columbia political science phd application

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Welcome to the columbia university graduate school of arts and sciences application..

Politics and Education PhD

Doctor of philosophy in politics and education.

This Ph.D. program prepares students to conduct original and rigorous research relating to education policy and the political conditions that facilitate its adoption, implementation, and sustainability. Graduates of this program secure position: as professors within political science, public policy, and education departments at various types of four year institutions; as researchers in think tanks and private research organizations; and in government agencies with research and policy missions.

Courses are offered in a traditional schedule during the fall and spring, with a limited number of course options available in summer. Ph.D. students must demonstrate command of two research tools, selected from the following list: 1) a reading knowledge of a foreign language, 2) a reading knowledge of a second foreign language, 3) an approved two-course sequence in quantitative analysis, 4) an approved two-course sequence in formal modeling or advanced multivariate statistics, 5) a comparable level of proficiency in a comparable research tool approved by the college.

Students are asked to participate in a set of core political science and general foundation courses in education. Each student will also complete methodological requirements including but not limited to statistics, qualitative and quantitative methods. After completing the core, each student is expected to focus his or her studies on a set of political debates in education or a particular political arena.

Ph.D. students may be required to take as many as 12 points of coursework at Columbia University in the Political Science Department.

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Admissions Information

Displaying requirements for the Spring 2024, Summer 2024, and Fall 2024 terms.

Doctor of Philosophy

• Points/Credits: 75
• Entry Terms: Fall Only

Application Deadlines

Select programs remain open beyond our standard application deadlines , such as those with an extended deadline or those that are rolling (open until June or July). If your program is rolling or has an extended deadline indicated above, applications are reviewed as they are received and on a space-available basis. We recommend you complete your application as soon as possible as these programs can close earlier if full capacity has been met.

Application Requirements

Requirements from the tc catalog (ay 2023-2024).

Displaying catalog information for the Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 terms.

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Students are asked to participate in a set of core political science and general foundation courses in education policy. These are selected with the approval of the faculty advisor in order to best meet each individual student's interests and professional goals. Students may be required to take as many as 12 points of coursework at Columbia University in the Political Science Department.

Ph.D. students must demonstrate command of two research tools, selected from the following list: 1) a reading knowledge of a foreign language, 2) a reading knowledge of a second foreign language, 3) an approved two-course sequence in quantitative analysis,* 4) an approved two-course sequence in formal modeling or advanced multivariate statistics, 5) a comparable level of proficiency in a research tool approved by the College. Using a foreign language to satisfy the research tool is appropriate only if the student’s dissertation or future research will be enhanced by developing such knowledge.

For further information on specific program requirements consult the program website at https://www.tc.columbia.edu/education-policy-and-social-analysis/politics-and-education/ and The Ph.D. Requirements Bulletin is available for download via the Office of Doctoral Students’ website. 

* Satisfied by meeting 6-point statistics requirement.

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Program Director : Professor Ansley Erickson

Box: Box 11

Teachers College, Columbia University Zankel Building 212

Contact Person: Malgorzata Kolb

Phone: (212) 678-3751 Fax: (212) 678-3589

Email: kolb@tc.columbia.edu

Chris Blattman

Faqs on phd applications.

• March 25, 2022

I’m asked about PhD admissions a lot. I’m going to give some advice and demystify the process of US admissions a bit. I also address the question “Would you be my advisor if I apply?” Since I can’t respond in detail to most emails, I hope this post answers your questions.

I won’t demystify the process entirely, because uniform applications are unhelpful to us reviewers. But I do want to make the application process easier to understand, both to make it easier for people like me to decipher your application, and also to level the playing field. Undergraduates at the top research institutions have the advantage of advisors who already give them this advice. I didn’t benefit from that advice as a young applicant, however, and I’d like to democratize admissions as much as possible.

You would be wise to get several opinions. In my case, my experience comes from my current role in Chicago Harris PhD admissions , two years on the admissions committee in Yale political science, two in Columbia political science, and one in Columbia sustainable development (which is essentially an applied economics PhD in science, environment and health topics). I also write letters for my research assistants and students every year.

Go here to read about the Harris Public Policy PhD, and here for information on the joint Political Economy PhD with political science. You’ll see why we think it is one of the best places to study political economy of development. Other specialities include applied microeconomics, formal political theory, and energy. It’s also one of the only places to get rigorous retraining in both political science and economics. And remember that most (though not all) public policy PhD programs are like applied economics programs. You will need many of the same requirements for admission.

If you are applying to economics or public policy, you absolutely must heed the following:

• Greg Mankiw’s advice for  aspiring economists  and  why you need math
• Susan Athey’s  advice to economics applicants

Nearly all of Athey and Mankiw’s advice applies equally well to aspiring political scientists who want to do political economy or development work, and indeed almost any of the applied empirical fields in politics.

For advice on political science PhD applications, also see  Dan Drezner  and  Dan Nexon , who focus a little on international relations scholars. My thoughts are are on economics and political science together, with the most relevance for those doing applied empirical work and my fields: development, comparative politics, political economy, and labor.

Should you do a PhD?

A first important, simple point: If your goal is to be a professional researcher and instructor, then a PhD makes perfect sense. If your goal is to occupy a highly technical policy position (such as a central banker, or a minister of finance), then a PhD may help. If these are not your goals, then it’s doubtful a PhD is a good idea.

I meet a lot of students who want a prominent career in policy, and see the PhD as a powerful accreditation. Especially students from middle and low income countries. That may be true in your country, but I’m skeptical.

Why? Opportunity cost. A PhD is five to seven years, and a Master’s is two. A PhD means you are sacrificing several years of valuable work experience and as much as several hundred thousand dollars in income. Also, you’ll be acquiring skills that are far too specialized for a policy career.

Also, PhD programs (like most organizations) don’t just teach you; they socialize you. They gradually change what you think is interesting and important, the peer group you compare yourself to, the value you place on leisure and family over career, and the kind of life you will value when you emerge. This is good for science, maybe or maybe not so good for you.

In sum, if your goal is to be influential in policy and practice, then an MA or MPA or MIA from a US or UK/European institution probably makes far more sense for you (e.g. Harris, Tufts, SIPA, Princeton, SAIS, HKS, etc). Or consider the MACRM program here at UChicago’s Harris Public Policy if you want intense and applied research training and the option of a PhD at the end. I talk about choosing among Masters-level programs  here .

Where should I go?

If you are set on a PhD, then you’ll want to attend an institution with full funding (which often comes in exchange for a reasonable research and teaching load). If a PhD is going to land you with tens of thousands in debt, it’s a highly questionable decision.

Your first objective is to get the best quality general research training you can. So don’t choose on your preferred city. And certainly don’t select schools based on a particular professor or speciality. Look for places with breadth and excellence across subfields. Apply to as many as you can afford. Then, only once you’re admitted, start to narrow down your choices based on fit and overall quality. Visit everywhere you are admitted, to be confident it’s the right place for you.

The other reason to apply to many places is that the admissions process is not only ridiculously competitive but also extremely idiosyncratic. Getting from the 100 attractive candidates down to the 30 to 50 you admit is borderline random. So even strong candidates with a good fit with a program might not get in.

That said, schools are much more likely to admit you if you demonstrate a good match with their faculty–something you need to help them see by researching the faculty and reading their work, and describing how you would fit in. Then explain in the letter the people you see as the best fit (see below). This is more important in politics than in economics. In my experience, in politics programs they tend to take your cover letter very seriously. In economics less so.

In the end, it is a numbers game. Applying to more programs might not change your expected probability of admission very much, but it will reduce the variance.

Ideally, however, you will want entry into the top ten schools in your field because it keeps the most doors open, especially if you want an academic job. It’s not necessarily fair, but it seems to be the way the market works. Especially in economics, which seems to me to be the most hierarchical field in social science. The good news, however, is that across most social sciences you can fabulous PhD training in the top 30-50 schools.

As far as I can tell, however, PhDs outside the top 50 schools are unlikely to lead to careers in research universities. This varies by discipline, but in the US the top 10 to 20 schools tend to staff the top 100 to 200 US universities. For those who graduate from lower-ranked programs, many opportunities remain open at teaching universities, think tanks, international institutions, government and the like. There are a lot of fulfilling research careers, and I am willing to bet that rates of job satisfaction are pretty high.

I would love to see (and will post) numbers on this if anyone has it for political science or economics.

Greg Mankiw also has advice on  choosing a grad program .

Should you do a PhD in economics, political science, or public policy?

As a MPA student, Dani Rodrik advised me: “Look at the people you admire and want to be like, and do what they did.” This is good advice, though it biases you to the areas you know not the areas you don’t. Most of the political economy scholars I admired at the time trained as economists, so I took the economics route. But I didn’t know the most interesting political science work because I had been trained in economics. So at least be aware of this circular trap.

Noah Smith  recommends an economics PhD  if you’re not sure what PhD you should do. He’s even a little more emphatic than that: “Economics is the best PhD you can possibly get.”

This is a little suspicious coming from an economist. It helps to remember that most people like to make their students in their own image (I am no exception).

I think Noah’s advice makes sense if you like economics a lot, if you want to do highly mathematical research, and if you want to be assured of a job. That is why I did an economics PhD.

But if you are motivated by other questions, prefer other methods, or if your strengths are somewhere other than math, I don’t see how your path to fulfillment lies through economics.

If for example you are deeply motivated by questions about politics, you will generally learn a lot more about politics in a political science department. Economics is almost unmatched at a very narrow slice of political economy. That’s what you’d expect as a result of specialization. But you will get fairly narrow political training. It worked for me, but you have to decide based on what and who interests you.

If your interests are political economy (like a great many readers of this blog) you will be well served by both economics and political science. But your choice will be path dependent. An economics PhD will most likely result in an economics job, for example. As I have written elsewhere , it is extremely difficult to get a job in another discipline, like political science.

What about policy school PhDs, such as Harris? These are a great fit for people interested in very applied work. To be honest, it will add a slight hurdle to the already hurdle-strewn process of getting a job in a conventional department such as economics or political science. Successful Harris graduates sometimes receive assistant professorships in economics and political science departments, but more often than not their career paths lie in professional schools of policy, health, education and the like.

We’ve also created a new political economy PhD program at UChicago, joint between Harris and the political science department. This is designed for students who want supercharged technical skills, and I suspect we will mainly place people in political science departments, as well as professional schools and some economics departments. Apply if you are interested in political economy issues and want the best training in formal modeling, econometrics, and microeconomic theory out of any political science department in the US.

Finally, there is the Sustainable Development PhD at Columbia, where I used to teach. This is basically an economics PhD where people study applied sciences, health, environment, etc. The biggest mistake I see applicants make is mistaking this for a non-quantitative program. This is a hard-headed ultra-quantitative program for people who want to be on the frontier of both economics and science at the same time, and requires all the math requirements of economics to be considered (see below).

Okay, so what does it take to get into a top school?

In my view, the fundamental problems in graduate admissions are “information overload” and “noise”. For every slot in a PhD program, there are probably 30 to 50 applicants. A department that plans to have a class of 20 students may receive 1000 applications.

Meanwhile, most departments delegate admissions to a small committee of two to six faculty. They don’t have time to read 1000 applications in detail. And the committee may change every year. Thus, their experience may be limited. And you never know who will be on the committee or what they care about. This adds further randomness.

These faculty want to admit the most talented and creative young researchers who will push the field ahead. And they also want you to pass all the most technical classes, because they hate kicking students out. So the admissions committee are looking for strong signals of intelligence, creativity, determination, and other proclivities for research.

But this is hard . There are too many applications. Applicants don’t have many good ways to signal quality. All applicants are trying to send the same signals. And there is a ton of uncertainty around each signal. Hence: Information overload and noise.

Your job as an applicant is to send the best, clearest signal possible, and minimize the noise around that signal.

Here are the components of an application, and advice on sending the best and clearest signals.

• This is especially true in economics, where some programs cull anyone with quantitative scores outside the very top percentiles. (They could care less about your written or other test scores.)
• Political science programs are more heterogenous in their cutoffs and what scores they look at (if any). But having a score above the 95th percentile is a good signal if you can manage it.
• Economics applicants will want to have A’s in as many mathematics classes as possible.
• Night courses or an MA or MPA are common ways to make up for a patchy undergrad degree. That’s what I did. See below for more information.
• Note, though, many and perhaps most people we admit do not have an MA. The American PhD is designed for smart people to come with only undergraduate training. But if you are coming from a foreign country, you probably ned an MA. See below.
• Letter writers take these letters very  seriously. Professors typically specify in their letter how and how long we have known you and often give a sense of ranking relative to previous students we have recommended.
• Non-academic letters are discounted, since they can seldom speak to your ability to do what a PhD expects of you: produce great research. So a great letter from your boss at a consulting firm, NGO, or government office probably will not help your application.
• This means that during or after your undergrad or MA you build relationships with two and ideally three faculty.
• So: Have you developed close relationships yet with professors in the field where you want a PhD? Start now. Work as an RA, take small classes, and remember that it’s better to get a great letter from someone less known than an okay letter from a well-known scholar.
• I’ve written more detailed advice on recommendation letters here .
• For most: quantitative methods. Economists in particular probably need 2-3 semesters of calculus and statistics each, plus real analysis and linear algebra. Other courses (e.g. differential equations) help. Aspiring political scientists (except the theory/philosophy focused and some ethnographers) would be wise to do the same in calculus and statistics. Nine out of ten job market papers I see use quantitative theory or statistics to some extent, often inadequately. The bar is rising rapidly and those with basic math foundations have advantages. This includes the ethnographers, who often want to do multi-method work, integrating insights from game theory or run regressions. If so, 4-8 classes of methods preparation in undergrad is the minimum to be literate in half the work in your field.
• I can’t speak for all schools, but each year I’ve served on admissions, most of the faculty on the committee discriminate against students that come straight from undergrad, at least in applied fields.
• Also see Mankiw on  working before grad school .
• A compelling personal/research statement. Most people do this wrong. Basically, you should be able to articulate a concrete research question and how you would propose to answer it. See my advice on writing a good statement .
• Outside funding.  This won’t make a difference at all schools, but at many it can help. US students should apply for an NSF and foreign students may have a similar institution in their country. See my  grant application advice .

Lest you are beginning to despair: Very few applicants have all of these things. Most applicants are weak in one or two or three areas. So don’t stress out too much. Even so stress out enough that you do now what you can to improve your chances with the time you have.

A big piece of advice: Try to work on research projects with professors, because the best way to decide whether you want to do something is to try it out before it’s too late. Become an RA in your department, or start looking for RA jobs with professors in top departments in areas of your interest. This will also help with letters and your statement.

If you think you don’t have what you need, but want a short, applied program designed to launch you into a top PhD program, consider the MACRM degree here at the Harris school. You will get PhD training in microeconomics, political economy, game theory, and stats/econometrics. You apprentice with a faculty member and get a string letter. I personally take and train 1-2 students a year.

How many programs should I apply to?

The short answer is “many”. I think 10–15 is commonplace in political science and economics. This is partly because admissions is so idiosyncratic. You don’t know your fit. We don’t either. There’s lots of noise. Most people who apply to 10-15 schools may only get into 2 programs. That’s what happened to me.

This is time consuming. More importantly for some of you, it’s expensive, because schools charge fees. Schools do so partly because otherwise we get WAY more applications than we can handle (and so that the students who are admitted don’t bear the burden of paying for admissions staff through their tuition).

Here’s the secret: if this cost is a real constraint for you, ask the school if they will waive the fee. Explain your personal circumstances in a short and professional email. Attach a CV.. Many schools will co sider your request seriously.

Thanks for the general advice, but what about you and Chicago?

If you want to know what it’s like to work with me,  read this .

Most of the students I work with are interested in topics related to something under the umbrella of the political economy of development (micro- and macro-level), conflict and terrorism, political behavior (like voting or rioting or collective action), or causal inference. If your topic falls here, then I’d be a natural advisor for you, and I welcome new students. I commonly work with economics, politics and Harris School PhD students.

Do I need to have faculty advisers picked out in advance?

Yes and no. Mostly no.

“Yes” because your personal statement should demonstrate that you are a good fit with the department. In your applications  you should be able to point to two to five faculty who, methodologically or topic-wise, do things that are relevant to you.

• The reason you want to identify multiple faculty is that we know things you do not: who has too many students already, who takes few students because they are solitary or retiring or on long leave, who has job offers elsewhere, etc. So don’t make your application hinge on one faculty member.
• Also, make sure the people you focus on are core faculty in the department, not adjuncts or someone in the law school, since these people seldom advise PhD students.

“No” because you think you know what you want to work on right now, but that will probably change three times. You haven’t learned much about the discipline yet, and it would be odd if two years of coursework and conversations didn’t change your mind.

Also, “no” because it’s rare to have a relationship and any kind of commitment to or from a faculty member in advance. Most of us tend to let the admissions process run its course before getting involved.

As a result, I don’t recommend contacting economics and political science professors in advance.

• This is different than psychology or some of the humanities or sciences where you are expected to have a specific advisor and relationship in advance.
• The reason is that we may get 1000 applications and a small committee may make 60 offers for 20 spots. It would be almost impossible to meet and screen people personally, and the majority of faculty in the department may not be closely involved in the admission process that year.
• Even so, we faculty can get bombarded by emails from prospective students in the months before applications are due. Different professors deal with this in different ways, and I am guessing a majority don’t respond at all. I try to respond but only to explain that I engage in depth with students mainly after the committee has made offers.

Special considerations for international students

The bad news: In my experience, it’s difficult to get into a top US PhD program without an American master’s degree. There are many exceptions. Several countries, especially in Europe and Latin America, have a premiere school that funnels students to top US PhD programs every year. Thus, American schools know what they are getting. Otherwise, it’s hard for an admissions committee to judge your record. This happened to me. I come from Canada, but from a school that few Americans know (Waterloo). Even though it’s not that foreign, Canada is foreign enough to create some hurdles in an already hurdle-strewn field.

A lot of foreign recommendation letters, especially those outside Europe, say very little about how they know you, how long, where their institution ranks in the country in research, what they think of your relative quality, whether they’ve sent grad students to the US before and where, etc. This tends to be helpful information and if you can find a diplomatic way to see if your professors are aware of the US norms, the better for you.

It’s also very hard for us to remember and track how every country grades their students. I wish students would make it easier for us. If your registrar or an online site can convert your GPA, do so. At minimum, I’d suggest telling us what it means in your personal statement.

I’m not sure about this, but I’d consider putting that conversion directly into the field online where it asks your GPA. Because many schools get from 1000 applications to the 200-300 they read in depth with a big spreadsheet of GPAs, GREs, school name, and a few other pieces of info. A blank GPA field either raises or lowers the chance they look at your application, and I don’t know which. There’s no simple solution or recommendation here. But this is something I think applicants ought to know about.

Comments and other perspectives welcome. I am also happy to entertain other questions. First see my advice on the right sidebar about success and fulfillment in a PhD, including (for the idealists like me)  how to still save the world .

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• Graduate Degree Programs

Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)

Canadian immigration updates.

Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details

Go to programs search

The Department of Political Science offers Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degree programs that are structured around five substantive fields: Canadian politics, international relations, comparative politics, political theory, and U.S. Politics.

We offer in the range of 25 graduate seminar courses per year and ample support for mentoring grad students in their professional development, through research collaboration, workshops, and colloquia. We have the most successful doctoral graduates of any program in Canada, judged by our record of placing graduates in academic positions in Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and elsewhere.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

One of the key criteria that sets the Political Science department at UBC apart is the methodological breadth and diversity of research interests of faculty members, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. We have particular strengths for graduate students in:

• indigenous politics, with indigenous faculty members in two different subfields
• critical political theory and identity politics
• democratic theory and practise
• political behaviour, parties and elections
• comparative public policy and institutions
• migration, social diversity, and identity
• environmental politics
• international norms, institutions and goverance, and human security.

