About the Program
Graduate Study in Political Science at Purdue offers specializations in traditional fields such as AmericanPolitics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Public Policy, and possesses strengths in areas that cut across traditional fields, such as technology and governance, political methodology, political economy and development, political institutions and institutional reform, environmental policy, national security, human rights and political violence, and politics related to group identity and conflict. Graduate students and faculty at Purdue participate in research labs and programs in the department, including the Governance and Responsible AI Lab (GRAIL), the International Politics and Responsible Tech (iPART) Lab, the Computational Social Science Lab, the Law and Conflict Research Lab, and the labs associated with the Purdue Program on American Institutional Renewal. Students and faculty also participate in Purdue’s many interdisciplinary research centers and collaborative groups on campus including the Center for CSPAN Scholarship and Engagement, the Institute for a Sustainable Future, the Purdue Policy Research Institute. Students receive rigorous training in a wide range of research methods in the department and through workshops, coursework, and speakers in the cross-college initiative Advanced Methods at Purdue (AMAP). Doctoral students become deeply immersed in the process of scholarly research and are quickly prepared to be full collaborators and independent researchers. Students are encouraged to execute research projects in preparation for academic and applied careers. In addition, the program prepares doctoral students for independent classroom instruction and makes every effort to provide an independent teaching experience for each doctoral student. Program Website Program Requirements
90 Credits RequiredRequired Courses (36 credits)
Core Courses (15 credits)
POL 60900 shall be taken after completing qualifying exams. Major Field Courses (12 credits)
Political Science majors are American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics, Public Policy. 12 credits must be in a major field of political science. At least 9 of those credits must be in 600-level political science courses.
Pro-Seminars (61000, 62000, 63000, 64000) are overviews of a subfield and ideally taken before research seminars. Research seminars (61100, 62200, 63100, and 64100) are more focused in study and may be repeated for credit under different topics. American Politics
With the United States facing both unprecedented challenges and opportunities, there is no better time to study American politics. Scholars of American Politics focus on (1) political behavior among citizens and elites; (2) mediating institutions such as political parties, elections, interest groups, social movements, the media, and bureaucracy; and (3) political institutions such as the Congress, the presidency, and the courts. American Politics scholars are often interested in understanding American institutions and behavior within a cross-national context. The field equips students with the analytical skills necessary to do theoretical and empirical studies in all these areas.
Comparative Politics
The field of Comparative Politics involves the study of politics across local, national, and cultural boundaries. Students become familiar with various ways in which scholars conceptualize and theorize to make sub-national and cross-national comparisons of phenomena such as political development, national integration, political institutions, electoral systems, elites and mass behavior, interest groups, political parties, and policy-making processes. Insightful questions lead us not only to amass illustrative case study data and aggregate comparative data, but they also guide us to understand the context and impact of political decisions. International Politics
Researchers in International Relations take a broad and interdisciplinary approach to exploring the relationships among sovereign state actors and consider the role of non-state actors (for example, guerrilla organizations, multinational corporations, and civil society organizations working at the global level). Scholars in this field address matters of national and international security and inform U.S. foreign policy. They study impact of international law and organizations, the nature of bargaining among nations, the functioning of the international political economy, and the factors that underly human security and political violence.
Public Policy and Public Theory
Minor Field Courses (9 credits)
9 credits must be in a minor field of political science or a self-defined specialization. Minors within political science are American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics, Public Policy, and Political Methodology. See all but Methodology under the Major Field Courses. The Political Methodology field, listed below, is only available as a minor.
Students can petition to pursue a minor in a field outside of political science, to construct a specialized topic minor field within political science, or to pursue a minor spanning political science and other disciplines. A customized minor requires coursework of at least 9 hours of courses that are organized around a conceptual theme as well as a mechanism for assessing knowledge in the minor field through a qualifying exam. A political science faculty member must be designated as the student’s advisor for the customized minor and organize the qualifying exam for the minor field.
Political Methodology
Political methodology is the study of existing tools and development of new tools for extracting meaning from empirical data. This field encompasses research designs and tools for quantitative and qualitative empirical analysis as well as formal theory and its implications for empirical tests. Recent work by Purdue department faculty in political methodology can be found in Political Analysis, American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Political Science Research and Methods, Nature Human Behaviour, PLOS ONE, Public Opinion Quarterly, among others. Professional Training Electives (9-15 credits)
General Electives (9-15 credits)
Elective Credits at the 500/600-level may be used to augment training in the major and minor fields, add a second minor field, or engage in interdisciplinary coursework or research-focused coursework.
Students will seek guidance from their major professor and/or Advisory Committee for appropriate selection of coursework based on overall research and career goals. Note that students minoring in Political Research Methodology or a customized minor with more than 6 credits taken outside of the Political Science department must use 6 elective credits to take coursework in one of the major fields (AP, CP, IR, PP), unless the Graduate Studies Committee and Graduate Advisor approve a petition for an exception to this rule. Dissertation Research (30 credits)
After completing all graded course requirements, students must register for POL 699 every semester. Failure to receive a grade of S in POL 699 in two consecutive semesters (whether by not registering for POL 699 or by receiving a grade other than S) will result in the student’s dismissal from the program. Exceptions may be made for students who receive absentia status or who have an approved leave. Concentrations
Departmental Concentrations: Interdisciplinary concentrations: Program Learning Outcomes
Students will: - Understand the scientific method.
- Think critically and creatively about problems in the field of study.
- Effectively communicate in the field of study.
- Conduct activities in an ethical and responsible manner.
GPA Requirements
Students must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 both in political science and overall to remain on normal progress and to take the qualifying exams. In addition, a minimum grade of B- in any individual course is required for it to count toward the above requirements.
Graduate Programs Disclaimer
- The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Students should consult with their advisor/department for more information.
- Not all graduate programs may be actively recruiting students and course modality availability may vary.
- Please refer to the Explore Graduate Programs website for a list of currently available graduate programs.
- Transfer credit policy: Credits earned for graduate study at other universities (both domestic and international) may be applied toward an advanced degree. Only credit hours associated with graduate courses for which grades of B- or better were obtained will be eligible for transfer. Any additional conditions under which credit transfers may be made are determined by the various departments.
- Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
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