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Doctor of Philosophy
PhDJoint DegreeOverview
The principal goal of the PhD 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 various disciplines, including American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Political Methodology. The program is built around small seminars that critically analyze the literature of a field or focus on a research problem. These courses prepare students for the PhD comprehensive exam requirement within two years and for work on the doctoral dissertation.
This program is full time, doctoral students in the political science PhD program are expected to maintain a significant physical presence on campus throughout their graduate studies. This ensures that students have access to advisors and mentors, libraries, and other resources that support timely progress towards completion of degree requirements. Additionally, being on campus ensures that students are part of the academic and campus community which supports continued professional development.
Requirements
Program Requirements
Quantitative Methods Program Requirement
POLISCI 450A
Political Methodology I: Regression
POLISCI 450B
Political Methodology II: Causal Inference
Every PhD student must complete these classes for five units each.
Political Theory Program Requirement
Courses That Fulfill the Political Theory Requirements for All Students
POLISCI 330A
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought
POLISCI 331
High-Stakes Politics: Case Studies in Political Philosophy, Institutions, and Interests
POLISCI 331M
Smith and Marx Seminar
POLISCI 431
Grad seminar: Contemporary Political Theory
POLISCI 432R
Selections in Modern Political Thought
POLISCI 437C
20th Century and Contemporary Political Theory
POLISCI 438R
Ancient Greek Rationality, Public and Private
Courses That Fulfill the Political Theory Requirements for Students with Political Theory First, Second, Third Field Theory Only
POLISCI 333M
Research and Methods in Political Theory
POLISCI 334P
Deliberative Democracy and its Critics
POLISCI 337
Philosophy of Law: Protest, Punishment, and Racial Justice
POLISCI 337A
Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition
POLISCI 338B
Unequal Relationships
Every PhD student must complete one of these classes for five units.
Foundational Concepts Workshop
POLISCI 480
The Science of Politics: Foundational Concepts for Political Science Graduate Students
All first-year PhD students must complete POLISCI 480 Foundational Concepts in Political Science with a grade of S (Satisfactory).
Research Design Requirement
POLISCI 333M
Research and Methods in Political Theory
POLISCI 400C
Research Design
POLISCI 410D
Research in International Relations
POLISCI 440C
Research Design in Comparative Politics
POLISCI 462
How to Write and Publish a Quantitative Political Science Paper
Every PhD student must complete one of these classes for five units. Students should consult with their pre-candidacy mentors to determine the most suitable option. Students with Comparative Politics as a first field must take 440C.
Field Requirements
Field Requirements Overview
American Politics
American Politics Core
POLISCI 420A
American Political Institutions
POLISCI 420B
Topics in American Political Behavior
All students with American Politics as a first or second field must complete these courses for five units each.
American Politics Electives
ECON 229
Topics in Economic History
POLECON 680
Foundations of Political Economy
POLECON 682
Workshop on Institutional Theories and Empirical Tests in Political Economy
POLISCI 351B
Economic Analysis of Political Institutions
POLISCI 320R
The Presidency
POLISCI 324L
The Psychology of Communication About Politics in America
POLISCI 326
Executive Power Under the Constitution
POLISCI 327C
Law of Democracy
POLISCI 421K
Questionnaire Design for Surveys and Laboratory Experiments: Social and Cognitive Perspectives
POLISCI 422F
Seminar on Political Change
POLISCI 421A
Current Debates in American Political Institutions
POLISCI 423A
Survey Lab I
POLISCI 423B
Survey Lab II
POLISCI 424C
Party Polarization
POLISCI 426
Identity Politics
POLISCI 427C
Money in Politics
POLISCI 460A
Political Economy I
POLISCI 461
Advances in Experimental Political Science
SOC 340
Social Stratification
Students with American Politics as a first field must complete two elective classes from this list. Students with American Politics as a second field must take one elective course from this list. Students with American Politics as a third field must take two classes, either the core classes or chosen from this list of electives. Electives must be taken for at least three units.
Comparative Politics
Comparative Politics Core
POLISCI 440A
Theories in Comparative Politics
POLISCI 440B
Comparative Political Economy
All students with Comparative Politics as a first or second field must complete these courses for five units.