Quantitative Methods: we are particularly strong on quantitative methods for students using this kind of approach, with the deepest lineup of persons engaged in systematic quantitative research and the country’s most robust sequence of graduate methods courses for those students wishing to acquire a sophisticated understanding of quantitative analysis.

Regional Area Strengths: we are exceptionally strong in the study of Asian politics, the politics of the Americas, European politics, U.S. politics, and Canadian politics.

UBC is an ideal place for studying the history of political thought and critical theory more generally, including postcolonialism and continental political philosophy.

Martina Zago

Quick Facts

Program enquiries, admission information & requirements, 1) check eligibility, minimum academic requirements.

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

• Canada or the United States
• International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement : 92

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement : 6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is required by some applicants. Please check the program website.

2) Meet Deadlines

September 2025 intake, application open date, canadian applicants, international applicants, deadline explanations.

Deadline to submit online application. No changes can be made to the application after submission.

Deadline to upload scans of official transcripts through the applicant portal in support of a submitted application. Information for accessing the applicant portal will be provided after submitting an online application for admission.

Deadline for the referees identified in the application for admission to submit references. See Letters of Reference for more information.

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts.

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest , sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)

Citizenship verification.

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Research Information

Research focus.

Canadian Politics: federalism, the Canadian electoral system, the constitution, the courts, electoral reform, parliamentary institutions, political parties, Canadian public policy, Canadian political thought, voting behaviour Comparative Politics: democratization and democratic institutions, state-society relations, comparative public policy, comparative political economy, constitutional design and comparative political institutions, executive politics, separation of powers, governance, non-governmental organizations, and immigration politics International Relations: International Relations Theory, International Political Economy, International Security, International Law and Organization, International Norms, Human Security, the politics of international law, and global governance Political Theory: democratic theory, liberalism, constitutionalism, human rights, feminism, multiculturalism, nationalism, identity politics, critical theory, history of political thought.

Tuition & Financial Support

Financial support.

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

We offer a full five-year funding package for our PhD students, which generally consists of a combination of UBC Four-Year Fellowships (4YFs), Department Funding, Teaching Assistantship, and Research Assistantship.

In some cases, we are able to offer additional funding in the form of RA positions, but these are contingent on several factors, including faculty members having available research funds for RAs.

The Department of Political Science will offer TA opportunities to PhDs when available in order to enhance the financial resources at students’ disposal. Moreover, we consider it an important aspect of the professional development of our PhDs to work as Teaching Assistants, at some point in their PhD program, to develop their teaching skills under the guidance of faculty members.

Average Funding

• 14 students received Teaching Assistantships. Average TA funding based on 14 students was $15,348.
• 9 students received Research Assistantships. Average RA funding based on 9 students was $8,794.
• 10 students received Academic Assistantships. Average AA funding based on 10 students was $3,461.
• 21 students received internal awards. Average internal award funding based on 21 students was $27,166.
• 4 students received external awards. Average external award funding based on 4 students was $26,500.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union .

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans .

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Outcomes

47 students graduated between 2005 and 2013. Of these, career information was obtained for 44 alumni (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016):

Sample Employers in Higher Education

Sample employers outside higher education, sample job titles outside higher education, phd career outcome survey, career options.

Our PhDs have been highly successful in pursuing academic and non-academic careers.

On the academic front, UBC PhDs hold tenured or tenure track positions at major universities in North America and internationally – including the University of Toronto, University of Victoria, University of Western Ontario, York University, University of Ottawa, University of Calgary, University of Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, University of Essex, Sophia University, National University of Singapore, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, Ritsumeikan University, University of Sheffield, Queensland University, Simon Fraser University, MacEwan University, University of Fraser Valley, University of Manitoba, Memorial University, McMaster University, and Cardiff University.

Our PhDs have held postdoctoral fellowships at a wide range of international institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, University of Toronto, Queens University, Oxford University, Duke University, and others.

Many UBC PhDs have taken their doctoral training to high-level positions with government agencies, NGOs, and private-sector employers. Our students have pursued careers at Statistics Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, the US Department of Defense Asia-Pacific Center, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Deutschebank (London), and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, among others.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

Completion rates & times.

• Research Supervisors

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

• Afsahi, Afsoun (Democratic theory and practice, Gender in politics, Challenges, opportunities, and best methods of inclusion, Representation of marginalized communities in democratic decision-making processes)
• Arneil, Barbara (Identity politics, history of political thought)
• Baier, Gerald (Canadian politics, federalism, constitutional law, courts, federal-provincial relations, Constitution, federalism and public law in Canada)
• Baum, Bruce (Political Culture, Society and Ideology; critical social theory; feminist theory; critical hermeneutics; issues of cross-cultural interpretation; American political thought and cultural politics; political theories of Mill and Marx; philosophy of political inquiry; liberal and democratic theory)
• Borwein, Sophie (intersection of political economy, political behaviour, and public policy)
• Byers, Michael (International relations; Public international law (except international trade law); international law; international relations; Outer Space; Arctic; Law of the Sea; Laws of War; International Human Rights; International Environmental Law)
• Cameron, Maxwell (Political science; Political Regimes (Democracy, Monarchy, Federalism, Parliamentarism, etc.); Social Organization and Political Systems; Comparative Politics; Democratization; Latin America; Practical wisdom)
• Chowdhury, Arjun (Failed states, intervention, civil war, autocrats, revolution. )
• Coleman, Katharina Pichler (International organizations, international relations, international security/peace operations, interntional rules, noms and legitimacy, sun-Saharan Africa)
• Coulthard, Glen (First Nations politics – national; political theory )
• Cutler, Frederick (Social movements and democracy; public opinion; Political Methodology; Canadian Politics; Elections; Electoral Systems; Federalism; Academic Publishing Systems)
• Dauvergne, Peter (Social sciences; international relations; global environmental politics; sustainability governance; global South; Developing countries; transnational corporations; technology; consumption; Plastic Pollution; social movements; environmentalism; activism; deforestation)
• Doberstein, Carey (Political science and policy administration; Agencies and arms-length bodies in Canada; Public servant behavior in Canada; How citizens engage with government as part of local consultations and public engagement; Homelessness (politics, governance, policy); Local government or governance)
• Ellermann, Antje (Political science; Migrations, Populations, Cultural Exchanges; Migratory Flows; Public Policies; Identity and Transnationality; Role of Governments and Institutions; Comparative Public Policy; Migration and Citizenship)
• Harrison, Kathryn (Canadian politics, environmental politics, environmental policy, climate change, global warming, climate change policy, Canadian public policy)
• Hopkins, Vincent (Political science; Democratic theory and practice; Federalism and Local Politics; Migration Policy and Politics; Public Management; public opinion)
• Huebner, Kurt (European integration; euro and global currency regimes; international trade and fdi; sustainability and innovation policies; global macroeconomics;European politics, Money and currency regimes, politics and economics of European integration as well as on contradictions and complementarities of sustainability and international competitiveness)
• Jacobs, Alan Michael (Political science; Social Organization and Political Systems; economic inequality; Political economy; public opinion; Public Policy; Research Methodology)
• Janara, Laura (Language and symbolism especially in gendered and familial thinking, politcal theory)
• Jeong, Gyung-Ho (Political science; Social Organization and Political Systems; Congress; Foreign Policy; Immigration Policy; Legislative Politics; Public Choice; Trade Policy; US politics)
• Jurkevics, Anna (critical theory, democratic theory, and the history of German political thought)
• Kam, Christopher (Nature and evolution of parliamentary democracy, historical development of institutions)
• la Selva, Samuel (Political theory, legal philosophy)
• Li, Xiaojun (international and comparative political economy with a focus on China; Does Conditionality Still Work? China)
• Lightfoot, Sheryl (First Nations, international relations )

Doctoral Citations

Sample thesis submissions.

• A mosaic of mundane innovations : emerging powers, multinational firms, and global 5G technology rules
• Moral intuition and international order : on change, progress, and threat
• Running a rebellion : essays on armed group behavior
• Competing without parties : voter mobilization in Peru
• Negotiating gender in crisis : global norms and state power in South Sudan
• A democratic theory of hope : collective agency in uncertain times
• Essays on ethnic identity, attitude formation, and political behaviour in contemporary Southeast Asia
• Essays on the political economy of equality, development, and influence in Indonesia and Singapore
• The price of a life: the confluence of strategy and legitimacy in civilian harm compensation
• Discrimination in post-World War II naturalization policy : France and Switzerland
• The impact of investor-state arbitrations on foreign direct investment and domestic public opinion : evidence from FDI flows, elite interviews and a survey experiment
• Mainstreaming the labour market integration of immigrants in the EU : policy framework and policy impact
• Governing on the left : essays on governance and party development in contemporary Latin America
• Democracy in an uncertain world : campaign information and voter decision-making

Related Programs

Same specialization.

• Master of Arts in Political Science (MA)

Related Disciplines

• Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)

Further Information

Specialization.

The program covers the following subjects:

UBC Calendar

Program website, faculty overview, academic unit, program identifier, classification, social media channels, supervisor search.

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form .

Katelynn Kowalchuk

UBC’s dedication to innovation and transforming ideas into action is what originally drew me to the university. Before deciding to attend my hometown university for my undergraduate degree, I was interested in applying to UBC’s architecture and urbanism program. Though I ultimately didn’t pursue...

Addye Susnick

I largely decided to study at UBC because of the Department of Political Science’s strength in critical political theory and environmental politics. I was also drawn to the Social Justice Institute and various opportunities UBC offers for interdisciplinary research. Less tangibly, I liked the vibe...

Leah Shipton

I decided to study at UBC for a number of reasons, but the main reason was because the faculty both within the Department of Political Science as well as in other departments have expertise in my research areas of interest. This made me reassured that it would be a great campus to learn and develop...

Curious about UBC for grad school?

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Ph.D. Admissions

Apply here . 

Preparing to Apply

Before starting the application process please read the information about the graduate program requirements  and read our  Frequently Asked Questions . You may also find the Guide to Getting Into Grad School helpful. 

The Political Science department recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

All questions regarding graduate admissions should be directed to politicalscience [at] stanford.edu (subject: Admissions%20Enquiry) ( politicalscience[at]stanford[dot]edu ) .

The principal goal of the Stanford Ph.D. program in political science is the training of scholars. Most students who receive doctorates in the program do research and teach at colleges or universities. We offer courses and research opportunities in a wide variety of fields in the discipline, including American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Political Methodology. The program is built around small seminars that analyze critically the literature of a field or focus on a research problem. These courses prepare students for the Ph.D. comprehensive exam requirement within a two-year period and for work on the doctoral dissertation.  

Admission to the graduate program in political science is highly selective. About twelve to fifteen students, chosen from a large pool of applicants, enter the program each year. The small size of our student body allows more individual work with members of the faculty than most graduate programs. It also makes possible financial assistance in one form or another to most students admitted to the Ph.D. program. 

Graduate Admissions FAQ

Please visit our list of  frequently asked questions.

You may also find the following links useful if you have general questions about student life and graduate study at Stanford University:  

Vice Provost of Graduate Education (VPGE)

• Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures Handbook (GAP)
• Graduate Life Office
• Stanford Bulletin
• Explore Courses

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Join dozens of Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS). KHS admits up to 100 select applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of your PhD studies at Stanford. Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 11, 2023. Learn more about KHS admission .

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Political Science

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Departmental Office: 710 International Affairs Building; 212-854-3707 http://www.polisci.columbia.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Robert Shapiro, 730 International Affairs Building; 212-854-3955;  [email protected]

Economics-Political Science Advisers: Economics : Prof. Susan Elmes, Director of Undergraduate Studies, 1006 International Affairs Building; [email protected] Political Science : Prof. Carlo Prato, 718 International Affairs Building; 212-854-3977; [email protected]

Political Science-Statistics Advisers: Political Science : Prof. Andrew Gelman, 1255 Amsterdam Ave., Room 1016; 212-851-2164; [email protected] Statistics : Prof. Ronald Neath, 612 West 115th Street, Room 612; 212-853-1398;  [email protected] Statistics : Prof. Gabriel Young, 612 West 115th Street, Room 614; 212-853-1395;  [email protected]

The discipline of political science focuses on issues of power and governance and, in particular, on political institutions, both formal and informal. It also focuses on political behavior, political processes, political economy, and state-society relations.

The field consists of four substantive subfields: American politics , which covers such topics as national and local politics, elections, and constitutional law; comparative politics , which aims at understanding the political systems of other countries, both by studying individual states and by engaging in cross-national comparisons; international relations , which deals with the ways that states and other political actors behave in the international arena, including such topics as security, foreign policies, international organizations, and international economic relations; and political theory , which analyzes the history of normative political thought as well as of analytic concepts such as the nature of justice or liberty.

Other broad topics, such as “political economy,” or the study of the relationships between economic and political processes, overlap with the subfields, but also constitute a separate program (see below). Methodology, including statistical analysis and formal modeling, also occupies an important place in the discipline.

Advanced Placement

The department grants credit toward the major for work completed under the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) Advanced Placement Program. Students receive 3 academic credits and exemption from POLS UN1201 INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS or POLS UN1501 INTRO TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS for scores of 5 in the United States and Comparative Government and Politics AP Exams.

The Department of Political Science offers a variety of advising resources to provide undergraduate majors and concentrators with the information and support needed to successfully navigate through the program. These resources are described below.

Undergraduate Advising Office

Students should take questions or concerns about the undergraduate program to the department's undergraduate advising office first. If advisers cannot answer a student's question, they then refer the student to the appropriate person.

The undergraduate advising office is staffed by political science Ph.D. students who hold open office hours each week (the schedule can be found online at  https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-advising ). During open hours, advisers are available to respond to questions and concerns about requirements, course selection, course of study, transfer and study abroad credit, and any other aspect of the program. Students may also reach advisers by email at [email protected] .

Students should also consult the undergraduate advisers for assistance in completing the political science program planning form (available online at https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-forms-library ). The advisers must sign and date this form in the approval column next to any listed class that requires approval to fulfill program requirements (transfer courses, non-traditional courses, etc.). Each student's planning form is kept on file in the department, so that each semester they may meet with an adviser to update it.

The advisers are also available to speak with students about academic and professional issues, including research interests, internships, and post-college plans. Since the advisers have been through the graduate school application process, they are great resources with whom students may discuss the process. Also, as current Ph.D. students in the department, they are familiar with the research interests of political science faculty and can therefore refer students to a professor whose research aligns with the students' interests for focused thesis advice, information about academic, professional, and research opportunities, or professional development.

Requesting a Faculty Adviser

Often the best way for students to obtain advising from a faculty member is to contact a professor with whom they have taken a class in an area of interest. Students also have the option of having a faculty adviser assigned by the department. To request a faculty adviser, students should complete the Faculty Adviser Request Form and submit it to the undergraduate coordinator during the first two weeks of the semester. The link to the current adviser request form may be found in the undergraduate forms library on the department website.

Students may consult with their faculty adviser for any substantive issue, but still must visit walk-in advising hours to have courses approved, to have planning forms reviewed and approved, and to discuss departmental requirements and regulations.

Director of Undergraduate Studies

The director of undergraduate studies oversees the department's undergraduate programs and is available during office hours. While a student's first stop for advising should be the undergraduate advising office, the director of undergraduate studies is available to answer any questions that the undergraduate advisers or the undergraduate coordinator cannot. 

Economics–Political Science Adviser

Economics–political science majors may consult with the economics-political science adviser during office hours. However, students should also see an undergraduate adviser to discuss major requirements and fill out a planning form. 

Political Science–Statistics Adviser

Political science–statistics majors may consult with the political science-statistics adviser during office hours. However, students should also see an undergraduate adviser to discuss major requirements and fill out a planning form. 

Faculty At-Large

All faculty are available for consultation with students during office hours or by appointment to discuss interests in political science, course selection, and other academic or post-college matters. The faculty may provide advice about graduate schools, suggest literature that the student might consult as sources for research, recommend specific courses or professors based on the student's interests, or offer information about research opportunities with faculty. However, students should note that any issues surrounding departmental regulations and requirements, major certification, course approvals, etc., should be addressed initially with the undergraduate advisers.

Honors Program

The department offers the Honors Program for a limited number of seniors who want to undertake substantial research projects and write honors theses. The honors thesis is expected to be about 75 pages in length and of exceptional quality.

Honors students perform research as part of a full-year honors seminar ( POLS UN3998 - POLS UN3999 , 8 points total) during their senior year, in place of the seminar requirement for majors. Honors students may, however, take additional seminars to fulfill other course requirements for the major. Theses are due in late March or early April. To be awarded departmental honors, the student must satisfy all the requirements for the major, maintain a 3.6 GPA in the major, and complete a thesis of sufficiently high quality to merit honors.

The honors seminar director provides general direction for the seminar and supervises all students. Each student also works with a faculty member in his or her major subfield (American politics, comparative politics, international relations, or political theory) and a teaching assistant. The honors seminar meets weekly for part of the year and addresses general issues involved in research and thesis writing, such as how to develop research questions and projects, methodology, sources of evidence, and outlining and drafting long papers. The sessions are also used for group discussions of students’ research and thesis presentations. Students are also expected to meet periodically with the supervising professor and preceptor.

Students who wish to apply to the Honors Program must notify the department in writing by the end of the spring semester of the junior year. Please check the department website for the official deadline. Normally no more than 10% of graduating majors receive departmental honors in a given academic year. Applicants are required to have already completed the methods requirement for the major.

Application Materials

Applications to the Honors Program must include the following:

• A cover page with the student’s name, CUID number, e-mail address, and school (Columbia College or General Studies);
• An official transcript, which may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar in Kent Hall, or from Student Services Online (SSOL);
• A writing sample, preferably a paper written for a political science course;
• A brief description (no more than one page) of a possible thesis topic.

Completed applications should be sent to:

Department of Political Science Attn: Departmental Honors 420 West 118th Street Mail Code 3320 New York, NY 10027

In addition, students are encouraged to find a faculty sponsor for their thesis proposal. Students who have identified a faculty sponsor should indicate the sponsor in the proposal; students without a faculty sponsor should identify a faculty member with whom they would like to work. Research areas for the political science department faculty are listed on the department's website . Students will be notified by e-mail of the decision taken on their applications before fall registration.

Students who are not accepted into the honors seminar or who decide after the application deadline that they would like to write an honors thesis may take one or two semesters POLS UN3901 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH I  and POLS UN3902 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH II  in order to write a thesis to submit for honors consideration. Any member of the department's full-time faculty may sponsor independent study courses. Part-time faculty are not obligated to sponsor these courses.

For registration information and more details about this process, students should contact the Academic Affairs Coordinator. Note that most honors theses are about 75 pages in length. All theses must be submitted along with a confidential assessment of the paper by the supervising instructor in order to be considered for departmental honors. Students who choose this path must also complete all the requirements for the major and maintain a minimum major GPA of 3.6. Theses are due in late March or early April, and decisions about departmental honors are announced in May.

Departmental Prizes and Fellowships

The Department of Political Science administers the following prizes and awards. Unless otherwise noted, students do not play an active part in the nomination process. Rather, faculty members nominate students at their own discretion. Departmental prizes are reserved for political science majors.

Charles A. Beard Prize

A cash prize awarded every other year to the student who writes the best paper in political science during the academic year.

Caroline Phelps Stokes Prize

A cash prize established at the bequest of Caroline Phelps Stokes is awarded to a student who has been a degree candidate at Columbia College or Barnard College for at least one academic year, and who has written the best essay in course or seminar work on the general subject of human rights.

Allan J. Willen Memorial Prize

A cash prize awarded to the Columbia College student who writes the best seminar paper on a contemporary American political problem.

