Political Science

Mission Statement
Programs and Courses

Steve Garrison
Chair and Graduate Coordinator, Political Science Department

Graduate Faculty:	Duff, Garrison, Jolliff Scott, Narayanan, Veazey, Watson
Emeriti Faculty:	Martin, Mertens, Preda

Mission Statement

The Master of Arts program provides a flexible curriculum for students who want to pursue goals of an advanced general education, to gain skills and knowledge suitable for various types of public or private employment, or to prepare for further work at the doctoral level. The Master of Arts program is designed for students who wish to conduct scholarly investigations in one of the following areas of political science: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Public Law, or Political Theory. This focus is especially beneficial to those students who wish to pursue studies at the doctoral level.

Political science faculty members are involved in international, national, state, and local political affairs and utilize their experiences in the graduate seminars. Master of Arts students are encouraged to work along with faculty in their research and scholarly community service projects.

The faculty expects students to have a full commitment of their talents and energies in pursuing graduate study, in order that they may become competent professionals in their chosen fields, whether teaching, research, or administration. Graduate courses are taught largely as seminars, where students enter fully and actively into discussion. They will be in an intellectual setting that is lively and open, where contending viewpoints are expressed on the deepest issues of politics. Students can expect to receive support and encouragement from the faculty as they venture into new areas of knowledge.

Thesis

Students pursuing Option 1 are expected to write a substantial proposal and have the proposal approved by the Thesis Advisor and the Graduate Advisory Committee prior to enrolling in the first thesis course (POLS 6983 ). The thesis is to be prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Additional information regarding the thesis is found in the academic requirements section of this catalog.

Research Paper

Students pursuing Option 2 are required to submit a first iteration of a substantial research paper to the Graduate Advisory Committee 90 days prior to degree completion. While there is no course credit for the research paper, the student must meet this requirement prior to graduation. Papers must be prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Final Written Comprehensive Examination

All students must pass a written comprehensive examination prior to receiving the graduate degree. The examination is composed of essay questions that pertain to material covered in the graduate courses taken by the student. Passing scores are determined by the Political Science graduate faculty in advance of the test administration.

Graduate Advisory Committee

Following completion of at least 9 hours of graduate work, but prior to beginning the thesis or file paper, the student should assemble a Graduate Advisory Committee. As a first step, the student should identify a chairperson and two other graduate faculty members constituting a committee of three. This committee will guide the student through the thesis (or file paper) proposal, research, and writing of the thesis (file paper).

Admission to Candidacy

A student will be admitted to candidacy after satisfying the written comprehensive exam requirement. This generally occurs after the third semester of the student’s program.

Graduate Admissions and Requirements

An application for admission to the Midwestern State University Graduate Program is available on the web site at http://www.mwsu.edu.

A bachelor’s degree from a college or university approved by a regional accrediting agency is required. Degrees earned in non-traditional degree programs require special approval of the graduate program coordinator.
No undergraduate background in political science is required.
Admission to the graduate program in the Department of Political Science is based primarily on the applicant’s undergraduate and/or graduate record. Completion of a bachelor’s degree is required for all applicants. Graduate Record Examination scores on the verbal and analytical sections of the GRE are required of all applicants. All international applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit TOEFL scores. All factors are considered in the admissions process, but are not specifically weighted.

Programs and Courses

Programs

Major

Political Science, M.A.

Graduate Minor

Political Science Minor

Courses

Political Science

POLS 4553, 4653, 4901, 4902, 4903, and 4933 are undergraduate courses which may be taken for graduate credit with permission (see Undergraduate Catalog for course descriptions). For additional information, see Graduate Credit for 3000-4000 Level Courses .