Â鶹´«Ã½

Why Choose a Ph.D. at Â鶹´«Ã½?

Why a Ph.D. from WMU? There are many reasons: academic rigor, outstanding faculty, a successful placement record and a livable city, to name a few. Read more.

Meet Our Current Doctoral Students

View a listing of the department's current doctoral Â鶹´«Ã½s and read more about their backgrounds and interests.

Admissions Requirements

The Graduate College at Â鶹´«Ã½ requires the following from Doctor of Philosophy applicants within the Department of Political Science:

• Must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and have achieved a 3.25 GPA in the last two years of their bachelor’s degree.
• Students who have completed at least 20 hours of graduate coursework must have an overall GPA of 3.25 for that graduate work.
• Students with less than 20 hours of graduate work must have a GPA of 3.0 as an undergraduate and 3.25 for all graduate courses.
• International applicants may have additional university required items. WMU International Admissions and Services counselors can assist international Â鶹´«Ã½s in questions regarding these items. Many answers can also be found at /internationaladmissions including contact information.

In addition, the department requires:

• Students applying with a bachelor's degree must have completed at least 24 hours of coursework in the social sciences (anthropology, economics, history, political science, sociology) or other relevant fields and have achieved a 3.25 GPA. Students applying with a master's degree must have a GPA of at least 3.25 for all graduate work.
• Graduate Record Examination scores for the quantitative, verbal and analytical parts are required for all Â鶹´«Ã½s.
• Additional materials to be submitted include a brief essay about the Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s academic and professional objectives, two writing samples, a curriculum vita and three recommendations (on WMU Graduate Reference Forms).

Prerequisite (noncredit): Students must have completed an undergraduate statistics course (PSCI 3950 or its equivalent).

Department Funding

The department offers graduate assistantships for a limited number of Â鶹´«Ã½s on a competitive basis. Assistantship stipends include tuition remission and start in the fall semester only. Indicate that you are applying for an assistantship while completing your application.

Return the completed application by the February 1 deadline to apply. 

Program Requirements

At Â鶹´«Ã½, the Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science requires a minimum of 90 credit hours of work beyond the baccalaureate. Up to 30 hours of credit may apply from a recognized master's degree. The precise number that will apply will be at the discretion of the graduate director.

Core requirements, research methods and comprehensive exams

See the  for detailed information.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is an original and substantive research requirement that serves as the capstone to the Ph.D. program.

In conjunction with their dissertation advisor, Â鶹´«Ã½s select a topic and then, under the advisor's direction, prepare the dissertation. A doctoral dissertation committee approves the dissertation and administers the final oral examination in its defense.

Each committee consists of at least three members from the Department of Political Science and one additional member drawn from another department within or outside WMU. The Â鶹´«Ã½'s major dissertation advisor serves as chair of the committee. The outside person serves as a bona fide, fully participating committee member.

Before Â鶹´«Ã½s are awarded the doctoral degree, all doctoral committee members must approve the dissertation and its oral defense and the dissertation must be in a form acceptable to the department and the Graduate College. Committee approval of the dissertation is not final until Â鶹´«Ã½s make all the required modifications, revisions and other changes as required by the committee.

Advising and Forms

See the page and the graduate forms page for detailed information.