Edwin Robbins Academic Research/Public Service Fellowship

The Robbins Fellowship provides a stipend each summer for at least two political science students in Columbia College who will be engaged in research in important matters of politics or policymaking or who will be working, without other compensation, as interns in a governmental office, agency, or other public service organization. Each spring, the department invites students to submit fellowship proposals. Awards are announced in late April or early May.

The Arthur Ross Foundation Award

Phyllis stevens sharp fellowship in american politics.

The Phyllis Stevens Sharp Endowment Fund provides stipends each year during the summer for one or more Columbia College or School of General Studies students majoring or concentrating in political science to support research in American politics or policy making, or otherwise uncompensated internships in a government office, agency, or other public service organization. Each spring, the department invites students to submit fellowship proposals. Awards are announced in late April or early May.

Early Admission to the Master's Degree Program in Political Science for Columbia and Barnard Political Science Undergraduates

While the Department of Political Science does not offer a joint bachelor of arts/master’s degree, it does allow Columbia and Barnard undergraduates to apply for early admission to its master’s degree program. 

Students should apply during the fall semester of their senior year for admission to the M.A. program in the following fall semester, after completion of the B.A. degree. The department and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences may award up to one-half residence unit of advanced standing and/or up to three courses (nine to twelve credits) of transfer credit for graduate courses ( 4000 -level and above) taken at Columbia in excess of the requirements for the Columbia bachelor's degree, as certified by the dean of the undergraduate school awarding the bachelor's degree.

For further information about the application process and minimum qualifications for early admission, please contact the director of undergraduate studies.

For further information about requirements for the M.A. degree, see  https://gsas.columbia.edu/degree-programs/ma-programs/political-science .

• Jagdish Bhagwati (also Economics)
• Allison Carnegie
• Alessandra Casella (also Economics)
• Partha Chatterjee (Anthropology)
• Jean L. Cohen
• Michael Doyle (University Professor)
• Robert Erikson
• Virginia Page Fortna
• Timothy Frye
• Ester Fuchs (School of International and Public Affairs)
• Andrew Gelman (also Statistics)
• Donald P. Green
• Bernard Harcourt (Law)
• Fredrick Harris
• Jeffrey Henig (Teachers College)
• Shigeo Hirano
• David C. Johnston
• Ira Katznelson (also History)
• Sudipta Kaviraj (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies)
• Jeffrey Lax
• Mahmood Mamdani (Anthropology)
• Karuna Mantena
• M. Victoria Murillo (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Andrew J. Nathan
• Sharyn O'Halloran (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Justin Phillips (Chair)
• Robert Y. Shapiro
• Jack Snyder
• Michael Ting (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Nadia Urbinati
• Gregory Wawro
• Andreas Wimmer (also Sociology)
• Keren Yarhi-Milo (also School of International and Public Affairs)

Associate Professors

• Daniel Corstange (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Alexander W. Hertel-Fernandez (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Turkuler Isiksel
• Kimuli Kasara
• John Marshall
• Carlo Prato

Assistant Professors

• Naoki Egami
• Nikhar Gaikwad
• Junyan Jiang
• Daniel Luban
• Andrew McCall
• Tamar Mitts (also School of International and Public Affairs)
• Calvin Thrall
• Yamil Velez
• Jacqueline C. Dugard Kevin Funk Elise Giuliano Clara Maier Benjamin Mueser Benjamin Mylius Michael Parrott Tsveta Petrova David Ragazzoni Chiara Superti
• Profs. Carnegie, Egami, Gaikwad, Kim, Mantena ( 2023-24 )
• Prof. Doyle ( Fall 2023 )
• Profs. Casella, Johnston, Marshall ( Spring 2024 )

Guidelines for all Political Science Majors, Concentrators, and Interdepartmental Majors

Planning forms.

Major Planning forms are available on the department website .

Policy on Double-Counting Courses

Columbia college.

• School of General Studies
• Courses in the Core Curriculum do not fulfill requirements for the Political Science major.

Policy on Counting Credits outside the Department of Political Science

• Courses taken at other institutions or other Columbia departments may not be used to meet the requirement of a major or concentration in political science without the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the department’s undergraduate adviser. Students should secure such approval in advance of registration.

Pass/D/Fail and Grading Policy

• The course used to fulfill the research methods requirement cannot be taken Pass/D/Fail.
• Students must receive a grade of at least C- in order for a course to count towards the major or concentration.

AP Credit Policy

• Students who receive transfer credit for one or more AP exams in political science may count a maximum of one AP course toward the major or concentration, contingent upon completing an upper-level (3000 or higher) course with a grade of C or higher in the subfield in which the AP exam was taken. All transfer credits must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the  undergraduate adviser .

Transfer Credit Policy

For the political science major, a maximum of three courses in political science may be transferred from other institutions, including study abroad and AP credit. For the political science concentration as well as the economics-political science and political science-statistics interdisciplinary majors, a maximum of two courses in political science may be transferred from other institutions.

All transfer credits must be approved in writing by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the undergraduate adviser .

• Students wishing to count transfer credits toward the major or concentration should send the undergraduate adviser their transfer credit report, the syllabi of the courses they want to count toward departmental requirements, and a statement of how they want to apply the transfer credits to the requirements.

Independent Study Policy

• Independent Study ( POLS UN3901 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH I  in the fall or POLS UN3902 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH II  in the spring) taken in fulfillment of course requirements for the major/concentration must be taken for at least 3 points of credit.

Major in Political Science

Program of study.

To be planned with the department as soon as the student starts to register for courses toward the major. Students should not wait until they formally declare the major before meeting with an undergraduate adviser during the registration period to plan their programs for the major.

Course Requirements

Students must choose a  Primary Subfield  and a  Secondary Subfield  to study. The subfields are as follows:

• American Politics (AP)
• Comparative Politics (CP)
• International Relations (IR)
• Political Theory (PT)

The major in political science requires a minimum of 9 courses in political science, to be distributed as follows:

Students must complete the methods requirement by the end of the junior year. A student may fulfill the research methods requirement with another course inside or outside the department only with the advance written permission of the Director of Graduate Studies or the department's undergraduate adviser. If a course outside the Department of Political Science is used to satisfy the research methods requirement, this same course cannot be used to fulfill requirements of another major, concentration or program.

Students are expected to take two 3000-level 4-point seminars. They may choose from among the seminars offered, though at least one of the seminars taken must be in the student’s Primary Subfield (that in which at least 9 other points have been completed). Entry into seminars requires the instructor's permission.

For detailed seminar registration guidelines, see  t he  department website . Seminars cannot be taken for R credit or Pass/D/Fail.

Barnard colloquia are open to students with the permission of the instructor. However, Barnard colloquia may not be used to fulfill the seminar requirement, though they may be used to fulfill subfield or elective requirements. Note that admission to Barnard colloquia is by application to the Barnard Political Science Department only. Please consult with the Barnard Political Science Department for more information.

Recommended Courses

In addition to political science courses, students are strongly advised, but not required, to take six points in a related social science field.

Major in Economics–Political Science

The major in economics-political science is an interdisciplinary major that introduces students to the methodologies of economics and political science and stresses areas of particular concern to both. This program is particularly beneficial to students planning to do graduate work in schools of public policy and international affairs.

Two advisers are assigned for the interdepartmental major, one in the Department of Economics and one in the Department of Political Science. Please note that the economics adviser can only advise on economics requirements and the political science adviser can only advise on political science requirements.

For the political science part of the major, students must choose a  Primary Subfield  and a  Secondary Subfield  to study. The corresponding introductory courses in both subfields must be taken, plus two electives in the Primary Subfield and one in the Secondary Subfield. The subfields are as follows:

The economics–political science major requires a total of 59 points: 22 points in economics, 17 points in political science, 6 points in mathematics, 6 points in statistical methods, 4 points in a political science seminar, and 4 points in the interdisciplinary seminar as follows:

Students who wish to count toward the political science seminar requirement a course that is not in the above list of approved seminars must obtain permission from the political science Director of Undergraduate studies.

Barnard colloquia may not be used to fulfill the seminar requirement. Note that admission to Barnard colloquia is by application to the Barnard political science department only.

Major in Political Science–Statistics

The interdepartmental major of political science–statistics is designed for students who desire an understanding of political science to pursue advanced study in this field and who also wish to have at their command a broad range of sophisticated statistical tools to analyze data related to social science and public policy research.

Students should be aware of the rules regarding the use of the Pass/D/Fail option. Courses in which a grade of D has been received do not count toward the major requirements.

Political science–statistics students are eligible for all prizes reserved for political science majors.

The political science-statistics major requires a minimum of 15 courses in political science, statistics, and mathematics, to be distributed as follows:

Students taking Statistics Sequence A may replace the mathematics requirements with both  MATH UN1207 HONORS MATHEMATICS A and  MATH UN1208 HONORS MATHEMATICS B .

Concentration in Political Science

To be planned with the department as soon as the student starts to register for courses toward the concentration. Students should not wait until they formally declare the concentration before meeting with an undergraduate adviser during the registration period to plan their programs for the concentration.

Concentration Requirements

The concentration in political science requires a minimum of 7 courses in political science, to be distributed as follows:

In addition to courses in political science, students are strongly advised, but not required, to take six credits in a related social science field.

American Politics

POLS UN1201 INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS. 4.00 points .

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the principles of American politics and governance. Upon completing the class, students should be more informed about the American political process and better able to explain contemporary American political phenomena, as well as being more likely to engage with politics and elections

POLS UN3213 AMERICAN URBAN POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course examines the pattern of political development in urban America, as the countrys population has grown in urbanized locations. It explores the process by which cities and suburbs are governed, how immigrants and migrants are incorporated, and how people of different races and ethnicities interact in urbanized settings as well as the institutional relations of cities and suburbs with other jurisdictions of government. The course focuses both on the historical as well the theoretical understandings of politics in urban areas

POLS UN3220 LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE CHOICE. 3.00 points .

Much of politics is about combining individual preferences or actions into collective choices. We will make use of two theoretical approaches. Our primary approach will be social choice theory, which studies how we aggregate what individuals want into what the collective ;wants.; The second approach, game theory, covers how we aggregate what individuals want into what the group gets, given that social, economic, and political outcomes usually depend on the interaction of individual choices. The aggregation of preferences or choices is usually governed by some set of institutional rules, formal or informal. Our main themes include the rationality of individual and group preferences, the underpinnings and implications of using majority rule, tradeoffs between aggregation methods, the fairness of group choice, the effects of institutional constraints on choice (e.g. agenda control), and the implications for democratic choice. Most of the course material is highly abstract, but these abstract issues turn up in many real-world problems, from bargaining between the branches of government to campus elections to judicial decisions on multi-member courts to the allocation of relief funds among victims of natural disasters to the scoring of Olympic events. The collective choice problem is one faced by society as a whole and by the smallest group alike

POLS UN3222 THE AMERICAN CONGRESS. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS UN1201 or the equivalent, or the instructor's permission. Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, or the instructors permission. Inquiry into the dynamics, organization, and policy-making processes of the American Congress. Particular emphasis on the relationship of legislators to constituents, lobbyists, bureaucrats, the president, and with one another

POLS UN3225 AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL HISTOR. 4.00 points .

This Course is intended to look at key developments of American History through the prism of Supreme Court decisions and their aftermath. In essence, this Course will address three questions: 1. How did the Supreme Court reflect, and affect, historic patterns of U.S. development, and how did it impact the legal and economic framework of the United States? 2. How did the Supreme Court respond to, or worsen, crises in U.S. history? 3. How did the perception of individual and collective rights and liberties, and of the function and role of Governments -- both Federal and State -- evolve over time?

POLS UN3245 RACIAL AND ETHNIC POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course examines the role of race in American politics and the political behavior of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Topics will include, but are not limited to, minority political participation, segregation, gentrification, group identity, implicit bias, political representation, media effects, and the role of race in political campaigns

POLS UN3255 RACE AND THE US CARCERAL SYSTEM. 3.00 points .

This course will introduce students to research on the institutions of the US carceral system, including the police, courts, prisons, and immigration control. We will focus on two questions: how race relates to experiences with the institutions of the carceral state, and how those institutions in turn influence racial politics. The main objective is not the accumulation of factual knowledge about this system, but familiarity with theoretical frameworks with which to make and critically assess arguments about the functioning of carceral institutions as they relate to racialized people and the functioning of democracy

POLS UN3260 LATINO POLITICAL EXPERIENCE. 3.00 points .

This course focuses on the political incorporation of Latinos into the American polity. Among the topics to be discussed are patterns of historical exclusion, the impact of the Voting Rights Act, organizational and electoral behavior, and the effects of immigration on the Latino national political agenda

POLS UN3285 FREEDOM OF SPEECH ＆ PRESS. 3.00 points .

Examines the constitutional right of freedom of speech and press in the United States. Examines, in depth, various areas of law, including extremist or seditious speech, obscenity, libel, fighting words, the public forum doctrine, and public access to the mass media. Follows the law school course model, with readings focused on actual judicial decisions

POLS UN3290 VOTING AND AMERICAN POLITICS. 3.00 points .

Elections and public opinion; history of U.S. electoral politics; the problem of voter participation; partisanship and voting; accounting for voting decisions; explaining and forecasting election outcomes; elections and divided government; money and elections; electoral politics and representative democracy.

American Politics Seminars

POLS UN3921 AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Priority given to senior majors, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

Prerequisites: the instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Comparative Politics

POLS UN1501 INTRO TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS. 4.00 points .

This course provides a broad overview of the comparative politics subfield by focusing on important substantive questions about the world today. The course is organized around four questions. First, why can only some people depend upon the state to enforce order? Second, how can we account for the differences between autocracies and democracies? Third, what different institutional forms does democratic government take? Finally, are some institutions more likely than others to produce desirable social outcomes such as accountability, redistribution, and political stability?

POLS UN3528 NEW/OLD FORMS OF POL PROTEST. 3.00 points .

This course will introduce the students to the important topic of political protest. Each week we will address different aspects of the phenomenon: from the determinant to the actors and strategies of protest. We will discuss how the forms of protest have changed and the current role of the internet in general and social media in particular. Finally, we will discuss the role of the state and state repression, in particular censorship in the dynamics of protest. Since this is a comparative politics course, we will cover a range of different countries, including the United States, as well as both democratic and authoritarian regimes

POLS UN3534 AUTOCRACY AND DEMOCRACY. 3.00 points .

With longstanding democracies in Europe and the US faltering, autocratic regimes in Russia and China consolidating, and hybrid regimes that mix elements of democracy and autocracy on the rise, scholars, policymakers, and citizens are re-evaluating the causes and consequences of different forms of government. This course is designed to give students the tools to understand these trends in global politics. Among other topics, we will explore: How do democracies and autocracies differ in theory and in practice? Why are some countries autocratic? Why are some democratic? What are the roots of democratic erosion? How does economic inequality influence a country’s form of government? Is the current period of institutional foment different past periods of global instability? This course will help students keep up with rapidly unfolding events, but is designed primarily to help them develop tools for interpreting and understanding the current condition of democracy and autocracy in the world

POLS GU4423 POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF ELITES ＆ INSTITUTIONS. 4.00 points .

This course examines political institutions and elite behavior from a political economy perspective. This course has three core goals. First, the substantive goal is to familiarize students with foundational theoretical arguments and frontier empirical evidence pertaining to central questions in political economy relating to political elite and institutions. Second, the methodological goal is to empower students to implement research designs that can effectively address the substantive questions driving their research. Third, the professionalization goal is to expose students to the academic processes of writing reviews, replicating and extending others’ studies, presenting research projects, and writing original research designs or academic papers

POLS GU4439 State and Society in Ukraine. 4.00 points .

This course deals with the functioning of the state and society in post-Soviet Ukraine, from its peaceful establishment in 1991 to its affirmation and revision in the crucible of the war with neoimperial Russia since 2014. On the one hand, it examines the formation and subsequent transformation of the state, including he branches of government, the party system, elections, foreign policy, education and social welfare. On the other hand, it discusses various facets of society such as religion, media, language use, gender relations, poverty, racism, etc. In tracing the relations between the state and society on a rocky road from totalitarianism to democracy, particular attention is paid to two upsurges of popular protest against state abuse, namely the Orange and Euromaidan revolution and subsequent attempts to empower society and strengthen its control over the state. No less prominent will be discussions of two military interventions by Russia seeking to keep Ukraine its its sphere of influence, the annexation of Crimea and the instigation of a separatist conflict in the Donbas in 2014, and the full-blown invasion in 2022, and the Ukrainian state and society’s responses to these interventions

POLS GU4453 POLITICS IN RUSSIA. 3.00 points .

This course begins by studying the late Soviet era—the 1970s through the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991--in order to understand what kind of political system and political culture Russia inherited. We spend some time analyzing why and how the Soviet Union—a superpower for 75 years—disintegrated suddenly and for the most part, peacefully. Then, the bulk of the course focuses on state-building in the Russian Federation. Russia’s effort to construct new political institutions, a functioning economy, and a healthy society represents one of the greatest political dramas of our time. Beginning with Yeltsin’s presidency in 1991 and continuing through the current eras of Putin, Medvedev, and Putin again, we consider phenomena such as economic reform, nationalism, separatism, federalism, war, legal reform, civil society, and democratization. The third part of the course addresses Russia’s foreign relations. Like its predecessor states, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, Russia is concerned with what kind of state it is (or should be) and where it stands in the international order. We will study how Russian elites make sense of Russia’s identity, as well as Russia’s policies toward the US, Europe, its “near abroad,” the Middle East, and China

POLS GU4455 Russian Politics: How Autocracy Works. 3.00 points .

This course is designed to give students the tools to understand the politics of post-Soviet Russia through the lens of theories of modern autocracy and by putting Russian in comparative perspective. Among other topics, we will explore: Why did the Soviet Union collapse? Why was economic reform in Russian in the 1990s so difficult? How does autocracy influence economic development? How does Russia’s autocracy work? Why has Russia become increasingly repressive in the Putin era? Why did Russia invade Ukraine in 2022? What are the prospects for political change? How does economic inequality influence a country’s form of government? In addition to answering these questions, we will also examine the many difficult challenges in identifying the causes and consequences of studying autocracy. The course not only hopes to use modern theories of autocracy to understand Russia, but also to use the Russian case to build theories of modern autocracy. This course will help students keep up with rapidly unfolding events but is designed primarily to help them develop tools for interpreting and understanding the politics of autocratic Russia

POLS GU4457 Russian Propaganda Dom ＆ Global Politics. 4.00 points .

Propaganda is a key tool of contemporary authoritarian politics. Autocrats such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, or Hungary’s Viktor Orbán use state-controlled media to manipulate citizens, and some of them extensively rely on propaganda to undermine democracy in other countries. This course encourages students to think about the specific roles that media and propaganda play in autocracies, focusing on Russia in particular. We will read and discuss cutting-edge empirical research in political science and media studies to understand how autocrats such as Putin manipulate public opinion, why their propaganda can be successful, what its limits are, and how we can spot authoritarian propaganda in practice

POLS GU4461 Latin American Politics. 4 points .

This is a lecture class that seeks to introduce students to social scientific analysis while discuss the shifting dynamics of political representation in Latin America. In analyzing political representation in the region, it focuses on demands for political inclusion by different actors and how they were resisted or accepted by established elites in a process that moved from regime change to electoral rotation in power. The course covers these political dynamics and their institutional consequences since the onset of the twentieth century, starting with the Mexican Revolution, until the contemporary period where democracy is the predominant form of government and elections a crucial tool for social and political change. While analyzing the politics of Latin America, we will cover important political science concepts associated with democratic representation, social inclusion and the rule of the law, such as social movement mobilization, political regime change, presidentialism, political party systems, political identities, state capacity, and institutional weakness.

