Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Field of Study: Political Science

Program Overview

The Department of Political Science offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree in political science.

PhD Policies

For PhD policies and procedures, please review the School of Graduate Studies section of the General Bulletin.

Program Requirements

Because the department faculty is small, applicants should determine, prior to applying, whether one or more members of the department faculty are active in the applicant’s field of interest. PhD applications must specify the applicant’s field(s) of interest, as the Graduate Studies Committee will not recommend the admission of an applicant where the department faculty cannot support the applicant’s proposed course of study. Students who are accepted into the department’s MA program and then decide they would like to earn the PhD are expected to apply to the PhD program and meet the admission requirements. All PhD students must complete 45 credit hours of graduate-level courses, plus at least 18 credit hours of POSC 701. The required 45 credit hours of doctoral courses taken before dissertation credits must be distributed as follows:

A maximum of 9 credit hours of independent study may be undertaken. University regulations require PhD students to spend at least one academic year in full-time residence (two consecutive regular semesters with a minimum of 9 credit hours’ registration each semester).

Doctoral students whose MA in Political Science has been certified, and doctoral students with an MA in Political Science from Case Western Reserve, need to complete only 18 of the 45 credit hours of doctoral course work. The graduate studies director will set distribution requirements on an individual basis, reflecting the course work completed for the MA. Doctoral students without a completed MA must complete either Plan A (a thesis) or Plan B (the MA examination) upon completion of no fewer than 30 credit hours and no more than 36 credit hours of course work.  A student who does not complete one of these requirements may not continue in the Ph.D. program past 36 credit hours of course work.  See the descriptions of Plan A and Plan B above for further information. Upon completion of 45 credit hours of course work, the student must pass the PhD comprehensive examinations in his or her primary and secondary subfields. After passing the examinations, a student must complete a dissertation, typically 150-400 pages in length, that draws on the student’s original research to make a contribution to the field of political science.