge and skills.

To assist in evaluating all candidates, the applicant should list titles and related information for all previous undergraduate and graduate courses or coursework in political science or related fields. The file must be saved in a .pdf, .doc, .rtf or .txt format and uploaded with the online graduate admission application. The information should be in a table with the following column headings: Course Title, Undergrad Credit Hours, Graduate Credit Hours, Grade, Institution, Year.

Undergraduate coursework in political science is not a prerequisite for admission. However, master's degree students should have a basic understanding of elementary statistics and the undergraduate content of the political science fields of concentration that they wish to study. Students should allow sufficient time to acquire such a background.

Graduates are prepared for research or applied careers in political science in government, nonprofits and the private sector. Career examples include:

• campaign consultant
• campaign strategist
• data analyst
• lobbyist
• research specialist