POLS GU4471 CHINESE POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course offers a historical and thematic survey of Chinese politics and of salient issues in China’s public policy and governance. The first half of the course reviews the patterns and dynamics of political development in China, focusing mainly on the last two hundred years, during which the country has been on a rugged yet fascinating path toward modernity. We will examine major political events including the collapse of the Imperial China, the rise of the Communist Party, the Cultural Revolution, and the post-Mao shift toward reform and opening. The second half of the course will look various special topics, including the structure of the party and the state, the relationship between state and society, the modes of economic development, and the governance of the media and the Internet. Throughout the course, special attention will be paid to how China’s domestic political and economic processes intersected with major world events and transnational forces, such as imperialism, world wars, and economic globalization

POLS GU4472 JAPANESE POLITICS. 4.00 points .

POLS GU4496 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN POLITICS. 3.00 points .

This course aims to teach students what, if any, answers social scientists have to the questions that concern anyone with an interest in African politics: 1) Why have democratic governments flourished in some countries and not others? 2) What institutions may enable Africans to hold their leaders accountable? 3) How do people participate in politics? 4) In what ways do aspiring African political leaders build public support? 5) To what extent does persistent poverty on the continent have political causes? and 6) Why is violence used to resolve some political disputes and not others?

Comparative Politics Seminars

POLS UN3951 COMPARATIVE POLITICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines. Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines. Seminar in Comparative Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

International Relations

POLS UN1601 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS. 4.00 points .

This introductory course surveys key topics in the study of international politics, including the causes of war and peace; the efficacy of international law and human rights; the origins of international development and underdevelopment; the politics of global environmental protection; and the future of US-China relations. Throughout the course, we will focus on the interests of the many actors of world politics, including states, politicians, firms, bureaucracies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations; the interactions between them; and the institutions in which they operate. By the end of the semester, students will be better equipped to systematically study international relations and make informed contributions to critical policy debates

POLS UN3619 NAT'L ＆ CONTEMP WORLD POLITICS. 3.00 points .

The causes and consequences of nationalism. Nationalism as a cause of conflict in contemporary world politics. Strategies for mitigating nationalist and ethnic conflict

POLS UN3623 ENDING WAR ＆ BUILDING PEACE. 3.00 points .

This course provides an introduction to the politics of war termination and peace consolidation. The course examines the challenges posed by ending wars and the process by which parties to a conflict arrive at victory, ceasefires, and peace negotiations. It explores how peace is sustained, why peace lasts in some cases and breaks down in others and what can be done to make peace more stable, focusing on the role of international interventions, power-sharing arrangements, reconciliation between adversaries, and reconstruction

POLS UN3648 GOVERNING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. 4.00 points .

Who governs the world economy? Why do countries succeed or fail to cooperate in setting their economic policies? When and how do international institutions help countries cooperate? When and why do countries adopt good and bad economic policies? This course examines how domestic and international politics determine how the global economy is governed. We will study the politics of trade, international investment, monetary, immigration, and environmental policies to answer these questions. The course will approach each topic by examining alternative theoretical approaches and evaluate these theories using historical and contemporary evidence. There will be an emphasis on applying concepts through the analysis of policy-relevant case studies designed specifically for this course

POLS UN3674 China's Technological Rise. 3.00 points .

This course examines the causes and consequences of China’s rise as an economic and technological great power over the past four decades. It provides a theoretically-informed introduction to the political economy of contemporary China and to major debates surrounding China’s relations with the United States and its allies and partners. Topics covered include Chinese industrial and innovation policies, China’s capabilities in core technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, the prospects for U.S.-China economic decoupling, the risk of conflict over Taiwan, the future trajectory of China’s rise, and more. At the end of this course, students will have a strong understanding of the main features of modern Chinese political economy, how China’s positions in the global economy and international system have changed in recent decades, and the implications of these transformations for U.S.-China strategic competition. They will also have learned to critically evaluate prominent theories in political science and international relations as they apply to China

POLS UN3692 Business ＆ Politics in Globalized World. 3.00 points .

Companies (or, as we’ll mostly refer to them, firms) play a number of important roles in both domestic and international politics; among other activities, they create jobs, engage in trade and in-vestment, create social responsibility programs, lobby governments, and create much of the world’s pollution. How should we think about firms as political actors? Why, when, and how do firms attempt to influence policymaking? And when do they succeed? In this course, we will study strategic collaboration, competition, and collusion between firms and governments in a range of settings and policy areas. To do so, we will draw on insights from international relations, economics, and business scholars, and we will frequently engage with current real-world examples of business-government relations. Topics will include (among others) lobbying, corporate social responsibility, taxation and tax avoidance, public-private governance, and corporate influence in foreign policy

POLS GU4814 GLOBAL ENERGY: SECURITY/GEOPOL. 3.00 points .

The course focuses on the nexus between energy and security as it reveals in the policies and interaction of leading energy producers and consumers. Topics include: Hydrocarbons and search for stability and security in the Persian Gulf, Caspian basin, Eurasia, Africa and Latin America; Russia as a global energy player; Analysis of the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on energy markets, global security, and the future of the energy transition; Role of natural gas in the world energy balance and European energy security; Transformation of the global energy governance structure; Role and evolution of the OPEC; Introduction into energy economics; Dynamics and fundamentals of the global energy markets; IOCs vs NOCs; Resource nationalism, cartels, sanctions and embargoes; Asia's growing energy needs and its geo-economic and strategic implications; Nuclear energy and challenges to non-proliferation regime; Alternative and renewable sources of energy; Climate change as one of the central challenges of the 21st century; Analysis of the policies, technologies, financial systems and markets needed to achieve climate goals. Climate change and attempts of environmental regulation; Decarbonization trends, international carbon regimes and search for optimal models of sustainable development. Special focus on implications of the shale revolution and technological innovations on U.S. energy security

POLS GU4845 NAT SECURITY STRAT OF MID EAST. 4.00 points .

At the crossroads of three continents, the Middle East is home to many diverse peoples, with ancient and proud cultures, in varying stages of political and socio-economic development, often in conflict. Following the Arab Spring and subsequent upheaval in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and more, the region is in a state of historic flux. The Sunni-Shia rivalry, especially between Saudi Arabia and Iran, growing Iranian-Israeli conflict, population explosion, poverty and authoritarian control, Russian ascendance and US retrenchment, are the primary regional drivers today. Together, these factors have transformed the Middle Eastern landscape, with great consequence for the national security of the countries of the region and their foreign relations. The primary source of the worlds energy resources, the Middle East remains the locus of the terror-WMD-fundamentalist nexus, which continues to pose a significant threat to both regional and international security. The course surveys the national security challenges facing the regions primary players (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinians and Turkey,) and how the convolutions of recent years have affected them. Unlike many Middle East courses, which focus on US policy in the region, the course concentrates on the regional players perceptions of the threats and opportunities they face and the strategies they have adopted to deal with them. It thus provides an essential vantage point for those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of a region, which stands at the center of many of the foreign policy issues of our era. The course is designed for those with a general interest in the Middle East, especially those interested in national security issues, students of comparative politics and future practitioners, with an interest in real world international relations and national security

POLS GU4863 INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 4.00 points .

This course examines how domestic and international politics influence the economic policies of developing countries. We will critically evaluate different theoretical debates related to foreign economic policymaking in emerging markets, and introduce chief methodological approaches used in contemporary analyses. We will focus attention on different types of cross-border flows: the flow of goods (trade policy), the flow of people (immigration policy), the flow and location of production (foreign investment policy), the flow of capital (financial and monetary policy), and the flow of pollution (environment policy). In the process, we will address several themes that are central to understanding the politics of economic policymaking in emerging economies, including, the legacies of colonialism, trade protectionism and liberalization, globalization and the race to the bottom, the relationship between economic policy and culture, and development and redistribution. There will be an emphasis on applying concepts through the analysis of policy-relevant case studies designed for this course

POLS GU4865 INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY. 4.00 points .

This course explores key frameworks and issue areas within international political economy. It examines the history and key characteristics of (economic) globalization, the theories of international cooperation, as well as the nature and role of international organizations (such as the World Trade Organization) in fostering trade and international economic cooperation. Furthermore, the course discusses the pros and cons of globalization and its implications on domestic policies of nation-states, with a particular focus on the tensions globalization creates and the lines of cleavages between winners and losers from globalization. Finally, the course reflects on the future of globalization and international trade and the challenges faced by national and supranational policy makers

International Relations Seminars

POLS UN3961 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructor's permission. Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Political Theory

POLS UN1101 POLITICAL THEORY I. 4.00 points .

This course considers key questions at the foundation of political thought. What is justice? How do we justify the coercive power of states? Do we have an obligation to obey the government? Who should make and enforce the law? What basic rights and liberties should governments protect? How should our economic system produce and divide wealth and material resources? What are the claims of excluded or marginalized groups and how can these claims be addressed? We explore these questions through the works of several classical and contemporary political thinkers. A major goal of the course is to practice the skills needed to understand a political thinker’s arguments and to construct one’s own

POLS UN3100 JUSTICE. 3.00 points .

An inquiry into the nature and implications of justice in areas ranging from criminal justice to social justice to the circumstances of war and peace, considering issues such as abortion, the criminalization of behavior, the death penalty, climate change, global poverty, civil disobedience, and international conflict

POLS UN3106 Democracy: Principles, Critics and Problems. 3.00 points .

This course is about democracy: its theory, principles, critics and challenges. After centuries of vilification, democracy acquired the status of the "best" political order thanks also to the defeat of Nazism and fascism, in 1945. The end of the Cold War and the international order created by the victors of World War II caused some major changes in the perception and practice of democracy. The world has become a unified place for financial markets and a borderless space for the implementation of hegemonic projects. Openness and globalization put pressure on the ideal and practice of democracy, however. On the one hand, democracy seems to be the solution to all problems so much so that "democracy" now means everything on the right side of history. On the other hand, it seems instead to be a source of problems, and many (even democrats) criticize it for being inefficient in decision-making, subject to the prejudices of increasingly uninformed and ignorant voters, and finally a system that breeds corruption. The goal of this course is to understand this conundrum. What are the basic principles of democracy and the main objections raised against it? In what sense does democracy embody universal values? Is it desirable that democracy contains partisanship with competence? Is populism a fate of modern democracies? These questions will guide us in understanding the promises of democracy and the disappointments of democrats. We will begin our intellectual journey with the ancient vision of democracy and its early critics, then explore the modern trajectory of democratic theory and finally contemporary populist transformations

POLS UN3112 GANDHI, KING ＆ POLS OF NONVIOLENCE. 4.00 points .

Since Gandhi’s experiments in mass satyagraha over a century ago, nonviolence has become a staple of protest politics across the globe. From the Occupy movements to the Arab Spring to Movement for Black Lives, it might even be entering a new phase of revitalization. At the same time, what exactly nonviolence is and what it can accomplish in politics is very much under debate. This course aims to understand the politics of nonviolence by examining the political ideas and political careers of its most well-known twentieth-century advocates, M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Though still venerated as founding figures of nonviolent protest, Gandhi and King have come to be remembered in ways that can misconstrue how they understood and practiced nonviolent politics. To many, Gandhi is a saintly idealist, who wanted to imbue politics with the spirit of ahimsa, truth, and conscience. Likewise, King is taken to be a spokesman for interracial brotherhood and Christian love. While partly true, these images also downplay the political side of their nonviolence – the techniques of organizing and strategies of protest that made their movements successful. We will examine the evolution of Gandhi’s and King’s political thinking in relation to the movements they led – the Indian independence movement and the civil rights movement in the US. We will consider how the theory and practice of nonviolence evolved and changed as it moved from one context to another. We will be especially focused on understanding the dynamics of nonviolent protest

POLS UN3141 Humans, Nature and the Future: an Introduction to Environmental Political Theory. 3.00 points .

This course is about how we understand humans and their relationship to nature – and about how these understandings influence the ways we design our societies, run our democracies, and make plans for the future. We’ll focus on two central themes. First: how does introducing a concern for ‘the environment’ (or the Earth, or ecology) deepen, and often complicate, our understanding of key concepts in political theory? Second: given that ‘the environment’ is an interdisciplinary issue, how do we understand the relationship between the ideas and conversations we have in political theory, and the ideas and conversations people are having in other disciplines? (For example: climate science.) There is no single prerequisite course for this one, but we will be assuming that you are familiar with the field of political theory in general. This is important, because many of our discussions will aim to map concepts and conversations from environmental political theory onto broader political theory conversations (which requires you to be familiar with those conversations!). Ideally, you’ll have taken a political theory survey before you take this course. If you haven’t, but you still think you’ve got the background necessary to participate fully in the class, please get in touch

POLS GU4110 RECENT CONTINENTAL POL THOUGHT. 4.00 points .

This course will compare and contrast the theories of the political, the state,freedom, democracy, sovereignty and law, in the works of the following key 20th and 21st century continental theorists: Arendt, Castoriadis, Foucault, Habermas, Kelsen, Lefort, Schmitt, and Weber. It will be taught in seminar format

POLS GU4132 POLIT THOUGHT-CLASSICL AND MEDIEVAL. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: Contemporary Civilization or a comparable introduction to political theory course. Prerequisites: Contemporary Civilization or a comparable introduction to political theory course. This course examines ancient political thought from its origins in the archaic Greek poleis through the development of classical Greek political philosophy and the transmission and adaptation of Greek political ideas in the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Christian traditions. Our texts will include major ancient works of political theory by Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero as well as works of poetry, drama, history, and ethical and natural philosophy that offer insight into ancient thought on politics. We will approach these texts not only as reflections on the ancient democratic, oligarchic, monarchical, and republican political systems they address, but also as foundations for modern political discourse that still prompt us to consider the questions they raise—questions about the ideal form of government in theory, and the best form in practice; about the nature of law and justice, and the relationship between law and custom, science, or religion; about the rule of law, and the rights and obligations of an individual citizen living in a participatory state; and about the reach of empire, and the implications when a self-governing people attempts to direct the affairs of non-citizens or of other states

POLS GU4134 MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT. 4.00 points .

Interpretations of civil society and the foundations of political order according to the two main traditions of political thought--contraction and Aristotelian. Readings include works by Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Montesquieu, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Saint-Simon, Tocqueville, Marx, and Mill

Political Theory Seminars

POLS UN3911 SEMINAR IN POLITCAL THEORY. 4.00 points .

Seminar in Political Theory. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Research Methods

POLS UN3704 RESEARCH DESIGN: DATA ANALYSIS. 3.00 points .

This course examines the basic methods data analysis and statistics that political scientists use in quantitative research that attempts to make causal inferences about how the political world works. The same methods apply to other kinds of problems about cause and effect relationships more generally. The course will provide students with extensive experience in analyzing data and in writing (and thus reading) research papers about testable theories and hypotheses. It will cover basic data analysis and statistical methods, from univariate and bivariate descriptive and inferential statistics through multivariate regression analysis. Computer applications will be emphasized. The course will focus largely on observational data used in cross-sectional statistical analysis, but it will consider issues of research design more broadly as well. It will assume that students have no mathematical background beyond high school algebra and no experience using computers for data analysis

POLS UN3720 RESEARCH DESIGN: SCOPE AND METHODS. 4.00 points .

This class aims to introduce students to the logic of social scientific inquiry and research design. Although it is a course in political science, our emphasis will be on the science part rather than the political part — we’ll be reading about interesting substantive topics, but only insofar as they can teach us something about ways we can do systematic research. This class will introduce students to a medley of different methods to conduct social scientific research

POLS UN3768 Experimental Research. 4.00 points .

Randomized experimentation is an important methodology in political science. In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate political phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments

POLS GU4700 MATH ＆ STATS FOR POLI SCI. 4.00 points .

This course presents basic mathematical and statistical concepts that are essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science research. It prepares students for the graduate-level sequence on formal models and quantitative political methodology offered in the department. The first half of the course will cover basic mathematics, such as calculus and linear algebra. The second half of the course will focus on probability theory and statistics. We will rigorously cover the topics that are directly relevant to formal and quantitative analysis in political science such that students can build both intuitions and technical skills. There is no prerequisite since this course is ordinarily taken by Ph.D. students in their first semester. The course is aimed for both students with little exposure to mathematics and those who have taken some courses but wish to gain a more solid foundation. NOTE: This course does not satisfy the Political Science Major/Concentration research methods requirement

POLS GU4702 Qualitative and Mixed Methods of Research Design and Inquiry. 4.00 points .

This course covers research methods and research design in political science. We cover concrete and practical issues of conducting research that are useful for all types of empirical political science research: picking a topic, generating hypotheses, case selection, measurement issues, and the ethics of research; with a focus on qualitative and mixed-methods tools such as: interviews, fieldwork, case studies, archival research, ethnographic work, designing and conducting experiments, coding data and working with data sets, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, etc. The course is designed for several audiences in Political Science, including: PhD students MA students undertaking a major research project or intending to continue on to the PhD Advanced undergraduates writing or contemplating an honors thesis, or another major research project

POLS GU4710 PRINC OF QUANT POL RESEARCH 1. 4.00 points .

This course examines the basic methods of data analysis and statistics, through multivariate regression analysis, that political scientists use in quantitative research that attempts to make causal inferences about how the political world works. The same methods apply to other kinds of problems about cause and effect relationships more generally. The course will provide students with extensive experience in analyzing data and in writing (and thus reading) research papers about testable theories and hypotheses

POLS GU4712 PRINC OF QUANT POL RESEARCH 2. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS W4710 or the equivalent. Prerequisites: POLS W4710 or the equivalent. This course will intensively examine some of the data analysis methods which deal with problems occurring in the use of multiple regression analysis. It will stress computer applications and cover, as needed, data coding and data processing. Emphasis will also be placed on research design and writing research reports. The course assumes that students are familiar with basic statistics, inference, and multiple regression analysis and have analyzed data using computer software (e.g., any standard statistical programs on micro-computers or larger machines -- Stata, “R”, SPSS, SAS, etc.). Students will be instructed on the use of the microcomputers and the R and Stata statistical software program(s) available as freeware (R) or in the CUIT computer labs (Stata; several campus locations) or through SIPA. The lectures and required discussion section will emphasize the use of “R.” Students may use whatever computer programs they prefer for all data analysis for the course. There may be an additional fee for classroom instructional materials

POLS GU4716 Data Science for Political Analytics. 3.00 points .

Prerequisites: ( POLS GU4714 ) or The digital revolution has created previously unimaginable opportunities to learn about political behavior and institutions. It has also created new challenges for analyzing the massive amounts of data that are now easily accessible. Open source software has reduced barriers and inequities in coding, but it also requires different kinds of effort to employ optimally the latest innovations. Harnessing the power of political data is more critical than ever, given the threats that misinformation and alternative “facts” present to democratic forms of government. This course will teach students both essential tools and general strategies of data science within the domain of politics. Whether students’ goals are to analyze political behavior for academic or professional purposes, successful analysis requires skills for handling a wide array of issues that stand in the way of creating knowledge and insights from data. This course prioritizes breadth over depth in the sense that we will introduce a broad range of topics relevant for data science to develop basic skills and form a foundation that students can build on. More complete mastery of these skills will require additional engagement beyond this course

POLS GU4720 QUANT METH 1 APPL REG CAUS INF. 4.00 points .

Fitting and understanding linear regression and generalized linear models, simulation, causal inference, and the basics of design of quantitative studies. Computation in R. Textbook: Regression and Other Stories by Gelman, Hill, and Vehtari

POLS GU4722 QUANT METH 2 STAT THEO＆CAUS INF. 4.00 points .

