Department of Politics - Requirements

The Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics at the University of Virginia
http://www.virginia.edu/politics/grad_program/disciplines.html

Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics

Graduate School

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS

(Effective July 1, 2001)

Candidates are admitted to the department's graduate program by application to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Course credit to satisfy departmental degree requirements is granted only for course work undertaken after admission to and enrollment in the graduate program.

Graduate students may elect an interdisciplinary program leading to a certificate in Asian Studies while meeting degree requirements for the M.A. or Ph.D. A certificate in Asian Studies will be awarded to a graduate student concentrating on East Asia or South Asia and Southeast Asia under the following conditions:(1) satisfactory completion of departmental requirements for a graduate degree in a specific discipline, including a thesis or dissertation on an Asian topic; (2) 24 credits of course work in Asian Studies, which include an interdisciplinary seminar as offered, and six credits outside the student's own department (this course work will normally be applied toward satisfying the student's departmental degree requirements); and (3) demonstrating competence in one Asian language whenever relevant according to standards to be determined by the Committee on Asian Studies (Hindi, Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Persian are available).

The Center for Public Service conducts research on state and local government and public policy, with a particular focus on Virginia. The Center conducts an active publishing program and coordinates research activities with public officials and agencies throughout the state. Graduate students have been employed in Center projects and have had opportunities to acquire research experience and practical knowledge of governmental operations.

The Miller Center is independently endowed. Its emphasizes the study of the American Presidency. Scholars from other institutions and public officials regularly participate in specific projects. Graduate students are often employed in Miller Center projects.

For the M.A. degrees, a minimum of two semesters of resident graduate study must be completed. For the Ph.D. degree, at least four semesters of graduate study are required. Graduate work done at other institutions will not be counted toward this or any requirement.

M.A. Government or Foreign Affairs 24 hours of course credit plus 6 hours of non-topical research for a total of 30 hours.

Ph.D. Government or Foreign Affairs 54 of course credit plus 24 hours of non-topical research.

Only courses at the 500-and-above level provide graduate credit. Courses in the 500 series enroll both undergraduate and graduate students. Those in the 700 series are almost exclusively for graduates; and those in the 800 series are graduate seminars. Courses below the 500 level taken to satisfy language requirements are not counted in the total M.A. or Ph.D. number of hours or in the grade point average tabulation. Students may count up to 6 hours of-credit for graduate courses taken in other departments of the graduate faculty, except language courses, towards course-hour requirements for each degree. In special circumstances, where doing so would substantially benefit a student, additional hours of transfer credit may be permitted on petition on the graduate advisor.

B- is the lowest grade for which credit is awarded. An average of at least B is required for completing the M.A. degree. The grading scale for graduate work is figured on a four point system. A+ = 4.0, A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B- = 2.7

1. After completing the M.A. thesis, students must have each member of their committee complete a separate "Evaluation for Proceeding to the Ph.D. Program" (EPPP) forms.

2. The Admissions and Financial Aid committee shall meet thrice yearly, in early January, late May, and late August, to review these forms and students' overall academic records to decide whether each student shall be permitted to continue.

3. Terminal M.A. students who decide they wish to continue toward the Ph.D. must include one additional recommendation letter from a full-time faculty member who is not on their M.A. thesis committee.

4. Students shall not be permitted to take more than 9hours of course credit after the 24 hours of M.A.cousre credit before completing their M.A. thesis and being evaluated as described above.

1. The Department views research methodology as an integral part of graduate studies. Students must develop necessary expertise in the methods appropriate for their masters and doctoral level research.

Students are to take one of these courses early in their career in the Department, and preferably during their first year.

3. In addition to the Methodology requirement, students must satisfy a language/research methods requirement for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. For the M.A., students must demonstrate proficiency in either one foreign language OR satisfy a Research Methods sequence. For the Ph.D., students must demonstrate proficiency in either two foreign languages, OR they must demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language AND satisfy a Research methods sequence.

Proficiency in a foreign language is demonstrated by 1) passing a test administered by the appropriate language department at this University, or by 2) presenting viva voce evidence to a person acknowledged by the department as capable of evaluating competence in the language, or 3) achieving a grade of "B" in a 202 level language course (a grade of B- is not acceptable). Foreign students whose first language is not English may use their native language in order to fulfill this requirement.

4. Students may count GFAD709 and GFAD710 towards both their language/methods requirements and their overall course credit requirements for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Language courses taken in other departments at the University will count toward the language/methods requirement but NOT toward the overall course credit requirement for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees.

