Graduate Degrees and Programs: College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Department of Political Science

 

Master of Arts Program

 

The department offers programs of study leading to the Master of Arts degree in political science and the Master of Arts degree in public administration. For more information about the Master of Arts degree in public administration, refer to the public administration program in this section of the catalog. Course offerings in political science cover the following general topics: American politics, public policy, public administration, public law, political theory, research methods, and comparative politics.

Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the college graduate admission requirements, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the Master of Arts in Political Science program:

Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution, at least a 3.00 grade point average (A=4.00) in the most recent 60 semester hours of undergraduate or graduate courses and have taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Students fulfilling the English proficiency requirements with the TOEFL are required to score 630 or better. Conditional admission may occasionally be granted despite a below-standard GRE score, grade point average, or TOEFL score. Applicants should prepare a one-to two-page statement of purpose and should also submit two letters of recommendation, preferable from professors directly familiar with their academic work. Go to http://www.polsci.uh.edu/graduate/graduate.html and click on graduate then admissions for more information on admissions requirements.

Political Science students are generally admitted only in the Fall semester. However, Spring and Summer admissions are decided on a space available basis. The deadlines for submitting applications are March 15 for the Fall semester and September 1 for the Spring semester.

The program offers two MA options as follows:

M.A. degrees are awarded to students in one of the following categories:

  1. Those whose educational objective is a Master's degree and do not wish to proceed to the degree of Ph.D.;

  2. Those who do not meet the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. and who are advised to obtain a terminal Master's degree;

  3. Those who are proceeding towards a Ph.D. but wish the Master's credential for professional purposes.

Thirty to thirty-six semester hours of approved course work, at least 24 semester hours of which must be at the 6000 level or above, is required. Also, at least 27 hours of credit for the Master's degree must be earned in residence at the University of Houston campus. No more than 6 semester hours of transferred course work may be applied to the Master of Arts degree. Determination of course equivalency of transferred work resides with the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Committee. Credit for post baccalaureate courses will not be given. A degree plan should be completed, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, within the first 12 hours of course work and filed with the Graduate Office. A Master's degree program must be completed within five years of the date of enrollment at the University of Houston.

There are 3 plans under which graduate students can earn a Master of Arts degree:

  1. M.A. Plan I: 30 hours of coursework and 6 hours of Master's thesis hours;

  2. M.A. Plan II (Terminal Degree): 33 hours of coursework and 3 hours of Bibilographic Essay hours;

  3. M.A. by Examination: This program is designed to provide an interim professional qualification for candidates who are in the process of working towards a Ph.D. Candidates who pass the Comprehensive Examinations for the Ph.D. degree may petition to have this pass recognized as fulfilling the requirements for a Master of Arts degree.

For more information on the degree requirements and types of degrees, please refer to the Graduate Programs page.

Doctor of Philosophy Program

 

Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the college graduate admission requirements, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the Ph.D. in Political Science program:

Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution by the date of enrollment, at least a 3.00 grade point average (A=4.00) in the most recent 60 hours of undergraduate course work, at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average for any graduate level courses, and a combined score of 1100 on the Quantitative and Verbal portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). International students must also take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and achieve a score of at least 630. In addition, applicants should prepare a one-page statement of purpose and secure three letters of recommendation from professors directly familiar with the student's work. Conditional admission may occasionally be granted despite a below-standard GRE score, grade point average, or TOEFL score. Political Science students are generally admitted only in the Fall semester. However, Spring and Summer admissions are decided on a space available basis. The deadlines for submitting applications are March 15 for the Fall semester and September 1 for the Spring semester. We encourage applicants to apply in advance of these deadlines if possible. Applications are judged on a competitive basis by the department's Graduate Committee.

Program Requirements

A minimum of 48 semester hours of course work must be taken. All students intending to obtain a Ph.D. must take the 20 hours of core courses in their first year, or, in the case of part-time students, as soon as practically possible.

Core Courses (first semester)

POLS 6480

Research Design and Quantitative Methods I

POLS 6343

Democratic Theory

POLS 6309

Survey of American Political Behavior

Core Courses (second semester)


POLS 6481

Research Design and Quantitative Methods II

POLS 6311

Seminar in Comparative Political Analysis

POLS 6312

Survey of American Institutions and Policy

 

Students must select three areas of study on which to concentrate. One of the three chosen areas is designated as a student's major area and 12 hours are required in that area (including the core class). In each of the two minor areas of study, 9 semester hours are normally required as a minimum. American politics must be one of the three areas of study.

Tool Requirement

The tool requirement exists for the purpose of assuring competence in the methods necessary for effective scholarship in the student's chosen specialty. Each student must complete two relevant research courses (6 hours) beyond POLS 6480 and POLS 6481. Choice of possible tool offerings should in all cases be guided by the question of appropriateness for the student's academic interest. Among the possible course offerings that may satisfy the requirement area:

  1. Foreign language as approved by the Director of Graduate Studies (in rare instances).

  2. Political methodology courses where content is more advanced than POLS 6480 and POLS 6481 as approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students should take POLS 6482 (Advanced Multivariate Methods) plus one additional course (for instance, POLS 6384, POLS 6385, or POLS 6386).

  3. Computer Applications at a more advanced level than POLS 6480 and POLS 6481 as approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

  4. Other research methods specifically relevant to the dissertation research of the student (with approval from the Director of Graduate Studies).

 

Other Requirements

Students must also successfully complete oral and written comprehensive exams. Upon successfully completing comprehensive exams, students are expected to be continuously enrolled in dissertation hours (a minimum of 12 dissertation hours must be completed prior to the completion of the degree). Upon completion of the dissertation, the student will participate in an oral dissertation defense. Student's must maintain cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above.

Department of Political Science
Attn: Graduate Program Advisor
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-3011
Director: Dr. Susan Scarrow
Advisor: Claudia I. Baba

Catalog Publish Date: January 14, 2013
This Page Last Updated: October 16, 2012