The Department of Government offers the M.A. degree in Political Science. In addition to general University requirements, students seeking this degree must meet the departmental requirements.

The M.A. program is designed for students interested in international relations, comparative politics, American government, and public policy. Additionally, the program is affiliated with a consortium formed by the U.S. Navy and several civilian graduate schools. Students may be allowed to transfer a maximum of 15 semester hours from one member of the consortium to another.

All new students should be advised initially by the department chairperson. After their first semester, students should select their advisor from the program faculty.

Course descriptions are listed alphabetically by prefix at Course Listings/Descriptions.

The program consists of 33 semester hours plus successful completion of a comprehensive examination. Degree requirements are as follows:

Core Requirements (21 sh)

Electives (6-12 sh)
With the approval of their advisors, students may take 6 semester hours in disciplines outside Political Science. They may enroll in an undergraduate course for graduate credit to learn the fundamentals of a discipline, or in a directed readings course to explore in greater depth an area of interest in political science.

Thesis Option (0-6 sh)
Students my choose to complete a Thesis (POS 6971 - 6 sh) in lieu of completing 6 sh of electives.