Established in 1924, the political science department was one of the original disciplines of the Maxwell School. The program today is designed to introduce students to both the intellectual content and research methods of political inquiry. The department’s teaching and research interests are eclectic, with an emphasis on institutions and political processes rather than any particular methodologies.

In addition, the department actively encourages political science students to take courses throughout the Maxwell School. Many students’ programs of study have been usefully supplemented, and their perspectives broadened, by courses in public administration, history, economics, or anthropology.

The department admits approximately 12 to 15 graduate students each year. The small size fosters an environment characterized by extensive personal contact with faculty members, faculty-student collaboration on research projects, and joint faculty-student publications.

A colloquium series brings together the political science faculty and students to discuss and critique student papers and presentations. Other seminars provide a vehicle for professional development and networking, with discussions covering such topics as publishing research and finding employment. The department also maintains a travel fund so that doctoral students can attend conferences to present papers.

The department is an active participant in the University-wide Future Professoriate Project, which helps graduate students become effective teachers. Students begin in their second year by leading discussion sections under faculty guidance; in subsequent years, they might design a syllabus, and finally, assume responsibility for teaching an entire summer school or evening extension course. This structured preparation lays the foundation for careers in both teaching and research.

The department offers both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Those who seek an M.A. in political science have highly diverse goals and are thus allowed considerable flexibility in designing a program. The degree requires the completion of 30 credits, no more than 9 of which may be earned at another institution. There is no thesis requirement for the M.A., and coursework may be included from other Maxwell departments. Most students earn an M.A. in one calendar year.

The Ph.D. program requires 72 credits, with coursework covering the first two-and-one-half years. Two qualifying examinations, selected from the five fields offered, immediately follow the coursework, and a dissertation proposal is required shortly thereafter.

The five Ph.D. fields are:

• American politics,

• comparative politics,

• international politics,

• public administration and policy, and

• political inquiry.

In addition, the Ph.D. program includes three required courses: The Logic of Political Inquiry, Introduction to Quantitative Political Analysis, and Research Design in Political Analysis.

The department’s faculty members pursue wide- ranging research and teaching interests. Current faculty projects include a study of organized churches and neighborhoods in contemporary American politics; an investigation of far-right ideologies of globalization; a study of the determinants of legislative activism by state legislators; a comparative study of democratization in East-Central Europe; research on how the GI Bill shaped American citizenship; an examination of the relationship between media and public policy in the domain of urban education; an examination of the sources of party polarization in Congress; a study of third-world nativist movements; and research on knowledge structures in international negotiations.

Applicants to the political science department must submit scores from a recent Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Strong letters of recommendation are important, as is the applicant’s personal statement, particularly the degree to which the student’s academic and intellectual goals fit the interdisciplinary nature of the political science department and the Maxwell School.  Most Ph.D. students are funded with graduate assistantships for four years in the program.

Selected student research topics include:

• South African women's transformation of Parliament
• The electoral behavior of American Catholics
• Role of the women's civic organizations in U.S. policy change during the 1950s
• Policy networks and microcredit financing in Eastern Europe
• The influence of multilateral institutions on foreign-policy behavior