This course is the second course in the graduate-level sequence on quantitative political methodology offered in the Department of Political Science. Students will learn (1) a framework and methodologies for making causal inferences from experimental and observational data, and (2) statistical theories essential for causal inference. Topics include randomized experiments, estimation under ignorability, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, difference-indifferences, and causal inference with panel data. We also cover statistical theories, such as theories of ordinary least squares and maximum likelihood estimation, by connecting them to causal inference methods. This course builds on the materials covered in POLS 4700 and 4720 or theirequivalent (i.e., probability, statistics, linear regression, and logistic regression)

POLS GU4724 QUANT METH 3 EXPERIMENTAL METH. 4.00 points .

In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been — and could be — used to investigate social phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments. Special attention will be devoted to field experiments, or randomized trials conducted in real-world settings. Prerequisites: Students should have taken at least one or two semesters of statistics. Some understanding of probability, hypothesis testing, and regression are assumed. Familiarity with statistical software such as R is helpful. We will be working with data in class throughout the term. The examples used in the textbook and lectures are written in R, and R tutorials will be taught in special sessions early in the term

POLS GU4726 QUANT METH 4 TOPICS IN METHODS. 4.00 points .

This course is the fourth course in the graduate-level sequence on quantitative political methodology offered in the Department of Political Science. Students will learn a variety of ad-vanced topics in political methodology, such as machine learning, recent measurement methods (e.g., ideal point estimation, text analysis, list experiment, and conjoint experiment), network analysis, and causal inference with spatial and network data. Students will collaborate to present discussion papers throughout the semester. The main goal of this course is to help students to write a final paper that applies or develops advanced statistical methods. This course builds on the materials covered in POLS 4700, 4720, 4722, and 4724, or their equivalent courses (i.e., probability, statistics, linear regression, logistic regression, causal inference with observational and experimental data, and knowledge of statistical computing environment R)

POLS GU4730 GAME THEORY ＆ POLIT THEORY. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS GU4700 or equivalent level of calculus. Prerequisites: POLS GU4700 or equivalent level of calculus. Introduction to noncooperative game theory and its application to strategic situations in politics. Topics include solution concepts, asymmetric information, and incomplete information. Students should have taken POLS GU4700 or have equivalent background in calculus. Permission of instructor required

POLS GU4732 RESEARCH TOPICS IN GAME THEORY. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: POLS W4730 or the instructors permission. Advanced topics in game theory will cover the study of repeated games, games of incomplete information and principal-agent models with applications in the fields of voting, bargaining, lobbying and violent conflict. Results from the study of social choice theory, mechanism design and auction theory will also be treated. The course will concentrate on mathematical techniques for constructing and solving games. Students will be required to develop a topic relating political science and game theory and to write a formal research paper

POLS GU4768 Experimental Research: Design, Analysis and Interpretation. 4 points .

Prerequisites: one or two semesters of statistics; basic understanding of probability, hypothesis testing, and regression are assumed. Basic familiarity with statistical software (Stata and R) is helpful but not required.

In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate social phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments.

Senior Honors Seminar

POLS UN3998 HONORS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: admission to the departmental honors program. Prerequisites: admission to the departmental honors program. A two-term seminar for students writing the senior honors thesis

POLS UN3999 HONORS SEMINAR. 4.00 points .

Prerequisites: admission to the departmental honors program.

A two-term seminar for students writing the senior honors thesis.

Independent Reading and Research

POLS UN3901 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH I. 1.00-6.00 points .

POLS UN3902 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH II. 1.00-6.00 points .

Of Related Interest

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Application requirements, completed online application form.

Apply here .

You must submit all materials directly, not through an agent or third-party vendor, with the sole exception of submissions by the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program and its three partner agencies IIE, LASPAU and AMIDEAST, and by the Danish-American Fulbright Commission (DAF), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and Vietnam Education Fund (VEF).

If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact the admissions office  apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (apply[at]sps[dot]columbia[dot]edu) .

$150 nonrefundable application fee (U.S. currency)

Fee payment must accompany the online application.

​​​​​​​Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended

In the Academic History section of the online application, you must list and upload unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended for at least one term . This includes all graded coursework, in progress coursework, summer program(s), study abroad program(s), or transfer coursework unless:

• You did not earn academic credits; 
• You completed less than 11 credits (on a traditional US credit scale) outside of your home institution. If you completed more than 11 credits outside of your home institution, then you must provide us with unofficial transcripts/ the coursework must be included on your WES evaluation.

If requested, you may be required to provide transcripts or mark sheets from any and all post-secondary institutions.

Applicants who attended a U.S. institution must submit:

• Unofficial transcripts for each institution attended. 

Note: Unofficial transcripts must include your name, the name of the institution, each of the terms attended, the courses you took and the grades you obtained. 

Applicants who attended an international institution must submit:

• An official ICAP course-by-course evaluation* by  World Education Services, Inc. (WES) , a third-party verification agency, that includes all post-secondary coursework completed outside of the United States. This is required for your application to be reviewed .  The evaluation may take several weeks to be completed and sent to SPS. You should start your evaluation as soon as possible after you begin your application.

Applications will not be reviewed until we have received all of your transcripts and/or WES evaluations.  

* Please note that  if you completed 18 credits or less abroad, instead of submitting a WES evaluation, you may submit an unofficial transcript for admissions consideration. If admitted, you must order an official transcript to be sent to SPS directly from the institution abroad. 

Your résumé

Please upload your résumé or CV. Please be sure to include all relevant work experience, professional organizations, or activities that would be relevant to evaluating your candidacy for admission. 

Two letters of recommendation

Two recommendations are required as part of your application. Recommendations should be submitted from academic and/or professional sources. Please note:

• If you are in your last year of undergraduate study at the time of applying, you are required to submit at least one academic recommendation from a faculty member at your undergraduate degree-conferring institution. The second recommendation may be academic or professional;
• If you received a bachelor’s degree within 2 years of the date of the application, you are strongly encouraged, but not required, to submit an academic recommendation; 
• If you received a bachelor’s degree more than 2 years prior to the date of the application, you are not required to submit an academic recommendation. 

Recommendations should be submitted by:

a) a faculty member with whom you have studied at your undergraduate degree-conferring institution who can assess your academic work, intellectual ability, and academic potential for graduate work. The recommender should have instructed you directly, academic advisors are not appropriate.

b) a current or former supervisor (preferred) or work associate/project leader who can attest to your professional abilities .  If you manage your own business and are your own supervisor, you may select a client as your recommender. Personal references are not appropriate.

IMPORTANT NOTE:   All recommendations must be submitted using a professional or academic email domain.  References submitted from personal or anonymous email domains (e.g. Gmail, Yahoo, 123.com, 163.com, qq.com etc.) may result in your application being considered ineligible for admission.  If you are unable to provide a professional email address for your recommender, please email us at  with an explanation of why a professional email address cannot be provided. 

Statement of academic purpose (500-750 words)

Your statement of academic purpose (500-750 words) should clearly and concisely address the following:

• Your reasons for applying to the program and your interest in Political Analytics (maximum 250 words).
• The substantive areas you hope to explore in our curriculum including concepts or ideas you would like to study further (maximum 150 words).
• The specific skills and attributes you will bring to the program including quantitative preparedness and community building examples, including any unique personal or professional challenges that you have had to overcome (maximum 200 words).
• How you believe the M.S. in Political Analytics will impact your future career goals and plans (maximum 150 words).

Optional: Official scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

They are not required upon application submission; however, standard exams are a useful indicator of academic ability and applicants are strongly encouraged to consider submitting scores to further support their candidacy and strengthen their application.

 All official standardized test scores must be received in the SPS Office of Admissions within two weeks of the application deadline for the program to which you have applied. Your application cannot be reviewed until official test scores are received.

GRE test scores can be ordered at www.gre.org . Our school report code is 3602.  

For complete information regarding the GMAT, go to www.mba.com/exams/gmat . To send your scores, please choose "Columbia University - School of Professional Studies." 

Video Essay

After you have submitted your application and fee, you will be required to submit a 1-minute video essay. You will be given time to create test videos to ensure that your system is working properly. When you are ready, you will be given a randomly selected prompt for which you will have one minute to prepare and one minute to record a response. You will not be able to re-record your video. Please note that the video essay response should be your own thoughts and should not be rehearsed or prepared beforehand.

An admissions interview may be required

This may be required.

Students whose primary language is not English must include proof of English proficiency

If your first or native language is  not  English, you must provide official scores on the TOEFL or IELTS Academic unless both of the following are true:

• the language of instruction of your undergraduate degree conferring institution is English, and
• and you completed your entire undergraduate degree in English.

Applicant total scores must meet the Columbia SPS minimum requirement of 100 (TOEFL iBT) or 7.0 (IELTS Academic) to be admissible. You will be required to enter your test scores or your anticipated testing date within the online application, and official test score reports will be required for your application to be considered complete and ready for admission review. TOEFL and IELTS Academic scores are valid for two years after your test date. Applicants receiving scores below the posted minimums may be advised to apply directly to the American Language Program. 

• To submit TOEFL iBT scores: Visit  www.ets.org  and send your official score to our school code 2594. Please note: we do not accept TOEFL best scores.
• To submit IELTS Academic scores: After you have submitted your application, please upload your unofficial IELTS Academic score report. Alternatively, you can also send us your official score through your testing center.

Applicants whose primary language is not English may be required to complete an intensive course with the American Language Program (ALP) prior to beginning their studies in the degree program as a condition for admission.

Applicants may also be asked to complete an interview using a video conferencing tool. 

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

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Program Overview

The research-intensive Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in Political Science at UBC Vancouver will help prepare you to secure tenure-track faculty positions and prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, as well as other academic and non-academic careers.

Prospective graduate students should browse our research areas to learn about the groups of faculty members working in 30 different research fields, methodologies, and geographic regions.

Our PhD program consists of two years of graduate coursework followed by comprehensive exams following the completion of course requirements.

Students write a dissertation proposal by the end of their third year of study, and with its approval and defense, move on to their dissertation research and writing, which normally takes two to three years to complete.

We are proud to see many of our PhDs in faculty positions and in successful careers throughout the world. We value collaboration and collegiality, and we strive to create an atmosphere of trust, respect, and professional courtesy to ensure a diverse intellectual community.

NEW: CANADIAN POLITICS FACULTY RENEWAL

UBC Political Science has significantly renewed our Canadian Politics faculty roster in recent years with the recruitment of Profs. Carey Doberstein, Sophie Borwein, and Vince Hopkins.

The Canadian Politics field at UBC is now especially equipped to supervise graduate students in the realm of public policy, public opinion and identity, inequalities in society, and how governments design and implement policies, programs, and services.

New faculty also complement the existing Canadian Politics faculty strengths in the areas of federalism (Kathy Harrison, Gerald Baier) and political behavior (Fred Cutler, Matthew Wright).

Faculty in the Canadian Politics field use survey methods, data science and experimental designs, and qualitative approaches in the course of their research.

The renewed Canadian Politics faculty at UBC will supplement department financial support packages in the doctoral program with research assistance fellowships and conference support.

Our PhD graduates have been highly successful in pursuing academic and non-academic careers.

On the academic front, UBC PhDs hold tenured or tenure track positions at major universities in North America and internationally. Our graduates have taken up  tenure-track and tenured positions at Canadian institutions including the University of Toronto, University of Victoria, University of Western Ontario, York University, University of Ottawa, MacEwan University, University of Fraser Valley, University of Manitoba, Memorial University of Newfoundland, McMaster University, and the University of Calgary; at U.S. institutions including the University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, Colorado State University, Georgia Tech, Soka University; and outside North America at institutions including the University of Essex, University of Sheffield, University of St. Andrews, Cardiff University, Trinity College Dublin, Tel Aviv University, Sophia University, National University of Singapore, Queensland University, Australia National University, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, and Ritsumeikan University.

Our PhDs have held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, University of Toronto, Queen’s University, Oxford University, Duke University, and other institutions.

Many UBC PhDs have taken their doctoral training to high-level positions with government agencies, NGOs, international organizations, think tanks, and private-sector employers, including Statistics Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, the US Department of Defense Asia-Pacific Center, Global Affairs Canada, Health Canada, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Medecins Sans Frontiers, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Deutschebank, Innovative Research Group, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, among others.

50 Best Colleges for Political Science – 2024

April 29, 2024

Political science is a popular and useful undergraduate major that can lead to successful careers in business, finance, government, journalism, or academia. While learning about American politics, international affairs, and political theory, you will refine important analytical, writing, and communication skills that will translate into any of the fields above as well as prepare you for the rigors of graduate school. The schools that made our list of the Best Colleges for Political Science all possess ample study abroad opportunities, premiere internship opportunities, and world-renowned faculty. Well respected by industry and graduate schools alike, these colleges and universities will open doors for graduates in their future endeavors.

Methodology 

Click here to read our methodology for the Best Colleges for Political Science.

Best Colleges for Political Science

Here’s a quick preview of the first ten political science institutions that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.

1) Georgetown University

2) Dartmouth College

3) Columbia University in the City of New York

4) Harvard University

5) University of Pennsylvania

6) Yale University

7) Wake Forest University

8) Duke University

9) Princeton University

10) United States Naval Academy

All of the schools profiled below have stellar reputations in the area of political science and commit substantial resources to undergraduate education. For each of the best political science colleges, College Transitions will provide you with—when available—the university’s:

We will also include a longer write-up of each college’s:

• Academic Highlights – Includes facts like student-to-faculty ratio, average class size, number of majors offered, and most popular majors.
• Professional Outcomes – Includes info on the rate of positive outcomes, companies employing alumni, and graduate school acceptances.

Georgetown University

• Washington, D.C.

Academic Highlights: The student-faculty ratio is 11:1, and 60% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students. While some classes are a bit larger, only 7% cross the 50-student threshold. Those desiring to join the world of politics or diplomacy are in the right place. The Government and International Affairs programs are among the best in the country. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (38%) followed by business (20%), interdisciplinary studies (8%), and biology (7%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 75% of members of the Class of 2022 entered the workforce, 19% went directly into a graduate or professional program of study, and 3% were still seeking employment. The Class of 2022 sent massive numbers of graduates to a number of major corporations including JPMorgan Chase (22), Citi (21), BOA (18), Morgan Stanley (16), and EY (10). Those attending grad school stay at Georgetown or flock to other elite schools like Columbia and Harvard.

• Enrollment: 7,900
• Cost of Attendance: $85,000
• Median SAT: 1500
• Median ACT: 34
• Acceptance Rate: 12%
• Retention Rate: 97%
• Graduation Rate: 96%

Dartmouth College

• Hanover, NH

Academic Highlights: Dartmouth sports 60+ majors and a stunning breadth of course selections for an institution of its size. The learning environment at Dartmouth is extraordinarily intimate. Not only do 61% of course sections have under twenty students, but 18% have single-digit enrollments. The student-to-faculty ratio is an outstanding 7:1. Top programs offered by Big Green include biology, economics, neuroscience, and government. The social sciences are the most popular, accounting for 32% of degrees conferred, followed by computer science (10%), mathematics (9%), engineering (9%), and biology (7%).

Professional Outcomes: A great reputation along with a passionate alumni network that is 80,000 strong leads Dartmouth grads to successful transitions into graduate school and the world of work. Included in the top ten employers of Dartmouth grads are a number of investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bain & Company, Citibank, and Deutsche Bank. Right off the bat, 52% of graduates make more than $70,000 in salary. Those pursuing graduate degrees often flock to the likes of Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton.

• Enrollment: 4,458
• Cost of Attendance: $87,793
• Median SAT: 1550
• Acceptance Rate: 6%
• Retention Rate: 98%
• Graduation Rate: 95%

Columbia University

• New York, NY

Academic Highlights: Columbia offers 100+ unique areas of undergraduate study as well as a number of pre-professional and accelerated graduate programs.  Class sizes at Columbia are reasonably small and the student-to-faculty ratio is favorable; however, in 2022, it was revealed that the university had been submitting faulty data in this area. It is presently believed that 58% of undergraduate courses enroll 19 or fewer students. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (22%), computer science (15%), engineering (14%), and biology (7%).

Professional Outcomes: Examining the most recent graduates from Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science, 73% had found employment within six months, and 20% had entered graduate school. The median starting salary for graduates of Columbia College/Columbia Engineering is above $80,000. Many graduates get hired by the likes of Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Google, Citi, McKinsey, and Microsoft.

• Enrollment: 8,832
• Cost of Attendance: $89,587
• Median SAT: 1540
• Median ACT: 35
• Acceptance Rate: 4%

Harvard University

• Cambridge, MA

Academic Highlights: There are 50 undergraduate fields of study referred to as concentrations; many are interdisciplinary. Even with a graduate population of over 14,000 to cater to, undergraduate class sizes still tend to be small, with 42% of sections having single-digit enrollments and 71% being capped at nineteen. Economics, government, and computer science are the three most popular areas of concentration at Harvard. Biology, chemistry, physics, math, statistics, sociology, history, English, and psychology all sit atop most departmental ranking lists.

Professional Outcomes: The Crimson Class of 2022 saw 15% of students head directly into graduate/professional school. Of the graduates entering the world of work (virtually everyone else), 58% were entering either the consulting, finance, or technology field. Over 1,000 Harvard alumni presently work for Google and over 500 for Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, and Goldman Sachs. Turning our attention to those moving on to graduate school, Harvard grads with at least a 3.5 GPA typically enjoy acceptance rates into medical school of 90% or greater.

• Enrollment: 7,240
• Cost of Attendance: $79,450
• Acceptance Rate: 3%
• Graduation Rate: 98%

University of Pennsylvania

• Philadelphia, PA

Academic Highlights : 90 distinct degrees are available across four schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Applied Science and Engineering, the College of Nursing, and the world-renowned Wharton School. The greatest number of students pursue degrees in business (19%), social sciences (14%), biology (11%), health sciences (9%), engineering (9%), and computer science (9%). The university boasts an exceptional 26% of courses with an enrollment under ten and 59% with an enrollment under twenty as well as multiple ways for undergrads to conduct research.

Professional Outcomes: 75% of Class of 2022 grads were employed within six months of graduating, and 18% were in graduate school. Finance attracted the highest percentage of grads (30%) followed by consulting (20%), technology (15%), and healthcare (10%). Employers hiring the greatest number of 2022 grads included JPMorgan, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, Bain & Company, Meta, and Goldman Sachs. The median starting salary for all graduates is $80,000. For those continuing their educational journeys, the most popular move is to remain at Penn, followed by Columbia and Harvard.

• Enrollment: 9,760 (undergraduate); 13,614 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $89,028
• Acceptance Rate: 7%

Yale University

• New Haven, CT

Academic Highlights: Yale offers 80 majors, most of which require a one- to two-semester senior capstone experience. Undergraduate research is a staple, and over 70% of classes—of which there are over 2,000 to choose from—have an enrollment of fewer than 20 students, making Yale a perfect environment for teaching and learning. Among the top departments are biology, economics, global affairs, engineering, history, and computer science. The social sciences (26%), biology (11%), mathematics (8%), and computer science (8%) are the most popular areas of concentration.

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduating, 73% of the Yale Class of 2022 had entered the world of employment and 18% matriculated into graduate programs. Hundreds of Yale alums can be found at each of the world’s top companies including Google, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. The most common industries entered by the newly hired were finance (20%), research/education (16%), technology (14%), and consulting (12%). The mean starting salary for last year’s grads was $81,769 ($120k for CS majors). Nearly one-fifth of students immediately pursue graduate school.

