Degree requirements

Students enrolled in the Political Science MA degree program must select a non-thesis (37 credit hours) or a thesis track (30 credit hours). Each track has its own set of requirements and components. The thesis track is recommended only for students intent on and passionate about pursuing a Ph.D.

The program is divided into four concentration areas. All students are also required to complete POLS 5310 Analyzing Politics: Research Design and Methods.

  • Area I: American Politics
  • Area II: International Studies
  • Area III: Law and Courts
  • Area IV: Public Policy

Non-Thesis Track

The non-thesis degree plan requires 36 hours of graduate coursework, including three hours of POLS 5310, plus one hour of POLS 5197, the required course for the degree's comprehensive exit exam. Students will consult regularly with the Graduate Adviser on their degree plan.

Comprehensive Exam

All Political Science Master of Arts degree candidates must pass a final examination. This is a comprehensive exam that will be written in the last semester of the student's program during the semester in which they graduate.

Each student will select two professors from a specific concentration and with whom they have taken courses. They will also identify one sub-field within this concentration area.

The exam has two parts. Students will be given two questions per part, and must select one to answer. The questions are drawn from specific courses, but students should be prepared to include material from other courses in their answers.

  • Part 1: a general question about their concentration area.
  • Part 2: a question from a specific sub-field of study within the concentration area.

Each question is designed to (a) prompt students to think about course materials, (b) about the connection between their courses and the skills and knowledge they've learned, and (c) apply what they've learned to specific real-world or theoretical issues. There is no minimum or maximum length for each answer but students should consider each one a short paper. Students should speak to both committee members about their expectations regarding page length, content, citations, and other details.

Students have one week to answer the question. The exam committee has two weeks to asses the answers and decide an outcome, which would be: 1) pass unconditionally without oral defense, 2) require an oral defense, which will be required only if the committee decides the answers are incomplete or do not demonstrate a sufficient grasp of the material.

Subfields

American Politics
  • Campaigns and elections
  • Civic engagement and mobilization
  • Judicial politics
  • Political institutions
  • Political organizations and parties
  • Public opinion
  • Public policy
  • Race and ethnicity
  • State and local politics
  • Women in politics
International Studies
  • American foreign policy
  • Foreign policy analysis
  • International security studies
  • IR theory
  • Middle East politics
  • Latin American politics
  • Post-Soviet politics
  • Theories of comparative politics

Thesis Track

The thesis degree plan requires 24 hours of graduate coursework, including three hours of POLS 5310, plus six hours of POLS 5698, the required thesis course for the degree’s thesis plan. Students will consult regularly with the Graduate Adviser on their degree plan.

Writing a thesis is an energy- and time-intensive project. It is recommended only for students who intend to and are passionate about obtaining a doctoral degree and then going on to become a university professor. Note that a thesis will take at least two full semesters to research and write, and usually more. Your committee must approve both a thesis proposal and the thesis itself.

All students are automatically enrolled in the non-thesis track upon entry to the degree. After two semesters of at least four courses, students must: 1) Find a faculty member to serve as their thesis supervisor; 2) Find two other faculty members to serve on their thesis committee; 3) Receive permission from the Graduate Adviser who will consult with the potential thesis committee.

Students will then write a thesis proposal, a 10-15 page outline of the thesis. The proposal must be approved by the thesis committee before the full thesis can be written. Review the MavMatrix for theses and dissertations written by masters and PhD students.