Comparative Politics Electives
ECON 229
Topics in Economic History
POLECON 680
Foundations of Political Economy
POLECON 682
Workshop on Institutional Theories and Empirical Tests in Political Economy
POLISCI 344U
Political Culture
POLISCI 347G
Governance and Poverty
POLISCI 348
Chinese Politics
POLISCI 348D
China in the Global Economy
POLISCI 348S
Latin American Politics
POLISCI 351B
Economic Analysis of Political Institutions
POLISCI 443S
Political Economy of Reform in China
POLISCI 443T
Approaches to Chinese Politics
POLISCI 444A
Authoritarian Politics
POLISCI 445C
The Logics of Violence: Rebels, Criminal Groups and the State
POLISCI 446
Political Development Economics
POLISCI 446A
Paths to the Modern World: The West in Comparative Perspective
POLISCI 460A
Political Economy I
POLISCI 461
Advances in Experimental Political Science
Students with Comparative Politics as a first field must complete two elective classes from this list. Students with Comparative Politics as a second field must take one elective course from this list. Electives must be taken for at least three units.
International Relations
International Relations Core
POLISCI 410A
International Relations Theory, Part I
POLISCI 410B
International Relations Theory, Part II
POLISCI 410C
International Relations Theory, Part III
All students with International Relations as a first or second field, must complete these courses for five units.
International Relations Electives
ECON 266
International Trade I
ECON 267
Topics in International Trade and Spatial Economics
ECON 268
International Finance and Exchange Rates
ECON 269
International Finance and Exchange Rates II
HISTORY 301A
The Global Drug Wars
HISTORY 302G
Peoples, Armies and Governments of the Second World War
HISTORY 338J
The European Scramble for Africa: Origins and Debates
HISTORY 356
350 Years of America-China Relations
LAW 5010
International Human Rights
LAW 5013
International Law
LAW 5014
International Trade Law
LAW 5019A
The Law of War (Reading Group)
POLISCI 311N
Nuclear Strategy, Law, and Politics
POLISCI 460A
Political Economy I
SOC 309
Nations and Nationalism
SOC 378
Seminar on Institutional Theory and World Society
Students with International Relations as a first field must complete one elective class from this list for at least three units. Students with International Relations as a second field are not required to take an elective.
Political Methodology
Quantitative Methodology Stream
Quantitative Methodology Stream Core
POLISCI 450A
Political Methodology I: Regression
POLISCI 450B
Political Methodology II: Causal Inference
POLISCI 450C
Political Methodology III: Model-Based Inference
POLISCI 450D
Political Methodology IV: Advanced Topics
Students with Quantitative Methodology as a first or second field must take 450A, B, and C for five units. 450D may be taken for three units.
Quantitative Methodology Stream Elective
CS 224W
Machine Learning with Graphs
CS 246
Mining Massive Data Sets
ECON 270
Intermediate Econometrics I
ECON 271
Intermediate Econometrics II
ECON 272
Intermediate Econometrics III: Methods for Applied Econometrics
ECON 292
Quantitative Methods for Empirical Research
ECON 293
Machine Learning and Causal Inference
MGTECON 603
Econometric Methods I
MGTECON 604
Econometric Methods II
MGTECON 605
Econometric Methods III
MGTECON 640
Quantitative Methods for Empirical Research
POLISCI 451
Directed Readings on Causal Inference with Panel Data
POLISCI 460A
Political Economy I
STATS 200
Introduction to Theoretical Statistics
STATS 203
Regression Models and Analysis of Variance
STATS 211
Meta-research: Appraising Research Findings, Bias, and Meta-analysis
STATS 217
Introduction to Stochastic Processes I
STATS 229
Machine Learning
STATS 261
Intermediate Biostatistics: Analysis of Discrete Data
STATS 262
Intermediate Biostatistics: Regression, Prediction, Survival Analysis
STATS 270
Bayesian Statistics
STATS 290
Computing for Data Science
STATS 300A
Theory of Statistics I
STATS 305A
Applied Statistics I
STATS 305B
Applied Statistics II
STATS 305C
Applied Statistics III
STATS 310A
Theory of Probability I
STATS 324
Stein's Method
STATS 362
Topic: Monte Carlo
STATS 363
Design of Experiments
Students with Quantitative Methodology as a first field must complete one elective class from this list for at least three units. Students with Quantitative Methodology as a second field are not required to take an elective.
Formal Theory Stream
Formal Theory Stream Core
POLISCI 356A
Formal Theory I
POLISCI 356B
Formal Theory II
Students with Formal Theory as a first or second field must complete these courses for five units each.
Formal Theory Stream Electives
ECON 282
Contracts, Information, and Incentives
ECON 286
Game Theory and Economic Applications
POLECON 680
Foundations of Political Economy
POLECON 682
Workshop on Institutional Theories and Empirical Tests in Political Economy
POLISCI 351B
Economic Analysis of Political Institutions
POLISCI 460A
Political Economy I
Students with Formal Theory as a first field must complete two elective classes from this list for at least three units. Students with Formal Theory as a second field must take one elective class from this list for at least three units.