• Enrollment: 6,590 (undergraduate); 5,344 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $87,705
• Acceptance Rate: 5%

Wake Forest University

• Winston-Salem, NC

Academic Highlights: All freshmen enter the Undergraduate College, which offers 45 majors and 60 minors. Sporting a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, classes are kept on the small side with 59% of sections enrolling fewer than 20 students. 60% of students engage in hands-on research for academic credit. Wake Forest is strong across myriad disciplines, most notably chemistry, communication, accounting, finance, and international affairs. The most frequently conferred degrees are in business (22%), the social sciences (20%), journalism (8%), and biology (8%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 97% of the Class of 2022 had found their next destination, with 71% starting their first professional job and 26% matriculating into a graduate program. Management/consulting, investment banking, and healthcare were the top three industries. Employers landing the highest numbers of alumni included national and multinational corporations IBM, Siemens, Volvo, Goldman Sachs, Disney, Deloitte, Dell, Gucci, PepsiCo, EY, and Nike. By the start of mid-career, Wake Forest alumni earn the second-highest median salary of any school in North Carolina.

• Enrollment: 5,447 (undergraduate); 3,516 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $87,622
• Median SAT: 1450
• Median ACT: 33
• Acceptance Rate: 21%
• Retention Rate: 94%
• Graduation Rate: 90%

Duke University

Academic Highlights: The academic offerings at Duke include 53 majors, 52 minors, and 23 interdisciplinary certificates. Class sizes are on the small side—71% are nineteen or fewer, and almost one-quarter are less than ten. A stellar 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio helps keep classes so reasonable even while catering to five figures worth of graduate students. Computer Science is the most popular area of concentration (11%), followed by economics (10%), public policy (9%), biology (8%), and computer engineering (7%).

Professional Outcomes: At graduation, approximately 70% of Duke diploma-earners enter the world of work, 20% continue into graduate schools, and 2% start their own businesses. The industries that attract the largest percentage of Blue Devils are tech (21%), finance (15%), business (15%), healthcare (9%), and science/research (6%). Of the 20% headed into graduate school, a hefty 22% are attending medical school, 18% are in PhD programs, and 12% are entering law school. The med school acceptance rate is 85%, more than twice the national average.

• Enrollment: 6,640
• Cost of Attendance: $85,238
• SAT Range: 1490-1570
• ACT Range: 34-35
• Graduation Rate: 97%

Princeton University

• Princeton, NJ

Academic Highlights: 39 majors are available at Princeton. Just under three-quarters of class sections have an enrollment of 19 or fewer students, and 31% have fewer than ten students. Princeton is known for its commitment to undergraduate teaching, and students consistently rate professors as accessible and helpful. The Engineering Department is widely recognized as one of the country’s best, as is the School of Public and International Affairs.

Professional Highlights: Over 95% of a typical Tiger class finds their next destination within six months of graduating. Large numbers of recent grads flock to the fields of business and engineering, health/science, & tech. Companies presently employing hundreds of Tiger alumni include Google, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, IBM, and Meta. The average salary ranges from $40k (education, health care, or social services) to $100k (computer/mathematical positions). Between 15-20% of graduating Tigers head directly to graduate/professional school.

• Enrollment: 5,604 (undergraduate); 3,238 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $86,700

United States Naval Academy

• Annapolis, MD

Academic Highlights: The Naval Academy has some of the top-ranked undergraduate engineering programs in the world with standout reputations in aerospace, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering. 26 different undergraduate programs are offered in a variety of disciplines, but at least 65% of each class must complete degrees in a STEM discipline in order to meet the highly technological needs of the Navy. Close to three-quarters of course sections will contain fewer than 20 students, and the student-to-faculty ratio is a stellar 7:1.

Professional Outcomes: USNA midshipmen have a mandatory five-year military commitment upon graduating, so the vast majority immediately become ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps. Very few are cleared to enter graduate school directly after receiving their bachelor’s. However, upon entering civilian employment/life, alumni flock to companies that include Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen Hamilton, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and McKinsey and Co. They also enjoy some of the highest average salaries of any alumni group in the country.

• Enrollment: 1,175
• Cost of Attendance: $0
• Median SAT: 1330
• Median ACT: 30
• Acceptance Rate: 9%
• Retention Rate: 87%
• Graduation Rate: 86%

University of Notre Dame

• Notre Dame, IN

Academic Highlights: 75 majors are offered across six undergraduate colleges: the School of Architecture, the College of Arts and Letters, the Mendoza School of Business (one of the country’s best business schools), the College of Engineering, the Keough School of Global Affairs, and the College of Science. In 2022, the most degrees were conferred in business (20%), the social sciences (18%), engineering (12%), and biology (8%). A solid 60% of courses enroll fewer than 20 students, and 15% have single-digit numbers. 75% of Notre Dame undergrads study abroad.

Professional Outcomes: 69% of 2022 grads directly entered the world of employment, with the most common industries being financial services (21%), consulting (17%), technology (12%), and health services (9%). Massive numbers of alumni can be found at Deloitte, EY, PwC, IBM, Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and McKinsey & Co. The median early-career salary was $76,000. Of the 20% of grads who went directly into their graduate/professional studies, 18% were pursuing medical degrees and 9% were studying law.

• Enrollment: 8,971 (undergraduate); 4,134 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $86,125
• Acceptance Rate: 13%

Northwestern University

• Evanston, IL

Academic Highlights : Northwestern is home to six undergraduate schools, including Medill, which is widely regarded as one of the country’s best journalism schools. The McCormick School of Engineering also achieves top rankings, along with programs in economics, social policy, and theatre. The social sciences account for the greatest number of degrees conferred (19%), followed by communications/journalism (13%), and engineering (11%). 45% of classes have nine or fewer students enrolled; 78% have fewer than twenty enrollees. 57% of recent grads had the chance to conduct undergraduate research.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 69% of the Class of 2022 had found employment and 27% were in graduate school. The four most popular professional fields were consulting (18%), engineering (18%), business/finance (16%), and communications/marketing/media (13%). Employers included the BBC, NBC News, The Washington Post , NPR, Boeing, Google, IBM, Deloitte, PepsiCo, Northrop Grumman, and Goldman Sachs. Across all majors, the average starting salary was $73k. Of those headed straight to graduate school, engineering, medicine, and business were the three most popular areas of concentration.

• Enrollment: 8,659 (undergraduate); 14,073 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $91,290
• Median SAT: 1530

University of California, Los Angeles

• Los Angeles, CA

Academic Highlights: UCLA offers 125 majors in 100+ academic departments, and more than 60 majors require a capstone experience that results in the creation of a tangible product under the mentorship of faculty members. The most commonly conferred degrees are in the social sciences (25%), biology (16%), psychology (11%), mathematics (8%), and engineering (7%). Departmental rankings are high across the board, especially in computer science, engineering, film, fine and performing arts, mathematics, and political science.

Professional Outcomes: UCLA grads flow most heavily into the research, finance, computer science, and engineering sectors. High numbers of recent grads can be found at Disney, Google, EY, Teach for America, Amazon, and Oracle. Hundreds also can be found at Bloomberg, Deloitte, Mattel, Oracle, and SpaceX. The average starting salary exceeds $55,000. 16% of recent grads enrolled directly in a graduate/professional school, with other CA-based institutions like Stanford, Pepperdine, USC, Berkeley, and Loyola Marymount being the most popular.

• Enrollment: 33,040 (undergraduate); 15,010 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $38,517 (in-state); $71,091 (out-of-state)
• Median SAT: Test Blind
• Median ACT: Test Blind
• Graduation Rate: 93%

Stanford University

• Palo Alto, CA

Academic Highlights: Stanford has three undergraduate schools: the School of Humanities & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences. 69% of classes have fewer than twenty students, and 34% have a single-digit enrollment. Programs in engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, international relations, and economics are arguably the best anywhere. In terms of sheer volume, the greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (17%), computer science (16%), engineering (15%), and interdisciplinary studies (13%).

Professional Outcomes: Stanford grads entering the working world flock to three major industries in equal distribution: business/finance/consulting/retail (19%); computer, IT (19%); and public policy and service, international affairs (19%). Among the companies employing the largest number of recent grads are Accenture, Apple, Bain, Cisco, Meta, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, Microsoft, and SpaceX. Other companies that employ hundreds of Cardinal alums include LinkedIn, Salesforce, and Airbnb. Starting salaries for Stanford grads are among the highest in the country.

• Enrollment: 8,049 (undergraduate); 10,236 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $87,833

University of Chicago

• Chicago, IL

Academic Highlights: There are 53 majors at UChicago, but close to half of all degrees conferred are in four majors: economics, biology, mathematics, and political science, all of which have particularly sterling reputations. Economics alone is the selection of roughly one-fifth of the undergraduate population. Over 75% of undergrad sections have an enrollment of nineteen or fewer students, and undergraduate research opportunities are ubiquitous as 80% of students end up working in a research capacity alongside a faculty member.

Professional Outcomes: On commencement day, 99% of the Class of 2023 were employed or continuing their education. Business and financial services (30%) and STEM (12%) were the two sectors that scooped up the most graduates, but public policy and consulting were also well-represented. The most popular employers of recent grads include Google, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, Citi, and Accenture. For those heading to grad school, the top seven destinations are Yale, Columbia, Penn, MIT, Stanford, UCLA, and Johns Hopkins.

• Enrollment: 7,653 (undergraduate); 10,870 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $89,040
• Retention Rate: 99%

Vanderbilt University

• Nashville, TN

Academic Highlights: Four of Vandy’s ten schools cater to undergrads: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Blair School of Music, the Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and the School of Engineering. In the 2022-23 school year, 87% of course sections contained 19 or fewer students. Of the 70 undergraduate majors, economics, politics and government, and neuroscience are the most popular. The School of Engineering has a strong national reputation as do offerings in biology, economics, education, and music.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 96% of the Class of 2021 were employed or in graduate school. The most commonly entered industry was finance followed by technology, consulting, education, and engineering. Alumni can be found in droves at Capital One, Goldman Sachs, Bain & Company, JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and Meta. Among 2022 alumni who directly pursued advanced degrees, the majority enrolled at Vanderbilt followed by Columbia, Harvard, Penn, NYU, and Northwestern.

• Enrollment: 7,151 (undergraduate); 6,559 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $89,590
• Retention Rate: 96%

Washington University in St. Louis

• St. Louis, MO

Academic Highlights : WashU admits students into five schools, many of which offer nationally recognized programs: Arts & Sciences, the Olin School of Business, the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the Art of Architecture programs housed within the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. The most commonly conferred degrees are in engineering (13%), social sciences (13%), business (13%), biology (11%), and psychology (10%). 66% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and over one-quarter have single-digit enrollments. 65% double major or pursue a minor.

Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2022 sent 52% of grads into the workforce and 28% into graduate and professional schools. Companies employing the highest number of WashU grads feature sought-after employers such as Amazon, Bain, Boeing, Deloitte, Google, IBM, Goldman Sachs, and Microsoft. Of the employed members of the Class of 2022 who reported their starting salaries, 79% made more than $60k. The universities welcoming the largest number of Bears included the prestigious institutions of Caltech, Columbia, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Stanford.

• Enrollment: 8,132 (undergraduate); 8,880 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $83,760
• Acceptance Rate: 11%

Boston College

• Chestnut Hill, MA

Academic Highlights: The college offers roughly 60 majors across four schools that award undergraduate degrees. Approximately half of the college’s sections contain nineteen or fewer students. 95% of graduates reported learning how to think critically at BC, and 93% said they learned how to write clearly and effectively. BC offers highly respected programs in communications, psychology, and business through the renowned Carroll School of Management. Other popular and well-regarded majors include economics, biology, and chemistry.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 96% of the Class of 2022 had landed at their next destination. The most favored industries were financial services and real estate (26%), health care/science (20%), and business/consulting (16%). The median starting salary for a 2022 BC grad was $67,000. Eighteen percent of the Class of 2022 entered graduate schools including Brown, Columbia, the University of Chicago, and Yale. Examining the Class of 2022 data, 16% entered law school, and 14% pursued some other type of doctoral degree.

• Enrollment: 9,484
• Cost of Attendance: $86,155
• Average SAT: 1482
• Average ACT: 34
• Acceptance Rate: 17%
• Retention Rate: 95%
• Graduation Rate: 92%

Bowdoin College

• Brunswick, ME

Academic Highlights: Class sizes are small—64% contain fewer than twenty students—and 21% have fewer than ten students. The student-faculty ratio is 9:1. More than half of Bowdoin undergrads report interacting with a professor outside of regular class time at least once per week. The greatest percentage of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (30%), biology (13%), area/ethnic/gender studies (8%), computer science (7%), and mathematics (7%). Economics and government and legal studies are two of the more popular majors within the social sciences.

Professional Outcomes: An examination of three recent years’ worth of outcomes data reveals that one year after graduation, between 73 and 77% of recent grads have found full-time employment, and 15% have gone directly into graduate school. Of those entering graduate school, 48% were enrolled in master’s programs, 23% in PhD programs, 13% in law school, and 8% in med school. The top twenty graduate schools attended, by volume, in the last five years make an exclusive list including six Ivies along with Duke, MIT, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford.

• Enrollment: 1,915
• Cost of Attendance: $82,600
• Median SAT: 1510
• Graduation Rate: 94%

Washington and Lee University

• Lexington, VA

Academic Highlights: The university offers 36 majors and 29 minors. With an exceptionally low 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, over 80% of class sections contain 19 or fewer students. Instructors earn rave reviews. The renowned Williams School of Commerce, Politics, and Economics offers outstanding programs, as do the Journalism and Mass Communication, English, and History Departments. Altogether, business accounts for 23% of the degrees conferred; the social sciences (25%), biology (9%), and foreign language (6%) are also popular.

Professional Outcomes: Last year, 69% of recent graduates found employment within six months of leaving Lexington; the most frequently entered industries were financial services, economics/finance, education, consulting, and real estate. Companies presently employing more than two dozen Generals including EY, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, PwC, JPMorgan, Capital One, and Morgan Stanley. Starting salaries are solid with the majority of the cohort being paid $55,000 or more while 18% brought home in excess of $75,000.

• Enrollment: 1,867 (undergraduate); 376 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $87,000
• Median SAT: 1480

Wesleyan University

• Middletown, CT

Academic Highlights: With 45 majors and 32 minors, Wes truly has something for everyone. The academic requirements are relatively minimal, giving undergrads a high degree of intellectual freedom. Under 75% of class sections have fewer than twenty students; students rave about the accessible faculty. Research opportunities with professors are plentiful. Offerings in economics, English, film studies, and neuroscience typically receive the most praise from employers/grad schools; accordingly, the social sciences (24%), psychology (17%), and the visual and performing arts (12%) are the most popular.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 66% of 2022 grads had entered employment, with tech/engineering/sciences, education, and arts/entertainment being the three top sectors. The companies employing the highest numbers of recent Wesleyan grads included Google, Epic, Analysis Group, Boston Medical Center, Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture, and Apple. Graduate school was the next stop for 18% of new alums; enrolling institutions included MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, Temple, and UMass.

• Enrollment: 3,069 (undergraduate); 184 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $89,094
• Median SAT: 1430
• Median ACT: 32
• Acceptance Rate: 14%

Johns Hopkins University

• Baltimore, MD

Academic Highlights: With 53 majors as well as 51 minors, JHU excels in everything from its bread-and-butter medical-related majors to international relations and dance. Boasting an enviable 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and with 78% of course sections possessing an enrollment under 20, face time with professors is a reality. Many departments carry a high level of clout, including biomedical engineering, chemistry, English, and international studies. Biology, neuroscience, and computer science, which happen to be the three most popular majors, can also be found at the top of the national rankings.

Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2022 saw 94% of graduates successfully land at their next destination within six months of exiting the university; 66% of graduates entered the world of employment and a robust 19% went directly to graduate/professional school. The median starting salary across all majors was $80,000 for the Class of 2022. JHU itself is the most popular choice for graduate school. The next most frequently attended institutions included Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and MIT.

• Enrollment: 6,044
• Cost of Attendance: $86,065

Colgate University

• Hamilton, NY

Academic Highlights: Fifty-six majors are on tap at Colgate, including all of the expected liberal arts concentrations. With a student-faculty ratio of 9:1 and an average class size of 16, Colgate undergraduates work intimately with their instructors. The social sciences account for 35% of all degrees conferred and, within that umbrella, economics, political science, and English are among the most popular and most well-regarded majors.

Professional Outcomes: Nine months after graduation, only a small number of Colgate alumni are still looking for work; in 2022, that group represented less than 2% of the graduating class. A substantial 80% had already landed full-time jobs. Employers hiring the most Colgate grads included BOA, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, EY, Wayfair, and the NIH. 85-95% of law school applicants are accepted into one of their target institutions. The medical school numbers were even more impressive with 100% of graduating seniors gaining acceptance into at least one med school.

• Enrollment: 3,130
• Cost of Attendance: $83,814
• Median SAT: 1470
• Graduation Rate: 91%

College of the Holy Cross

• Worcester, MA

Academic Highlights: The college offers thirty traditional majors as well as additional subjects in which one can pursue a student-designed major. The average class size is a manageable 19 students, and 62% of courses have enrollments lower than that. There are no majors that undergrads flock to in overwhelming numbers, but the most popular are the social sciences (29%), psychology (14%), history (7%), and biology (6%). All of those popular departments also rank well nationally.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after moving their tassels to the left, 68% of the Class of 2021 (most recent stats available) were employed, 19% were in graduate school, and only 3% were still seeking full-time employment. Organizations employing more than one recent graduate include Fidelity Investments, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Massachusetts General Hospital, Deloitte, EY, PwC, Oracle, and Dell. Among those enrolled in graduate school, 14% were in law school, 14% were pursuing degrees in a health profession, and 6% were in PhD programs.

• Enrollment: 3,233
• Cost of Attendance: $78,600
• Median SAT: 1360
• Acceptance Rate: 36%

University of Michigan

• Ann Arbor, MI

Academic Highlights: There are 280+ undergraduate degree programs across fourteen schools and colleges, and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) enrolls the majority of students. The Ross School of Business offers highly rated programs in entrepreneurship, management, accounting, and finance. The College of Engineering is also one of the best in the country. By degrees conferred, engineering (15%), computer science (14%), and the social sciences (11%) are most popular. A solid 56% of classes have fewer than 20 students.

Professional Outcomes: Within three months of graduating, 89% of LSA grads are employed full-time or in graduate school, with healthcare, education, law, banking, research, nonprofit work, and consulting being the most popular sectors. Within three months, 99% of Ross grads are employed with a median salary of $90k. Top employers include Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, EY, Morgan Stanley, PwC, Deloitte, and Amazon.  Within six months, 96% of engineering grads are employed (average salary of $84k) or in grad school. General Motors, Ford, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta employ the greatest number of alumni.

• Enrollment: 32,695 (undergraduate); 18,530 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $35,450 (in-state); $76,294 (out-of-state)
• Acceptance Rate: 18%

Cornell University

Academic Highlights: A diverse array of academic programs includes 80 majors and 120 minors spread across the university’s seven schools/colleges. Classes are a bit larger at Cornell than at many other elite institutions. Still, 55% of sections have fewer than 20 students. Most degrees conferred in 2022 were in computer science (17%), engineering (13%), business (13%), and biology (13%). The SC Johnson College of Business houses two undergraduate schools, both of which have phenomenal reputations.

Professional Outcomes: Breaking down the graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest school at Cornell, 68% entered the workforce, 28% entered graduate school, 1% pursued other endeavors such as travel or volunteer work, and the remaining 3% were still seeking employment six months after receiving their diplomas. The top sectors attracting campus-wide graduateswere financial services (18%), technology (17%), consulting (15%), and education (10%). Of the students from A&S going on to graduate school, 15% were pursuing JDs, 5% MDs, and 22% PhDs.

