Graduate Program - Graduate Research

The Department cooperates with other departments and institutes which offer students additional opportunities for research and part-time employment. These include:

Area Programs

After acceptance and approval by the Department, a student may participate in area programs offered by the University's Center for Russian and East European Studies, Asian Studies Committee, and Language and Area Center for Latin America. The Center for Russian and East European Studies and the Asian Studies Committee offer a certificate of competence for those who complete their programs. Graduate students in these programs are also eligible for a limited number of Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships.

The Center for Politics

Founded in 1998 by Larry Sabato, the Center for Governmental Studies is dedicated to the proposition that government works better when politics works better. The Center is a non-partisan, public-interest institute with a three-part mission of political research, reform, and education. Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the university founded by the same Thomas Jefferson who framed so much of the American political system, the Center is accessible to the nation's capital but not contained by it. Philosophy mirrors geography in the Center's determination to provide a creative, objective, and deeply engaged alternative to the predictable ideology of many think tanks and policy centers in Washington, D.C. To learn more about the Center and its many programs, please visit www.virginia.edu/govstudies.

White Burkett Miller Center of Public Affairs

The Miller Center's major emphasis is on the study of the American Presidency. Members of the Department's faculty as well as scholars from other institutions and public officials regularly participate in specific projects. Graduate students, writing their dissertations, also have a part in the work of the Center. The Center has published some 200 books on the presidency and related topics.

Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service

The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service is a research organization serving government, business, and the citizens of Virginia. The Center brings a broad range of expertise to the exploration of problems and opportunities in the Commonwealth. The Center conducts an active publishing program and coordinates research activities with public officials and agencies throughout the state. Graduate students are often employed in Center projects and have an opportunity to acquire research experience and practical knowledge of governmental operations.

Other Research Facilities

The Department's broad teaching and research interests are supported by other facilities of the University, including the University Libraries. The libraries contain over three million books and twelve million manuscripts. In addition, there are substantial collections in microfilm, and about 19,000 periodicals and 180 newspapers currently available. On-line catalogs of the collections and on-line access to newspaper and journal article citations are available in all library locations, and may also be accessed from home and office computers.

The University library is an official depository for U.S. Government documents and receives the current publications of several foreign nations. It is also a full depository for United Nations documents. There are special collections on International Studies and International Law. The large manuscript collections specialize in regional materials of the south- eastern states, with special reference to Virginia. Most notable are the Thomas Jefferson and George Washington manuscripts. The University's Law Library complements the general library facilities in several areas of political science. Interlibrary loan facilities are also available, and the close proximity to the Library of Congress and Washington, D.C. is a valuable asset. Membership in the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, with headquarters at the University of Michigan, provides access to a national social science data bank, research facilities, and affords additional opportunities for research on political behavior. The University Computer Center provides services and special training in data processing.

Additional Links

Center for Governmental Studies at the University of Virginia http://www.virginia.edu/govstudies/

The Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia http://millercenter.virginia.edu/

Center for Survey Research http://www.virginia.edu/surveys/home.htm