Graduate study in political science at Rockefeller College, University at Albany provides a small and select group of students with a challenging program that can be tailored to individual student interests, the opportunity for frequent and meaningful interaction with faculty mentors, and a learning environment enriched by the associated faculties in the Graduate School of Public Affairs and Rockefeller College, the Rockefeller Institute of Government and other affiliated research centers, and the lively political milieu of the capital of New York State.

Degree Programs

The Political Science Department at the University at Albany offers the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The Masters degree can be completed in three semesters or two semesters and one summer. While completion of the Ph.D. is dependent on a number of factors, the program is designed to allow students to complete the degree in four or five years of intensive work. Students aiming for the Ph.D. who enter graduate study after their bachelor's degree, who plan on earning the Ph.D. at the University at Albany, enter the M.A. program on a special 'fast track' which involves students immediately in doctoral-level course work and allows waiver of the master's essay.

Field Descriptions

The department offers a comprehensive program in all subfields of political science. Particular strengths of the department lie in the broad area of American politics, including public law and public policy, and political theory. Faculty members are eclectic in terms of their methodological orientations and graduate students are exposed to a variety of research techniques, from quantitative methods, to elite interviews, documentary research, historical studies, and textual analysis.

American Politics

The faculty in American politics have research and teaching interests in all areas of the subfield: American political institutions (the presidency, Congress, courts, state and local government, political parties), as well as political processes (elections, public opinion, urban politics, minority politics, political behavior, public policy formation). Given its location in the state capital and within Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, the department offers graduate students unique opportunities to work on ongoing research projects at the intersection of politics and public policy.

Public Policy

Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy is one of the largest and most distinguished graduate schools in the country devoted to the study of public policy. Political science graduate students interested in public policy have access not only to faculty in the political science department, but also scholars of public policy in the other schools and departments of Rockefeller College (public administration and policy, criminal justice, social welfare, information science) and in units of the university at large. Individual faculty members have written widely on substantive policy issues including the environment, welfare, education, urban affairs, and health care. They have also contributed to the study of the policy process through work on the policy process, implementation and impact, and policy analysis.

Public Law

With four active scholars in the field of public law, The University at Albany has a national reputation for the quality of its program in this subfield. The public law faculty pursue a variety of research interests related to law, legal actors, and legal systems. Faculty members in this area focus their research on trial and appellate court processes, the relationship of law and the legal system to public policy, interest groups, the media, and the political system in general. Faculty members also examine doctrinal issues in constitutional and administrative law, as well as the relationship of tort and other forms of private law to public policy.

Political Theory

The field of political theory includes four faculty members whose interests range from the traditional texts to contemporary theory, including critical theory, deconstructive readings of political theory, theories of political judgment, and German social and political theory. Although allowing students to work out their own program with faculty mentors, the program aims to give students a firm grounding in the history of political theory, interpretive theory and the philosophy of the social sciences, and the various strands of contemporary theory.

Comparative Politics

The comparative politics faculty have research and teaching interests in a range of substantive and geographical areas. All have a keen interest in basic theoretical and methodological issues concerning the comparative study of political systems that cut across disciplines of the social sciences. Particular areas of interest include constitutionalism, ethnicity, and civil-military relations. The faculty has regional specializations in Latin America, South Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe, Africa, and China.

International Relations

The international relations faculty are active researchers focusing on issues crucial to both the field of international relations and the current changes in the world. The faculty's research interests include international political economy, foreign policy formation, regional integration, institutional theory and military change, ethnicity and international relations, and comparative foreign policy.

For more detailed information about the field descriptions and requirements, click here.

Funding

Financial aid for graduate students is available in the forms of fellowships and graduate assistantships, primarily for those students who plan to pursue the Ph.D. Graduate assistants serve as teaching assistants and work with faculty members on ongoing research projects. Our affiliation with the Rockefeller Institute of Government and other research centers at the university provide research opportunities for students, particularly those concerned with public policy. Graduate students are also employed on faculty research grants. Advanced students frequently serve as adjunct faculty members, giving them an opportunity to design and teach their own undergraduate courses. Stipends range from $5,500 to $13,000, with the majority in the range of $9,000 to $10,000. Fellowships and assistantships are accompanied by a tuition scholarship and state-subsidized medical insurance.

The Graduate Community

The small size of the graduate program in the Political Science Department at the University at Albany presents graduate students a unique opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors who are pursuing an active research and teaching agenda. Graduate students frequently co-author papers with faculty members or with other graduate students, and the department supports graduate student research expenses and travel to professional meetings. The department's graduate student organization sponsors frequent colloquia and other activities that bring students and faculty together in informal settings, and graduate students take an active role in departmental committees and governance.

Additional Opportunities:

*State Government

The location in Albany, the nation's largest state government center, offers many opportunities for study of both specific policy problems and one of the foremost state legislatures in the country.

*Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government

The Political Science Department works closely with the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, an institution separate from the Rockefeller College, that is affiliated with all 64 campuses of the State University of New York system. The Institute seeks to improve understanding of public issues and policies through state-wide fellowships, research, publications, and conferences.

*Adjacent Program at the University

Close connections with other departments and schools such as the Department of Public Administration and Policy, the Department of Caribbean and Latin American Studies, the School of Criminal Justice, and the interdisciplinary Certificate Program on Women and Public Policy provide additional resources for graduate students.

How to Apply:

Complete Instructions and due dates can be found by going to the Admissions page or by contacting the Political Science department office at 518-442-5255 or Barbara Wilkinson, Assistant to the Chair, at 518-442-3248 or bwilkinson@uamail.albany.edu