• Enrollment: 15,735
• Cost of Attendance: $88,150
• Median SAT: 1520

Bates College

• Lewiston, ME

Academic Highlights: Thirty-four percent of courses at Bates have a single-digit enrollment, and 63% of classrooms contain nineteen or fewer students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1, and not a single graduate student is present to vacuum up professorial attention. Twenty-eight percent of all degrees earned at Bates are in the social sciences, and psychology (14%), biology (13%), and the physical sciences (7%) are next in popularity. Though strong across many disciplines, Bates boasts exemplary programs in political science, art, philosophy, economics, and psychology.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 99% of the Class of 2022 were either employed, enrolled in graduate school, or otherwise meaningfully engaged in a fellowship or internship. The most frequently entered fields were healthcare (17%), education (16%), finance/banking (14%), and technology (7%). Within ten years of graduation, approximately 13% of Bates graduates are in, or have completed, law school whereas 7% enroll in medical school.

• Enrollment: 1,790
• Cost of Attendance: $81,382
• Retention Rate: 93%

Brown University

• Providence, RI

Academic Highlights: Students must choose one of 80+ “concentration programs,” but there are no required courses. Class sizes tend to be small—68% have fewer than twenty students—and 35% are comprised of nine or fewer students. Biology, economics, computer science, mathematics, and engineering are among the most popular areas of concentration at Brown; however, it is hard to distinguish any one program, because Brown possesses outstanding offerings across so many disciplines.

Professional Outcomes: Soon after receiving their Brown diplomas, 69% of graduates enter the world of employment. Companies employing the greatest number of Brown alums include Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Apple, McKinsey & Company, and Bain & Company. The Class of 2022 saw 27% of graduates go directly into graduate/professional school. Right out of undergrad, Brown students boasted an exceptional 81% admission rate to med school and an 81% admission rate to law school.

• Enrollment: 7,639
• Cost of Attendance: $84,828

Emory University

• Atlanta, GA

Academic Highlights: This midsize university offers a diverse array of majors (80+) and minors (60+), and 30% of Emory students pursue more than one area of study. Over half of Emory’s student body works directly with a faculty member on academic research and 58% of courses have class sizes of under twenty students. Ultimately, the greatest number of students go on to earn degrees in the social sciences (15%), biology (14%), business (14%), health professions (12%), and mathematics (9%).

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduation, 66% of 2022 grads were already employed, and 96% had arrived at their next destination. The top employers of recent Emory grads include Deloitte, Epic, ScribeAmerica, Meta, Morgan Stanley, and Cloudmed. Graduates of the Goizueta Business School found strong starting salaries with an average of $81k.  In the last few years, multiple Emory grads/alums received acceptance letters from the following top law schools like Columbia, Berkeley, and Georgetown. Med school acceptances included Duke, Johns Hopkins, and Vanderbilt.

• Enrollment: 7,101
• Cost of Attendance: $83,702

Davidson College

• Davidson, NC

Academic Highlights: With its small size, the impressive part of the college is the exceptional quality of its offerings, not the breadth of them, as only 37 majors are available. The student-to-faculty ratio is 9:1, which allows the college to ensure that 62% have fewer than twenty students and 24% have enrollments you can count on two hands. Overall, the average number of students per class is only 18. Top programs at Davidson include psychology, political science, chemistry, and English; biology is also quite popular, accounting for 12% of degrees conferred in 2022.

Professional Outcomes: Looking at the outcomes data for 2022 grads, 70% landed jobs within six months of graduation, 26% were enrolled in a graduate program, and 3% were still seeking employment. Of those who attended grad school, the highest number were in healthcare-related programs (including MDs), law school, and laboratory sciences. Significant numbers of students pursue advanced degrees at other Southern gems including Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke, Wake Forest, and UNC.

• Enrollment: 1,927
• Cost of Attendance: $76,450

George Washington University

Academic Highlights: GW undergraduates choose from 75+ majors spread across nine colleges. The school’s 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio translates to a mix of small, medium, and large undergraduate sections. Twelve percent of courses have single-digit enrollments, 10% have over 50 students, and the majority fall in the 10 to 29 range. The social sciences (31%) are the area in which the greatest number of degrees are awarded followed by health professions (17%), business (15%), biology (5%), and computer science (5%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of leaving GW, 96% of the Class of 2022 had found their way to gainful employment or graduate school while 4% were still job hunting. Of the 68% of grads already in the workplace, 68% were in a for-profit industry, 25% had entered a nonprofit position, and 8% were working in government. A healthy 27% of those earning their diplomas in 2022 immediately turned their attention to earning an advanced degree. Among that group were 76% seeking master’s degrees, 11% entering law school, 5% pursuing a medical degree, and 3% entering a doctoral program.

• Enrollment: 11,482
• Cost of Attendance: $85,740
• Median SAT: 1410
• Acceptance Rate: 49%
• Retention Rate: 90%
• Graduation Rate: 85%

Claremont McKenna College

• Claremont, CA

Academic Highlights: CMC offers 33 majors and 11 “sequences,” series of courses that can be completed across the neighboring schools in addition to one’s major. The college boasts an average class size of eighteen, and 82% of course sections have fewer than twenty students. Economics, government, international relations, biology, and psychology are the most popular majors, and among the strongest. Interdisciplinary majors such as Environment, Economics, and Politics (EEP) and Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) also carry outstanding reputations.

Professional Outcomes: Eighty-eight percent of 2022 graduates found employment within six months of graduation, and only 4% were still looking for work. The median starting salary for a 2022 Claremont grad is $87,000. You name the prestigious graduate/professional program and, chances are, a recent CMC grad (or two or three) is presently studying there. Since 2001, more than 120 alumni have enrolled at USC and UCLA. More than 60 grads have headed to UChicago, Columbia, and Stanford.

• Enrollment: 1,386
• Cost of Attendance: $86,500
• Acceptance Rate: 10%

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Chapel Hill, NC

Academic Highlights: Undergraduates can choose from 74 bachelor’s degree programs in a number of schools and colleges, the largest of which is the College of Arts & Sciences. 44% of classes have a student enrollment under 20. The social sciences (15%), biology (12%), media/journalism (9%), computer science (8%), and business (6%) are the areas in which the most degrees are conferred. The Kenan-Flager Business School is internationally renowned and requires separate admission. Other strong programs include those in chemistry, journalism, psychology, and political science.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after leaving Chapel Hill, 97% of 2022 grads had entered employment, military service, or graduate school. Among the for-profit companies that hire the most graduates are Wells Fargo, IBM, Cisco, Deloitte, EY, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, McKinsey & Company, and Goldman Sachs. In the nonprofit sector, a large number of alumni are employed by AmeriCorps, NIH, Teach for America, and the Peace Corps. The average starting salary is $70,619. 18% of 2022 grads enrolled directly in graduate/professional school.

• Enrollment: 20,210 (undergraduate); 11,739 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $27,036 (in-state); $60,040 (out-of-state)

Colby College

• Waterville, ME

Academic Highlights: Offering 56 majors and 35 minors, Colby provides a classic liberal arts education with a high degree of flexibility and room for independent intellectual pursuits. A 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio is put to good instructional use as roughly two-thirds of courses have fewer than 19 students. Being a true liberal arts school, Colby has strengths across many disciplines, but biology, economics, and global studies draw especially high praise. These programs along with government and environmental science attract the highest number of students.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 93% of the Class of 2022 had either obtained jobs or were enrolled full-time in a graduate program. Eighteen percent of graduates enter the financial industry and large numbers also start careers in education, with government/nonprofit, STEM, and healthcare next in popularity. The Medical school acceptance rate over the past five years is 68%, nearly double the national average.

• Enrollment: 2,299
• Cost of Attendance: $86,720
• Average SAT: 1485
• Average ACT: 33
• Acceptance Rate: 8%
• Graduation Rate: 87%

University of California, San Diego

• San Diego, CA

Academic Highlights: There are 140+ undergraduate majors offered at UCSD, and all students join one of eight undergraduate colleges meant to forge flourishing communities within the larger university. Biology has the highest representation of all majors (19%) followed by engineering (12%), the social sciences (11%), and computer science (9%). UCSD’s computer science and engineering programs have stellar reputations in the corporate and tech communities, and programs in biology, economics, and political science are among the best anywhere.

Professional Outcomes: Employers of recent graduates included the Walt Disney Company, Tesla, NBC Universal, PwC, Northrop Grumman, and EY. More than 1,000 current Google employees are UC San Diego alumni, and Qualcomm, Amazon, and Apple all employ 500+ each. The median early career salary is $65,000 across all majors, placing the university in the top 10 public universities in the country. UCSD also fares well in measures of its return-on-investment potential.

• Enrollment: 33,096 (undergraduate); 8,386 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $31,830 (in-state); $64,404 (out-of-state)
• Acceptance Rate: 25%
• Graduation Rate: 88%

University of California, Berkeley

• Berkeley, CA

Academic Highlights: More than 150 undergraduate majors and minors are available across six schools: the College of Letters and Science, the College of Chemistry, the College of Engineering, the College of Environmental Design, the College of Natural Resources, and the Haas School of Business. Many departments have top international reputations including computer science, engineering, chemistry, English, psychology, and economics. 22% of sections contain nine or fewer students, and over 55% of students assist faculty with a research project or complete a research methods course.

Professional Outcomes: Upon graduating, 49% of Cal’s Class of 2022 had already secured employment, and 20% were headed to graduate school. Business is the most popular sector, attracting 62% of employed grads; next up are industrial (17%), education (8%), and nonprofit work (7%). The median starting salary was $86,459 across all majors. Thousands of alumni can be found in the offices of Google, Apple, and Meta, and 500+ Golden Bears are currently employed by Oracle, Amazon, and Microsoft. The school is the number one all-time producer of Peace Corps volunteers.

• Enrollment: 32,831 (undergraduate); 12,914 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $48,574 (in-state); $82,774 (out-of-state)

College of William & Mary

• Williamsburg, VA

Academic Highlights: Forty undergraduate programs are available and William & Mary has a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Class sizes are rarely tiny seminars, but 44% do enroll fewer than twenty students, and only 9% contain more than fifty. Among the college’s most notable academic programs are (1) government and (2) international relations, both of which serve as pipelines to Washington, DC, employers. The Mason School of Business is highly regarded in the corporate world. The social sciences (20%) and biology (11%) are also popular.

Professional Outcomes: 52% of the most cohort joined the workforce, and 36% entered graduate school within six months of graduation. Over 500 employers snatched up at least one member of the Tribe. Companies hiring at least four 2020 grads included Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, KPMG, and Deloitte. Many of those opting for immediate entry into graduate school stayed at their alma mater and the next most frequented universities included Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Northwestern, and the University of Chicago.

• Enrollment: 6,797
• Cost of Attendance: $39,595 (In-State); $63,967 (Out-of-State)
• Median SAT: 1460
• Acceptance Rate: 33%

Tulane University

• New Orleans, LA

Academic Highlights: Tulane offers 75 majors within five colleges, with the A.B. Freeman School of Business and programs in architecture, biology, and neuroscience enjoying strong national reputations. The most degrees are conferred in business/marketing (22%), the social sciences (20%), psychology (9%), biology (8%), and health professions (8%). The average class size is 21 students and a solid 21% of courses have single-digit enrollments, providing a seminar-style environment. The majority of undergraduate courses are taught by full-time professors.

Professional Outcomes: Over three-fifths of Tulane grads find employment within six months of graduation. The most popular occupations were financial analyst, management analyst, marketing specialist, and postsecondary teacher. Significant numbers of alumni can be found working in the Louisiana-based Ochsner Health System or at corporations such as Shell, EY, Google, PwC, IBM, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, and Accenture. 35% of grads eventually enroll in graduate or professional school—the most common destinations are Tulane itself, Louisiana State University, Boston University, and Johns Hopkins University.

• Enrollment: 7,295 (undergraduate); 4,990 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $86,000
• Acceptance Rate: 15%
• Graduation Rate: 89%

Rice University

• Houston, TX

Academic Highlights : Rice offers more than 50 majors across six broad disciplines: engineering, architecture, music, social science, humanities, and natural science. Programs in biology, biochemistry, cognitive science, and music are incredibly strong, while the School of Architecture and the George R. Brown School of Engineering are among the highest-ranking schools in their disciplines. One-third of computer science majors are female, almost twice the national average. Class sizes are ideally small with 66% containing fewer than 20 students and a median class size of only fourteen.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduation, 88% of Rice grads have found careers or a graduate school home. Companies that employ many recent grads include Deloitte, Capital One, JP Morgan Chase, Google, and Microsoft. Over one hundred alumni are also current employees of companies such as Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Amazon, Accenture, and Meta. Across all majors, the average starting salary is $73k. One-third of graduates move directly into graduate or professional school, with Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Columbia, and Berkeley being the most popular destinations.

• Enrollment: 4,494 (undergraduate); 4,178 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $78,278
• Median SAT: 35

Wellesley College

• Wellesley, MA

Academic Highlights: There are 50+ departmental and interdisciplinary majors. Thirty-six percent of course sections have single-digit enrollments while 77% have 19 or fewer students. In addition, opportunities for participation in research with faculty members abound. Most programs possess sterling reputations, including chemistry, computer science, neuroscience, and political science, but the Department of Economics shines most brightly, leading many into PhD programs and high-profile careers. Economics, biology, and computer science are the most frequently conferred degrees.

Professional Outcomes : Six months after graduating, 97% of the Class of 2022 had achieved positive outcomes. Of the 76% of grads who were employed, 24% were working in the finance/consulting/business fields, 17% in education, 17% in internet and technology & engineering, and 15% in healthcare/life sciences. Top employers included JPMorgan Chase, Google, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Goldman Sachs. The average starting salary for one recent cohort was a solid $63k. Of the 20% of 2022 grads who directly entered an advanced degree program, common schools attended included Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Stanford, MIT, and Emory.

• Enrollment: 2,447
• Cost of Attendance: $84,240
• Median SAT: 1490

Bucknell University

• Lewisburg, PA

Academic Highlights: Over 60 majors and 70 minors are on tap across three undergraduate schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. Getting well-acquainted with your professors is easy with a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, and class sizes are reasonably small. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the areas of the social sciences (26%), engineering (14%), business (14%), biology (11%), and psychology (9%).

Professional Outcomes: Nine months after graduation, 94% of the Class of 2022 had launched their careers or entered graduate school. Financial services is the most common sector for Bucknell grads to enter, attracting 24% of alumni. Across all disciplines, the average salary for a Class of 2022 grad was $69,540. Bucknell saw 18% of 2022 grads go directly into an advanced degree program. Bison alumni heading to graduate school predominantly pursue degrees in the medical field, social sciences, business, or engineering.

• Enrollment: 3,747
• Cost of Attendance: $80,890
• Median SAT: 1380
• Retention Rate: 91%

Pomona College

Academic Highlights: There are 48 majors and minors to select from with the most popular being social sciences (23%), biology (13%), and computer science (12%). Majors in economics, international relations, chemistry, and mathematics receive especially high marks. More than 600 courses are on the menu at Pomona alone, but students can access any of the Claremont Consortium’s 2,700 courses. Pomona’s 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio leads to an average class size of only 15 students, and over 50% of the undergraduate population conduct research alongside a faculty member.

Professional Outcomes: 71% of the Class of 2022 were employed within six months of graduating. Overall, the largest number of alumni can be found at Google, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta. Recently, economics degree-earners have landed jobs at Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, or Accenture. Majors in the hard sciences frequently landed at top research laboratories and hospitals. Of the 21% of 2022 grads who were accepted directly into graduate school, the most frequently attended institutions included the University of Cambridge, Duke, Harvard, Caltech, UChicago, and Stanford.

• Enrollment: 1,761
• Cost of Attendance: $88,296

Williams College

• Williamstown, MA

Academic Highlights: The school’s 25 academic departments offer 36 majors and a number of concentrations rather than minors. An unparalleled 40% of courses have fewer than ten students enrolled; the median class size is 12 students. Programs in economics, English, history, math, and political science are especially renowned, and the greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (26%), the physical sciences (10%), math and statistics (9%), psychology (9%), and computer science (7%).

Professional Outcomes: Among the Class of 2022, 92% were employed or continuing their educational journey within six months of graduating. Business and education typically attract the most students, with popular companies/organizations including Apple, Google, Goldman Sachs, The New York Times Co., the Peace Corps, and Teach for America. The median annual income for 2022 grads was $75,000. 75% pursue an advanced degree within five years of leaving Williams, with the most frequently attended graduate programs being Harvard, Columbia, and Yale.

• Enrollment: 2,152 (undergraduate); 53 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $81,160

Middlebury College

• Middlebury, VT

Academic Highlights: Midd offers 50 departments and programs in which to major and minor. The school’s 9:1 student-faculty ratio allows 100% of courses to be taught by professors, not graduate assistants. Most classes are small; the mean class size is 16, and 14% of sections contain fewer than ten students. Middlebury is renowned for its Language Department as well as its programs in economics and international studies. The college has a robust international program (75 programs in 40 countries); over 50% of juniors take a semester abroad.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 81% of the Class of 2022 had landed jobs and 12% were in graduate school. The most commonly held jobs fell under the categories of financial services (19%), consulting (14%), science and healthcare (14%), and media and technology (12%). Many Middlebury grads now enter tech-related fields; Google and Facebook are two of the leading employers alongside Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, Amazon, and JP Morgan. More than 100 alumni work in the US State Department.

• Enrollment: 2,773 (undergraduate); 70 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $89,850

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Academic Highlights: Undergraduates pursue one of 57 majors and 59 minors at this world-class research institution that continues to be one of the world’s most magnetic destinations for math and science geniuses.  The student-to-faculty ratio is an astonishing 3-to-1, and over two-fifths of all class sections have single-digit enrollments, and 70% of courses contain fewer than twenty students. The highest numbers of degrees conferred in 2022 were in the following majors: engineering (31%), computer science and engineering (28%), mathematics (10%), and the physical sciences (7%).

Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2023 saw 29% of its members enter the world of employment and 43% continue on their educational paths. The top employers included Accenture, Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Google, General Motors, the US Navy, Apple, Bain & Company, and McKinsey. The mean starting salary for an MIT bachelor’s degree holder was $95,000. The most frequently attended graduate schools are a who’s who of elite institutions including MIT itself, Stanford, Caltech, Harvard, and the University of Oxford.

• Enrollment: 4,657
• Cost of Attendance: $82,730

American University

Academic Highlights: There are 60+ undergraduate degrees for students to choose from at AU across six colleges. A low 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio allows 58% of offered courses to be capped at nineteen students; the average undergraduate class size is 23. American’s School of International Service (SIS) is one of the top-ranked programs in the country—its Public Affairs program also receives universally high marks. In terms of sheer popularity, the most commonly conferred degrees are in the social sciences (35%), 17% (business), and journalism (11%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 90% of AU grads have found employment, are enrolled in grad school, or both. Across all graduating years, more than 100 alumni presently work for the US House of Representatives, the US Department of State, Booz Allen Hamilton, Google, EY, IBM, PwC, and Accenture.  Many of the most popular grad school destinations are only a Metro stop away. George Washington, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and American itself head the list.

• Enrollment: 7,917
• Cost of Attendance: $76,176
• Median ACT: 31
• Acceptance Rate: 41%
• Graduation Rate: 79%

University of California, Santa Barbara

• Santa Barbara, CA

Academic Highlights: There are 90 undergraduate majors across three schools: the College of Letters and Science, the College of Engineering, and the College of Creative Studies. The social sciences are the most popular area of study, accounting for 27% of the total degrees conferred. Biology (10%), math (9%), and psychology (9%) are next in popularity. The school has highly regarded programs in communication, computer science, engineering, physics, environmental science, and the performing arts. More than half of sections contain fewer than 20 students, and 72% enroll 29 or fewer.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of earning their diplomas, 84% of grads had found employment. The most popular industries were science/research (16%), engineering/computer programming (14%), business (13%), finance/accounting (11%), and sales (10%). Top employers of recent grads include Google, EY, KPMG, Oracle, Amazon, IBM, and Adobe. Many alumni also can be found at Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Two years after graduating, UCSB alumni make an average salary of $55k; more than half make $100k by mid-career.