Students designating Political Methodology as a first, second, or third field must complete either the Quantitative Methods stream or the Formal Methods stream. Students may not choose Formal Theory and Quantitative Methodology as two of their three fields.
Political Theory
Political Theory Core
POLISCI 330A
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought
POLISCI 437C
20th Century and Contemporary Political Theory
POLISCI 432R
Selections in Modern Political Thought
All students with Political Theory as a first or second field must complete these courses for five units each.
Political Theory Electives
POLISCI 330A
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought
POLISCI 331
High-Stakes Politics: Case Studies in Political Philosophy, Institutions, and Interests
POLISCI 331M
Smith and Marx Seminar
POLISCI 333M
Research and Methods in Political Theory
POLISCI 335A
From Cold War to New Cold War: Politics and Political Theory in Contemporary China
POLISCI 335B
Political Memory and Democratic Citizenship
POLISCI 337
Philosophy of Law: Protest, Punishment, and Racial Justice
POLISCI 337A
Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition
POLISCI 337R
How to Think About Catastrophe Toward a Theory of Enlightened Doomsaying
POLISCI 338B
Unequal Relationships
POLISCI 430A
Ancient Greek Economic Development
POLISCI 431
Grad seminar: Contemporary Political Theory
POLISCI 432R
Selections in Modern Political Thought
POLISCI 437C
20th Century and Contemporary Political Theory
POLISCI 438R
Ancient Greek Rationality, Public and Private
Students with Political Theory as a first field must complete one elective class from this list for at least three units. Students with Political Theory as a second field are not required to take an elective.
Third Field Class Requirements
All candidates for the PhD degree must also complete a third field. The third field requirement is satisfied by taking two courses for at least three units. Students may choose to complete a third field in one of the fields within the Political Science department or design their own field.
American Politics:
Students with American Politics as a third field must complete two classes listed in the American Politics core or American Politics elective section above.
Comparative Politics:
Students with Comparative Politics as a third field must complete two classes listed in the Comparative Politics core or Comparative Politics elective section above.
International Relations:
Students with International Relations as a third field must complete two classes listed in the International Relations core or International Relations elective section above.
Political Methodology:
Quantitative Methodology: Students with Quantitative Methodology as a third field must complete POLISCI450C and POLISCI450D.
Formal Theory: Students with Formal Theory as a third field must complete POLISCI356A and POLISCI356B.
Political Theory:
Students with Political Theory as a third field must complete two classes listed in the Political Theory core.
Self-Designed Third Field
Students may design their third field. Classes taken for a self-designed third field do not have to be offered by the Political Science department. Two members of the Political Science department faculty must approve self-designed third fields. The third field cannot be satisfied by courses taken to fulfill requirements for the first or second fields or by classes taken to fulfill other program requirements.
Prospectus:
All PhD candidates must submit a formal dissertation prospectus approved by the student’s prospectus committee and the Director of Graduate Studies by the end of the third year. Students must also make a dissertation prospectus presentation in spring quarter of the third year.
Teaching Requirement
Conditions
Teaching is core to the academic and professional training of doctoral students in our program. All students are required to complete a minimum of three quarters of teaching experience by the end of their fourth year in the program regardless of their financial support. Most students are typically expected to complete at least two additional quarters of teaching beyond the minimum required for the degree to further their pedagogical and professional skills development and be eligible for financial support. PhD students in the Political Science department should expect to teach a combined total of 5 quarters by the end of the fifth year of residency in the program.
Advancement to Candidacy
Conditions
Admission to candidacy is a prospective judgement by the faculty of a student’s potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program. Students are expected to complete qualifying procedures and apply for candidacy by the spring quarter of their second year in the program. Qualifying procedures in the Department of Political Science include satisfactory completion of required coursework, passing a comprehensive examination in the student’s first field, and submission of an approved field paper. Additional details on qualifying procedures can be found in the PhD Program Guide opens in a new tab.
Oral Exam
Conditions
In the Department of Political Science, the oral exam is a defense of the dissertation presented upon the completion of a substantial portion of the dissertation or upon completion of a pre-final draft. Students consult with their dissertation advisor and reading committee members on the timing of the defense. Students are expected to complete this milestone by the end of their fifth year in the program.
Dissertation
Conditions
Students must form a dissertation reading committee by the beginning of their fourth year. Students are required to submit an approved dissertation that makes an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge in the field of Political Science. Students are expected to submit the dissertation in the same quarter that they complete the oral exam, and no later than the subsequent quarter.