Department of Political Science and International Relations

Political Science and International Relations (MA, PhD)

Telephone: (302) 831-2355
https://www.poscir.udel.edu/
Faculty Listing: https://www.poscir.udel.edu/people/faculty

Program Overview

The Department of Political Science and International Relations offers both MA (Master of Arts) and PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degrees. The graduate program is a PhD focused program consisting of coursework during the first six semesters followed by dissertation research and writing. The MA degree is a two-year, 38 credit program. The PhD program is a 62 credit program.

Graduate study in the Department is organized around four of the major subfields within the discipline of Political Science: American Politics, International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Political Theory. Students are required to pick one of these major subfields within the discipline as their primary field and must select a second as their secondary field. Alternatively students may construct an interdisciplinary secondary field in consultation with a faculty member and with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Examples of such secondary fields include Gender and Politics, Methodology, Political Psychology, etc.

Admission Requirements

Those seeking admittance and possible financial assistance should submit a completed application by January 15 for admission effective the following September.

To be accepted into the program students are evaluated on several criteria:

Performance on the GRE. The GRE General Test has recently been revised. While the program does not have strict cut-offs for scores, competitive scores for admissions are 155 or above for the verbal section, and 150 or above for the quantitative section.
Undergraduate grade point averages. Competitive GPA’s for admission are a 3.00 overall, 3.25 in a major field, and 3.5 in any prior graduate work in political science.
Three letters of recommendation. Applicants should request letters that speak to their academic potential.
For international students, a TOEFL score. Competitive scores for admission are at least 600 paper-based or 100 internet-based.
A personal statement. Applicants should submit a personal statement that describes the applicant’s research and scholarly interests and identifies faculty with whom they would like to study.

Admission to the graduate program is competitive. Those who meet stated requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

For Students with Previous Graduate Education:

Students arriving with an MA degree, in political science or another discipline, must nonetheless begin anew in our program and complete all its requirements.

According to University of Delaware policy up to nine credits from previous graduate coursework - credits NOT used to obtain a degree elsewhere, however - may transfer in to UD. These must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies after reviewing relevant syllabi; they will generally transfer in as elective credits.

Normal Progress Toward Degree

According to University policy, to be considered in “good academic standing” a student must maintain a minimum cumulative graduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale each semester. To be eligible for an advanced degree, a student’s cumulative grade point average shall be at least 3.00 and a student’s grades in courses counted toward the degree requirements of the program shall equal at least a 3.00. A grade below a B will not be counted toward the course requirements for a degree but is calculated in the student’s cumulative grade point average. Students receiving below a B- in a course will be required to repeat the course to count toward the requirement.
Students should avoid accumulating grades of Incomplete. Students are expected to complete course requirements within six weeks of the end of the semester in which the Incomplete grade was granted. To receive an extension, students must receive permission from the course instructor and the Director of Graduate Studies. All Incompletes must be completed before the granting of the MA degree in the fourth semester and again before taking comprehensive exams in the sixth semester. Students may not receive their degree or progress to ABD status with Incompletes on their transcript.
An assessment of each student’s performance and progress is undertaken at the end of each fall semester by the Director of Graduate Studies in conjunction with other Department faculty. The purpose of this assessment is to identify any academic problems that may impede progress toward a degree as early as practicable in a student’s graduate career, and to make recommendations for appropriate courses of action.
Students requiring a leave of absence or parental leave should consult the policies of the OGPE as the Department is governed by this document. Individual arrangements may be made according to circumstances with the Director of Graduate Studies and the Department Chair to facilitate the ability of students to complete their degree.

Funding

Funding is available to graduate students in the form of graduate assistantships (for teaching and/or research), tuition scholarships, and University fellowships. These awards are merit based.
Students who receive graduate assistantships or fellowships must achieve a grade of B or higher in every course while taking a minimum of nine credit hours per semester (unless fewer than nine credits are needed to complete the credit requirements for the degree). Satisfactory progress towards the degree generally requires nine credits per semester and exceptions should be discussed with the Director of Graduate Studies. Retention of funding from the Department normally requires a student to maintain a GPA of above 3.50. Occasionally there is a re-allocation of funding if new resources have come available. In general, all funding allocations are reviewed each spring by the Graduate Admissions and Funding Committee, to make funding decisions for the following year. If a student is in jeopardy of losing funding, the Department will follow University procedures and give written notice of this, and a time frame in which a student may improve their performance.
Students who receive graduate assistantships (and, in some cases, fellowships) are expected to work 20 hours per week and must satisfactorily fulfill the requirements of their positions. Work may consist of teaching or research.
Any student who, in the judgment of the Director of Graduate Studies, with the advice of the graduate faculty, fails to demonstrate sufficiently strong performance in their studies, research, and teaching (as applicable) will be subject to the suspension of their graduate assistantship, fellowship or tuition scholarship, as per University procedures. Students are evaluated according to their grade point average as well as written assessments of their teaching and course performance submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies each semester by supervisory faculty.
Funding is awarded on an annual basis. Students entering the PhD program with funding may anticipate funding for up to four years, depending upon academic performance, faculty evaluations, and performance as graduate assistant. Funding for the spring semester of the fourth year is contingent on successful completion of the dissertation proposal defense. Per Section 9.b of the Graduate Handbook, all dissertation proposals must be successfully defended by the beginning of the fourth year (not later than October 1 of the student’s fourth year). Unfunded students who do not meet this deadline will not be offered teaching opportunities.

Advisement

Students will be assigned an advisor by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students who wish to change advisors are free to do so, but must fill out a change of advisor form available in the Department office, obtain the necessary signatures, and return the form to the Graduate Administrative Assistant in the Department office.
Students are encouraged to have their programs reviewed each semester by their advisors. More frequent consultation with the advisor is encouraged to ensure satisfactory progress towards the degree.
Students must keep the Department and their advisors informed of their current contact information.

Programs

Master’s

Political Science and International Relations (MA)

Doctorate

Political Science and International Relations (PhD)