Students are required to take two comprehensive exams among the four fields of the Department. At the time of applying for each exam, students shall designate whether the field will represent the major or minor field of study.

The faculty in the respective fields will determine how major and minor exams will differ, either in content or grading expectations.

Comprehensive examinations are offered twice yearly, before the start of fall semester and at the conclusion of spring semester. Comprehensive examinations must be completed by the end of a student's sixth semester in the Department. Students entering the graduate program with Masters Degrees from other universities should complete the examinations by the end of their fourth semester.

Major: Two days. Day 1 (60%): Two or Three questions, based on current reading list.

Day 2 (40%): 1-3 questions from a field defined by the student in consultation with faculty, for example: Public Opinion, Presidency, Political Behavior, State and Local Government, Public Policy, Public Administration, or Public Law. The field must be designated at the time the student applies for the examination. Please consult AP faculty with any questions.

Major: four questions from three sections: one from general theory, one from methodology, two from applied theory. Six hours to answer the questions.

Minor: Three questions, one from general theory, and either a) one from methodology and one from applied theory, or) two from applied theory. Four and one-half hours to answer the questions.

Major: Three questions, one from each of the three sections of the exam: general theory, applied theory, foreign policy. Six hours to answer the questions.

Minor: Two questions, one from the sections and then may choose one question from the other two sections. They will have four hours to answer these two questions.

Major: Two days. Day 1: Three questions covering the three main area of PT: ancient & medieval, modern, contemporary.

Day 2: Three questions in two fields of the student's choosing. One should be from the three primary fields. The second can also be a primary field, but may also be a specialized field of the student's choosing (such as American PT, Continental PT, Feminist PT, etc.) This field must be approved in advance by the PT faculty.

Candidacy for the Ph.D. degree requires a grade of Pass on one's major and minor field examinations. Students should expect comprehensive examinations to be quite different from course examinations. Success on comprehensive exams will require students to demonstrate mastery over relevant literatures as well as the ability to classify, compare, synthesize, and critique their pertinent insights. Examiners probe a student's familiarity with key concepts, problems, and trends across entire fields; they are interested in evaluating a student's analytical ability, knowledge of an area and its literature, and writing skills.

Retaking a comprehensive examination to better one=s grade is not a matter of right, but a decision based upon a student's petition to the Graduate Advisor and the Graduate Committee. Retakes are scheduled at the discretion of the Committee.

There is no specific list of courses required or recommended for the different comprehensive exams. Course selection should be done in consultation with a student's advisor in order to help build appropriate knowledge in a field of study. Independent reading is essential. Suggested reading lists and copies of past comprehensive exams are available in the Graduate Office and on the Departmental web site. Auditing courses, attending special seminars and lectures, participating in discussion groups, and even reading the daily newspaper are all part of the process in mastering an area of study.

Application to take Comprehensive Exams Students must apply to take comprehensive exams approximately one month before the test date. Dates for application are posted on the bulletin boards, the Graduate Commons Room, and in the Graduate Office several weeks before the cut-off date. Forms are available in the Graduate Office (240) and Graduate Lounge (211).

At this University, the independent research paper for the M.A. is known as the thesis and the more ambitious one for the Ph.D. is called a dissertation. In either case, a student will have the guidance of a primary and a secondary faculty supervisor (first and second readers). It is the student's responsibility to take the initiative finding appropriate readers. When the student has at least a general notion about the thesis or dissertation, he/she should discuss specific topics with one or more faculty members whose interests are appropriate, and settle on a topic and a first reader; the student and first reader can then decide on whom to invite to serve as second reader.

The Ph.D. Dissertation Committee will consist of at least four faculty members, three of whom are faculty members of any rank from the Department. The chair (first reader) of the committee will be a full-time faculty member from the Department. The Fourth committee member will be a full-time faculty member from another Department in the University who will serve as the representative of the Graduate Faculty. Faculty from other Universities may serve as committee members with the prior approval of the Graduate School and the Graduate Advisor.

The Department recognizes that some dissertations may require committees whose composition may differ from these guidelines. Students seeking exceptions should obtain the support of their dissertation chair and then submit a written petition to the Graduate Advisor.

The student must prepare an appropriate M.A. thesis prospectus and defend it before both members of his/her committee by the end of the third semester in the program. The prospectus should include the tentative title, a statement of the scope and objectives of the inquiry, the questions to be answered or the hypotheses to be tested, indication of the major sources and methods to be employed, and preliminary outline and bibliography. A prospectus should not be a substantive introduction to the topic or a statement of anticipated conclusions. It should be a working plan, a statement of what a student wants to do, why it should be done, and how it will be carried out. When both readers have approved and signed the prospectus, the appropriate form should be submitted to the Graduate Office. Approval of the thesis by the two readers, indicated by their signatures on the title page, enables the Department to recommend that the M.A. be conferred.

