The Political Science Department's program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy requires a minimum of three years of full-time study beyond the baccalaureate or the equivalent over a longer period and the satisfactory completion of the University at Albany's residence requirement. (Students are required to have one full year in residence beyond the master's degree. She/he must be registered for a minimum of 24 credits taken in two regular sessions, or a regular and a summer session. However, registration does not have to occur in consecutive semesters. )

In addition to required course work, set out below, a doctoral candidate must demonstrate competence in a major field and a second field, and in one of the two research tool options.

A dissertation accepted by the student's committee and conforming to University guidelines is required to complete the program. In general, the dissertation is expected to demonstrate that the candidate is capable of doing independent scholarly work and is able to formulate conclusions which may in some respects modify or enlarge what has previously been known.

Academic Requirements:

There is a minimum of 60 credit hours required beyond the bachelor's degree to be taken in courses and seminars and through independent study. Demonstrated competence in a major field, and a minor field, as well as completion of POS 516 (Scope and Methods) and the foreign language or quantitative research tool requirement is necessary to be advanced to candidacy.

1. Scope and Methods of Political Science:

The Department of Political Science requires that all Ph.D. students take POS 516, the Scope and Methods Seminar. This course considers broad questions of epistemology, research strategy and design, and serves as a foundation for further work. Therefore, all doctoral students are strongly advised to take the seminar during their first semester in attendance at the University. Normally POS 516 will be offered in the fall semester.

2. Field Seminars:

The field seminar requirements for the Ph.D. program provide a broad introduction to the literature of the following fields of discipline:

Doctoral students are required to take 3 field seminars - at least one in both category A and B. Normally, the field seminars should be taken before any advanced seminar in the same field. Petition for a waiver of any part of these requirements based upon a claim of equivalency in graduate work done elsewhere should be directed to the Graduate Student Coordinator and Chair for consideration.

3. Foreign Language or Research Tool Requirement:

Prior to the admission to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. students are expected to demonstrate competence in a modern foreign language or quantitative research tools relevant to the student's scholarly and professional interests.

Foreign Language Requirement

A. The foreign language requirement may be met by passage of a local examination constructed, administered, and evaluated by the appropriate foreign language department of the University at Albany or by passage of the appropriate Graduate School Foreign Language Test administered by the ETS, Princeton, New Jersey.

B. English may not be used to satisfy a foreign language requirement.

C. With the approval of the faculty, a foreign student may present his/her native language other than English in meeting the requirement for a modern foreign language.

Quantitative Research Tools

A. The written examination will focus on data analysis skills and elementary statistics including: varieties of data collection techniques and their appropriate usage; interpretation and construction of tables; issues of measurement; computer usage; measures of central tendency and dispersion; probability theory and statistical inference; measures of association; regression analysis and sample design.

B. In lieu of a written examination, a student may demonstrate competence in quantitative research tools by the successful completion of the following two courses: POS 516 Research Methods for Political Science and POS 517 Empirical Data Analysis (or PAD 504 Research and Computer Usage and PAD 505 Statistical Methods).

Degree Progress:

Full-time Course Load:

In order to insure completion of the degree in an acceptable time period, doctoral students - including those students working on assistantships - are recommended to take 12 credit hours each semester. First year graduate students who are serving as teaching assistants may consider taking 10 credit hours their first semester of graduate work. While financial and workload considerations may sometimes preclude doctoral students from taking 12 credits each semester, the department will consider registration for 10 credit hours per semester as the minimum for full-time students who wish to obtain funding from departmental sources.

Normal Progress Toward the Degree:

The doctoral program has been designed so that it can be completed in four or five years of intense work, even for those students who are supported on graduate assistantships. Students who do not make normal progress toward their degree will not be eligible for departmental funding and will be referred to the department for possible dismissal from the program. While exceptions are always possible for good cause, the following situations will be considered in a determination by the department that a student is not making normal progress:

1. One or more incomplete grades that have not been completed by the midpoint of the following semester;

2. Any grade below B-;

3. A cumulative grade point average below 3.0;

4. Failure of a full-time student to maintain a course load of 10 credits per semester;

5. Failure of a student to move expeditiously toward completion of the comprehensive examination.

All requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy in political science must be completed within eight calendar years from the date of initial registration in the doctoral program.

Ph.D. Application to Candidacy:

A student in the doctoral program must be submitted to candidacy at least one regular semester in advance of submission of the dissertation. Dissertations which have been approved by a committee must be transmitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies by May 1 for degrees to be conferred in May, by August 1 for degrees to be conferred in August, and by December 1 for degrees to be conferred in December.