• Enrollment: 23,460 (undergraduate); 2,961 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $41,289 (in-state); $73,863 (out-of-state)
• Acceptance Rate: 28%
• Retention Rate: 92%

Tufts University

• Medford, MA

Academic Highlights: Three schools serve Tufts’ undergraduate population: the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. The three schools combined offer more than 90 majors and minors; approximately one-third of all students double major, and half declare a minor. 15% of all courses see fewer than ten students enrolled, and 60% have sub-twenty enrollments. The most popular majors include international relations, economics, computer science, political science, and biology—all of which receive very high marks.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after earning their diplomas, 97% of 2022 graduates were employed or attending graduate school. The most commonly entered fields were finance, consulting, real estate (23%); engineering and technology (22%); health, life sciences, environmental (21%); and education, advocacy, social services (11%). Prolific employers of Tufts alums include Booz Allen Hamilton, JPMorgan, MITRE, Google, Deloitte, Amazon, Raytheon, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock. Of the 21% of 2022 grads who went directly to graduate school, 85% were accepted into their first-choice institution.

• Enrollment: 6,815 (undergraduate); 6,616 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $88,300

Trinity College

• Hartford, CT

Academic Highlights: Trinity offers 41 majors that are well-regarded across the board. In particular, their economics department feeds many leading investment banks and the engineering program is among the best you will find at a small liberal arts school. Most degrees are conferred in the social sciences (36%), biology (11%), psychology (7%), and the visual and performing arts (5%). 69% of course sections boast an enrollment of nineteen or fewer students, and roughly two-thirds of students engage in some type of undergraduate research.

Professional Outcomes: 96% of 2022 grads had a positive outcome within six months of commencement. Those entering the world of employment landed jobs at organizations like the New York City Ballet, NBC Universal, and Morgan Stanley. Many alumni can also be found in the corporate offices of Citi, Merrill Lynch, Fidelity Investments, Google, IBM, and Goldman Sachs. Finance (43%), science/engineering (15%), and health and medicine (15%) were the most frequently entered fields in 2021. 60% of alumni have entered or completed a graduate or professional program within five years.

• Enrollment: 2,167 (undergraduate); 38 (graduate)
• Cost of Attendance: $87,510
• Graduation Rate: 84%

Lafayette College

Academic Highlights: Lafayette offers 51 areas of study over four academic divisions: engineering, humanities, natural sciences, and the social sciences. One-on-one attention from professors is a reality at Lafayette, thanks to a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio and no graduate students to compete with. A solid 62% of sections contain fewer than twenty students; 11% enroll nine or fewer. Of the degrees conferred in 2022, social sciences (34%) and engineering (19%) were the disciplines in which the largest number of degrees were earned.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, a stellar 98% of the Class of 2022 had already landed full-time jobs or were enrolled in graduate/professional school. Companies employing large numbers of Lafayette alumni include Merck, IBM, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase Co., Deloitte, and EY. Those attending graduate school frequently land at some of the top programs in the country within their respective disciplines. Medical school applicants with a 3.6 GPA or above enjoy a 72% acceptance rate, and dental school candidates find homes at an 89% clip.

• Enrollment: 2,729
• Cost of Attendance: $84,402
• Median SAT: 1400
• Acceptance Rate: 34%

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Political Science or Political Science — Public Service

Which major to pick based on your career goals.

• by Ryleigh J. Praker
• April 24, 2024

If you’re interested in majoring in political science at UC Davis, you may have noticed that the university offers two undergraduate political science majors: political science and political science — public service. 

The difference between these two majors may not be immediately clear, so which one should you pick? If you find yourself facing this dilemma, this article is for you.

Why study political science?

Political science is the study of systems and theories of government. This field encompasses a broad range of topics. At UC Davis, political science courses fall into four different fields: 

• American politics
• Comparative politics
• International relations
• Political theory

Within these categories, you might take courses on voting behavior, national security policy, constitutional law or medieval political philosophy.

Studying political science is a great choice for anyone interested in politics and current events, or planning a career in law, journalism or activism. If you are passionate about championing social justice or giving a legal voice to those in need, a degree in political science will give you the skills and knowledge to use systems of law and government to affect change.

If you’re not certain about those fields, there’s no need to worry. A political science degree comes with a skillset that is broadly applicable to a wide range of careers. You’ll develop proficiency in data analysis, critical thinking, writing, speaking, leadership and teamwork.

Once you’ve decided that political science might be the field for you, you’ll need to pick a major. At UC Davis, that means choosing between political science and political science — public service.

What is the political science major like?

The first available major is the general political science major . It offers a broad range of study. As a political science major, you will choose courses from at least three of the four fields of concentration.

You can pick which fields you would like to weight more heavily to design your own course of study. For example, if you’re interested in law, you could take mostly American politics and political theory courses, with some international relations for variety. Or, if you’re more interested in studying world governments, you can spend most of your time on comparative politics and international relations.

The main appeal of the political science major is its breadth and flexibility. This major allows you to sample from a wide variety of topics and study politics across both borders and centuries. To learn more about the major, consider reading our article “ What Can I Do With My Political Science Major? ”.

What is the political science — public service major like?

The political science — public service major focuses more narrowly on American politics and policy. You will take courses from a core program on institutions and processes of American government. In addition, you’ll choose courses from different areas of concentration — foreign policy, environmental policy and social policy, to name a few. These areas of concentration may allow you to take courses outside the Department of Political Science that will count toward your major.

The political science — public service major also features a required internship and research experience. You can either participate in a quarter away like the UC Davis Washington Program or UC Center Sacramento program , or you can find your own independent internship in public policy. This is a great opportunity to gain some professional experience working in the field. It may also give you a better idea of what you want to do with your degree after you graduate.

To learn more about options for the internship experience, visit the internships page of the UC Davis Department of Political Science .

This major is much narrower in scope, but it allows you to study certain areas of American politics and policy in more depth. If you know your interest lies in American government and law, the political science — public service major can help you develop skills to work with public policy after graduation. This major is especially well-suited for anyone interested in running for office or working in government.

Choose a major based on your career path

The most important question to consider when choosing your major is where you want to go with it. Narrowing down what you’d like to do after graduation will help you pick which political science major best suits your goals.

If you are interested in a career in law, journalism, diplomacy, research or academia, you will want to pick a major that will afford you a broad and diverse range of knowledge and experience. The political science major is a perfect choice for these fields. By building a course of study across all four fields of political science, you can develop a broad and versatile base of knowledge.

If you are more interested in government, campaign or nonprofit work or specific areas of law like environmental and public interest law, the political science — public service major may be the choice for you. This major suits these careers because it gives you a more specialized line of insight into policy-making and policy implementation without requiring a broader knowledge of political theory or international affairs.

The political science — public service major is also ideal for students interested in immediately getting involved in community organizing, state and local government or nonprofit work rather than pursuing a higher-level degree.

Deciding which major to pick based on your desired career path can help you optimize your time in undergrad. However, both majors can give you the skills needed to enter many fields, so don’t panic if you don’t know which one to choose. And remember — you can always switch majors. Some of the coursework for one political science major will be transferable to the other; check with your advisor to see which courses can be applied to both.

Two perspectives from political science majors

R.J. Praker: Political Science A.B.

I started at UC Davis as a declared political science — public service major. Partway through my first year, I decided to switch to the political science major. Why?

Early on in my college career, I realized I didn’t want to work in government. Instead, my interest lay in nonprofit and private law. I was fascinated by constitutional law and legal theory, so I wanted to include political theory courses in my major program. The political science major gave me the breadth I desired to explore the political science field.

My switch in majors also allowed me to incorporate my other interests. In addition to my major, I am minoring in Russian. By choosing the political science major, I was able to count the Russian and Eastern European politics courses I was taking supplementally toward my major.

I love the flexibility my major offers! By choosing political science, I’ve been able to stack my schedule with constitutional law and Slavic politics, which wouldn’t be possible in a different major.

Cynthia Hoang-Duong: Political Science — Public Service A.B.

Cynthia plans to attend law school and become an attorney. She entered UC Davis as a psychology major, but after her first quarter, she decided to switch to political science — public service. When asked why she switched majors, she had three reasons:

Political science — public service has an internship requirement . I felt like I really needed an internship but was scared I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t need to in order to graduate.   Public service has a greater range of fields — like social policy, which I’m interested in. Political science would have allowed me to take pre-law classes, but I preferred to also have the option to take sociology classes.   Being able to take sociology courses like ‘The Criminal Justice System’ and ‘Sociology of Law’ means I’m able to learn more about criminal law , which is what I want to do in my future career.

Cynthia recommends the political science — public service major to students who are interested in an internship in political science but aren’t sure where to start. She also recommends it to students who want to incorporate other fields, like sociology or economics, into their political science major.

Choosing political science at UC Davis

The bottom line is that it’s best to explore your options thoroughly before making a decision. Remember — over half of UC Davis students change their major at some point in their undergraduate career. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting with different programs to see what’s right for you.

If you’re interested in political science but aren’t sure these majors are for you, you should also investigate the international relations major or political science minor .

Now that you understand the difference between UC Davis’ two political science majors, you’ll be better equipped to choose which major suits you better. Take some time to review the requirements for both and to reflect on your interests and career goals.

To learn more and make a concrete plan, explore advising resources at the UC Davis Department of Political Science Advising Center .

View our political science major  

View our political science — public service major

R.J. Praker (she/her) is a third year pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science with minors in professional writing and Russian . She currently works as a writing intern for UC Davis' Office of Strategic Communications and an academic peer advisor for the Department of Political Science . She also serves as chief copy editor at the Davis Political Review . R.J. is from Placerville, California and loves to hike in the Sierra Nevada with her family’s dogs.

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University of South Florida

School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies

College of Arts and Sciences

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Graduate programs, phd in politics and international affairs.

The doctoral degree in politics and international affairs is an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare students to teach at the university and college levels and to conduct high-level research in the academic and nonacademic sectors. It combines a broad focus on international relations, comparative politics, American politics, and political theory with a critical understanding of institutions, rights, citizenship/identity, governance, global policy, and justice. Students work closely with faculty to frame their dissertation research and to advance their knowledge of their chosen fields of specialization. The program’s interdisciplinary approach to a variety of global issues provides a rich and open-ended opportunity to research current and past problems, movements, and transformations in politics.

We welcome your interest in our doctoral program. The department's deadline for fall admission is January 5. The School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies only admits for the fall semester. Students must apply online through the Office of Graduate Admissions. For a listing of the admission requirements, students should consult the Graduate Catalog . 

*Effective starting with the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, GRE test scores are no longer required for applications to our doctoral program in Politics and International Affairs*

*International students should review the Office of Admissions International Students website for additional information and requirements.

*International students are also encouraged to contact the Office of International Services for information on visas, international travel, etc. 

PLEASE NOTE: International students whose native language is not English and who want to be considered for a teaching assistantship must show proficiency in spoken English even if their TOEFL has been waived for admission to a graduate program. More information on the TOEFL requirement can be found under Admission Requirements in the graduate catalog.

Program Requirements

For the Doctoral Degree in Politics and International Affairs degree requirements, students should consult the Graduate Catalog. Students should adhere to the requirements within the Graduate Catalog under which they were admitted.

• Degree Requirements Beginning 2023-2024 Catalog

*Students can elect another catalog following the one they were admitted under. More information on this policy, and other policies, can be found in the Graduate Catalog.

*Students must request approval from the graduate director for any course not pre-approved and listed under the degree in the Graduate Catalog.

Additional information on program requirements:

Student can also select POS 6933/6747 Advanced Topics in Quantitative Political Analysis or another graduate course approved by the graduate director for the methods requirement. The Capstone Seminar will be conducted with doctorial students in Sociology and History and focus on dissertation proposal. 

Research Fields

The Doctorate in Politics and International Affairs specializes in the following four fields of research:

International Relations In the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, the International Relations (IR) faculty focuses on four areas of study: international relations theory, global political economy, international security, and human rights. We stress the importance of cutting-edge scholarship in our teaching of the graduate seminars as well as bridging the many emergent gaps in theory and practice in the various subfields that comprise International Relations, including American foreign policy, international ethics, global governance, and international law and organizations. One of our central aims is to advance innovative applications of the central theoretical perspectives (and their variant strands) in International Relations, namely, realism, liberalism, critical theory, constructivism, Marxism, international political theory, and gender. These applications involve in-depth theoretical and empirical analysis of key global issues, such as Asian security, moral accountability, the enforcement of human rights, immigration, and political and economic inequality. The International Relations faculty have published numerous books and peer-reviewed articles on these issue areas. These include monographs on the political tensions on the Korean Peninsula or North Korea’s nuclear arms buildup, the political cosmopolitan character and shifting dynamics of the International Criminal Court (ICC), hegemony and inequality in the global political economy, and China’s rapidly increasing support of intervention in African states. Together our published research emphasizes the production of critical theoretic knowledge, or the advanced methodological analysis of the contradictions and tensions informing the substantive debates in International Relations. This not only requires the particular mastery of concepts, methods, and claims but also an open-ended and historical understanding of the changing social forces shaping the behavior of states and the relations among global and local actors. It is this scholarly approach that we adopt to train our graduate students specializing in international relations, particularly as they advance their dissertation research and empirical knowledge of the global and regional contexts of problems and issues. One of the outcomes we strive for, then, is to encourage our doctoral students to develop rigorous theoretical and contextual analysis from which they can devise solutions and prescriptions to global issues.

Comparative Politics Comparative Politics in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies is committed to theory-driven, empirical research from an interdisciplinary perspective that is situated in a political, historical, cultural, and economic context.  The Comparative Politics faculty employ a variety of methodological approaches from both the social sciences and humanities, which utilize qualitative and quantitative research methods to study the patterns of similarities and differences. In particular, we conduct comparative and case study research to inquire into these patterns and to develop our theoretical propositions. One of our aims is to produce knowledge about the changing social, political, and legal conditions affecting the lives, development, cultural practices, and customs of underrepresented peoples. In meeting this aim, our research focuses on several themes of comparative politics, including social movements, democracy/democratization, citizenship, decolonization, genocide, hegemony, race and identity, development, legal systems and customary law, social justice, and indigenismo or the political ideology focusing on the changing relations of state and local peoples. Much of our published research draws creatively on social, critical, and political theory to advance knowledge of the laws, changing social relations, and attitudes in several countries, which includes Brazil, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Iran. Our research strengths lie in the areas of race and citizenship, social movements theory, human security and law (or legal custom) in Eastern Africa, indigenous rights in various Latin American countries, and security relations in the Middle East. With these thematic foci, we encourage graduate students to create and develop their own research by selecting a region of the world as their emphasis and adopting theoretically informed research and comparative methods that allow them to analyze the changing social and political conditions in the countries of this region.

American Politics The study of American Politics in the doctorate program in politics and international affairs provides a comprehensive overview as well as an in-depth analysis of American politics. Our faculty focus on various aspects of American politics, including theoretical foundations, federalism, institutions (Congress, the executive branch, the bureaucracy, the judiciary), political behavior (political parties, the media, interest groups, social movements, and elections), and public policy (foreign and domestic), and employ a range of methodological approaches such as historical development, legal doctrine, institutional rules, and quantitative analyses of the behavior of political actors and the mass public, to advance the student's research skills.  Our core class, Seminar in American Politics, for instance, surveys the key foundations, institutions, and behavior in American politics, introducing students to both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches for analyzing and testing the changing trends and outcomes in American politics. Special topics courses provide opportunities to gain in-depth knowledge on new research on a range of themes, including political development, the social bases of politics, and the global impact of American politics. The faculty in American politics have made important contributions in the areas of race and ethnicity, the judiciary, the presidency, Florida government, civil liberties, health care, environmental justice, economic inequality, and animal rights. Our strengths lie in economic inequality, animal rights, the Presidency, Judicial Behavior, Race and Ethnicity, and State and Local Government. In these specific areas, we have published several cutting-edge books and articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, which examine the emergence and implementation of nonhuman animals' regime of rights, the changing directions of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and its impact on world politics, and alternative strategies for natural disasters in the United States. Our scholarship is thus distinctive for the ways in which it addresses American government and politics in a global context. This is how we seek to train our doctoral students on the rapidly changing, nuanced linkages between local, state, federal and global institutional politics.  

Political Theory Political Theory introduces students to the core normative issues in the study of political science. These normative issues provide the bedrock assumptions on which much of the study of political science depends. For example, while nearly everyone agrees that democracy is the best form of government, why do we place such faith in it? In addition, the long tradition of political thought offers multiple versions of democracy, each with its own strengths and limitations. How are we to identify the best version for our needs? Similarly, while we might extol non-violence in politics, is it always the best path for political movements? How are we to justify its alternatives? Clarifying our moral commitments, sharpening our conceptual tools, and outlining pathways for transforming theoretical knowledge into action requires philosophical, historical, and conceptual capabilities. The political theory faculty at the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies trains students to develop these capabilities. To that end, political theory classes not only familiarize students with many of the canonical texts that were read by generations of prominent political thinkers (from Aristotle to Martin Luther King Jr), they also teach students to read these texts critically and with an eye towards contemporary political developments. As such, training in political theory is a critical supplement to graduate work at School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies. The faculty’s expertise in feminist theory, postcolonial theory, the role of emotions in politics, environmental political thought, and Indian political thought complements the terminal degrees offered in American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International Relations.

Financial Assistance 

Most of our successful applicants qualify for funding offered by the department or the Office of Graduate Studies. Funded doctoral students will receive a graduate assistantship that includes:

• a stipend for the academic year (9 months)
• a tuition waiver (not including school fees)
• the option of health insurance mostly paid by the department (the student only pays a small amount towards insurance).

All applicants for the doctoral degree are considered for a graduate assistantship - they do not need to complete a separate form.

The graduate assistantship is guaranteed for four years but is based on maintaining satisfactory annual academic progress. It requires each student to work 20 hours per week, in which case the student would be first assisting professors of the department with their teaching and class preparations and later, after having passed the doctoral comprehensive exams and completed teacher training seminars, teach a class at the University of South Florida. 

Please visit the graduate assistantships page for further information. The department also provides funding for conference travel or the presentation of research at conferences upon approval.

Information on eligibility for graduate assistantships can be found on the Graduate Assistantships Resource Center website. 

We also strive to fund our students in the fifth year, though this funding is not guaranteed. Depending on additional funds that become available, students may have the opportunity to extend their graduate assistantship to one, possibly two academic semesters. Students in the fifth year are also encouraged to seek external funding. For more information on this, please consult our Graduate Resources Page .

Outstanding candidates may also be nominated by the school’s director and/or graduate committee for prestigious and highly competitive university fellowships, including the Presidential Doctoral Fellowship , the Dorothy Auzenne Fellowship , and the University Graduate Fellowship. There is also the opportunity for minority students to be awarded a McKnight Fellowship, which provides annual tuition up to $5,000 for each of three academic years, plus an annual stipend of $12,000. The program also offers travel grants and other forms of financial support. For additional information on this fellowship opportunity, please visit the McKnight Fellowship's informational page.

• Politics and International Affairs Doctoral Handbook 2022 - 2023
• School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies Graduate Resources
• Independent Study / Directed Research Contract
• Office of Graduate Studies Forms
• Dissertation Proposal Approval Form
• Admission to Doctoral Candidacy Form
• Graduate Student Supervisory Committee Appointment Form
• Dissertation Checklist
• Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Certificate of Approval Form
• Comprehensive Exam Reading Lists
• Research Conference Travel Award Request
• Dissertation Defense Announcment

Spring 2024 Course Offerings

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For further information or questions about the PhD in Politics and International Affairs, please fill out this form .