Masters Theses must be completed by the end of students' fourth semester in the program.

Once again, the prospectus should include the tentative title, a statement of the scope and objectives of the inquiry, the questions to be answered or hypotheses to be tested, indication of the major sources and methods to be employed, and a preliminary outline and bibliography. The prospectus for a dissertation cannot be accepted until after the student has satisfactorily completed all other departmental requirements (course, comprehensive examination, area of concentration, methodology/language). Students are, however, encouraged to undertake preliminary work on the prospectus at an earlier stage, so that it can be submitted promptly after completing other requirements. Students are cautioned not to begin sustained work on a thesis or dissertation until the prospectus has been approved.

The dissertation prospectus must be defended formally in front of the entire dissertation committee no later than end of the seventh semester (the fifth semester, for students entering the program with an M.A. from elsewhere). Successful defense of the dissertation prospectus marks the official transition to A.B.D. status.

The length of a thesis should be agreed upon in consultation with each student's readers. MA. Theses may be derived from, and represent elaborations on, one or more seminar papers. If a thesis is a revised version of a seminar paper, the prospectus should include a description of the original paper and an indication of the nature and scope of the changes, and additions to be made.

Dissertations usually run 200-300 pages. However length cannot be standardized. The Ph.D. dissertation should deal with a more complicated problem, entailing more extensive research and analysis, and should be inspired by the ideal of making an original contribution to knowledge. Some students find it desirable to write dissertations that are closely related to their theses and that represent continuation of their thesis research. As the thesis and dissertation are the culmination of a graduate education, it is up to the student to decide on the strategy necessary in order to achieve the highest quality work.

Final approval of the dissertation is through an oral examination, the dissertation defense, before all members of the dissertation committee. Successful defense of the dissertation is normally the final requirement for the Ph.D. degree. It is the responsibility of the student to observe all of the instructions, procedures, and deadlines involved in the preparation and submission of theses and dissertations. Technical standards for typing, binding, microfilming, etc. are available in the Dean's Office (438 Cabell).

All work for the Master's degree must be completed within five years from the time of admission if the work is done wholly during the regular academic session and within seven years if the work is done wholly or in part in summer sessions. In special cases, upon approval of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, out-of-date work may be revalidated by examination. All requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within seven years from the date of enrollment in the program. Again in special cases, upon approval of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, out-of-date work may be revalidated by examination.

A student must be registered full time or as a Non-Resident in order to be eligible to graduate during the summer. All other requirements for a graduate degree must also be met, along with application for the conferral of a degree by the appropriate deadline.

It is the general policy of the Department to require that all students earn the MA, here or elsewhere, before attempting the Ph.D. In special cases, however, requests to bypass the MA may be approved by the Graduate Advisor and/or the Graduate Committee.

When in doubt, or when a rule does not seem to fit your case properly, the Graduate Advisor or the full Graduate Committee may waive a regulation when circumstances warrant. Requests for such waivers should be by petition and supported by the student's academic advisor.

For the M.A., a student is required to pay full tuition and fees for at least two semesters, or the equivalent.

All financial aid applications must be submitted to the Office by the end of the Fall semester of each year. All Departmental financial aid (fellowships, research and teaching assistantships, and grading assistantships) is assigned once a year. Before a student can be eligible for other funding through the University Financial Aid Office, a letter stating what funds, if any, a student is receiving must be sent from the Graduate Office.

Financial Aid Forms (applications) are due in the Financial Aid Office in North Michie by March 31. Prospective students should apply for aid through the Financial Aid Office at the same time they submit their application to this department for admission.

The student's designated academic advisor is his/her principal source of academic and administrative advice. If a student has a problem or needs advice, the student should first consult with that designated advisor. If further assistance on administrative questions is necessary, the students should then see the Graduate Advisor.

STANDARDS OF APPROPRIATE CONDUCT Students are required to behave appropriately and in conformity with University regulations at all Departmental and University functions. Students must bear in mind that in University affairs they represent the Department. Non-academic as well as academic regulations are spelled out in the Graduate Record.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY The University does not discriminate in any of its programs, procedures, or practices against any person on the basis of age, citizenship, color, handicap, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era. The University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.