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The doctoral program in Political Science at Texas A&M University has enjoyed a meteoric rise to national prominence. Since the implementation of a doctoral degree in 1988, Texas A&M has established itself as one of the premiere locations for advanced political science training in the fields of American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Public Policy and Administration. The Department regularly appears at or near the top of lists of political science departments in research productivity, especially in the discipline’s leading journals.
Among the distinctive opportunities afforded by graduate studies in Political Science at the Texas A&M University are:
- PROGRAM SIZE With a carefully controlled admissions policy and a faculty body of greater than 40, the Department affords the opportunity for close student-teacher interaction. Seminars are limited to 15 students and most have enrollments in the 10-12 student range. Also, faculty members regularly supervise Directed Readings courses that permit students to investigate specialized research topics on a one-to-one basis.
- STUDENT FUNDING Each admitted student receives a generous financial support package, guaranteed for four years, that includes a twelve-month salary, in-state tuition, and health insurance. In their first four years of study, students are funded only as research assistants, never as teaching assistants – enhancing their ability to focus on their course work and research.
- RESEARCH-ORIENTED TRAINING The program is specifically designed to prepare students to engage in teaching and research at top universities and colleges. From their first year onward, students become involved in collaborative research with faculty that often generates conference papers and journal publications. Many students also present and publish their own single-authored work during their time at Texas A&M (see student research). Moreover, the department assures funding for students to present papers at professional conferences and to attend appropriate off-site workshops such as the summer methods programs at the University of Michigan and the University of Essex.
- PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES The Department is the editorial home of two journals, the Journal of Theoretical Politics and Presidential Studies Quarterly. Some students learn academic publishing from the inside by serving as editorial assistants for these journals. Faculty members in the Department also head a variety of research programs, including the Texas Educational Excellence Project which involves graduate students in research capacities.
- MEANINGFUL TEACHING EXPERIENCE In their fifth year, students who are qualified to teach are offered the opportunity to develop their teaching skills and are guaranteed assignment of independent sections of courses, usually at the upper level, directly related to their future careers as professors. Before they teach, they receive departmental instruction in a full range of pedagogical techniques.
- FACILITIES AND SUPPORT The Department of Political Science is housed in perhaps the finest academic facility of its kind in the country. Every student receives office space and a desktop computer with full internet and web access. These facilities are supplemented by state-of-the-art computer labs and an experimental lab. An extensive Policy Sciences and Economics Library, which is a branch of the main Evans Library, contains a comprehensive collection in political science and is housed in the same building as the Department. The Department’s Presidential Data Archive holds an extensive collection of public opinion polls as well as other quantitative data.
- RAPID COMPLETION Because the program runs on a twelve-month basis, students are able to finish their doctoral studies more expeditiously than in most departments. Students entering without Master’s degrees regularly receive their doctorates in four years, while students holding a Master’s degree have sometimes completed as quickly as two years.
- EXCELLENT PLACEMENT RECORD Year after year, Ph.D. graduates from Texas A&M receive offers at some of the best research institutions in the nation, such as University of Iowa, University of Colorado (Boulder), University of Kansa, University of Oklahoma, City University of New York, Arizona State University, Rutgers University, Marquette University, and other prestigious schools. Our students have achieved an outstanding record of gaining employment appropriate to their qualifications and interests.
Further questions about doctoral study at Texas A&M University are welcomed and should be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies, Guy Whitten (whitten@politics.tamu.edu) or to the Graduate Admissions Supervisor, Lou Ellen Herr (louellen@politics.tamu.edu). The program may be contacted at:
Graduate Studies Program
Department of Political Science
TAMU 4348
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4348
Phone: (979)845-4845 or (979)845-2121
Fax: (979)847-8924
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