Requirements
| Requirements for the PH.D. Degree | |
|---|---|
Courses
Students are required to pass sixteen term courses before the end
of their fifth term in the program and to receive grades of Honors
in at least two Political Science courses. The Department regularly
offers about 60 term courses for graduate students each year. (Yale
has two terms each academic year.) Courses are conducted as seminars
and typically have small enrollments. Four of the courses required
for the degree may be in departments other than Political Science
(two of these can be advanced language courses with the approval of
the Director of Graduate Studies). Students are normally expected
to complete eight courses in the first year, including the required
Introduction to the Study of Politics course given in the fall term
each year, which is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
As part of the second year of courses, all students are required
to take the two–term course in Research and Writing, which is devoted
to the preparation of a manuscript based on original research on a
topic of the student’s choice. The Research and Writing sequence will
count as two of the sixteen credits needed to advance to candidacy.
Conducted as a seminar, the course includes all second–year students
and is directed by two members of the faculty. Performance in the
first–term course (540a) is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory
basis. The second–term course (541b) carries conventional grades that
are assigned retroactively to 540a at the end of the second term.
Language
Each student must demonstrate elementary reading competence in one foreign language. Such competence is usually demonstrated by taking, or having completed, two years of undergraduate course work in the language or by examination. Alternatively the language requirement can be satisfied by successfully completing two terms of formal theory or two terms of statistical methods at the graduate level, in addition to the required course in statistical methods.
Fields and Field Certification
Courses are offered in five substantive fields—political theory, international relations, comparative politics, American politics, and political economy—and three methods fields-quantitative empirical methods, qualitative and archival methods and formal theory.
Each student must demonstrate competence in three fields (two of which must be substantive fields) before the start of the fifth term. Competence can be demonstrated either by passing the comprehensive examination in the field or by course work, provided that each student takes at least two comprehensive exams. Formal Theory and Quantitative Empirical Methods offer certification only through examination. For fields to be certified by course work students are required to satisfactorily complete three courses in the field, where courses in the field are determined by the faculty and the DGS, including one in which a research paper is written and presented. The paper must be submitted to review by the instructor of the course for which the paper was written.
The Department offers exams twice a year, in late August and in early January. Students are expected to pass their comprehensive examinations up to August of their second year. Each examination is based on a reading list compiled by the faculty within the field and updated each year. Each list offers an introduction and framework for study in the field and preparation for the examination. A committee of faculty within the field grades the exams as Distinguished, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory.
The Advisor
During the first year in residence, each student chooses a faculty advisor. The advisor assists the student in planning his or her course work, preparing for field exams, and laying the groundwork for the dissertation. In addition, the advisor works with the student on the dissertation prospectus and the dissertation itself. Students may change, or add, advisors as they wish.
Dissertation Prospectus
In order to be admitted to candidacy for the PH.D. degree, the student must have a prospectus approved by a dissertation director and two other members of the faculty. This must occur no later than May 1 of the student’s third year of study. The dissertation prospectus should present a summary of the nature and scope of the dissertation research. The prospectus should make clear the significance of the topic and should go into enough detail about research methods and plans to give the reader a clear idea of the research and persuade him or her of its feasibility.
Students are admitted to candidacy by the end of the third year, but only after completion of all requirements, including the Introduction to the Study of Politics course, Research and Writing, the necessary field distributions and certifications, and approval of the dissertation prospectus.
The Dissertation
Choosing a dissertation topic is a substantial task, begun ordinarily in the second year. The department expects students to ask significant and original questions in defining their topics and to seek out carefully the most suitable methods with which to answer them. Because a wide range of specialties in Political Science is represented in the Department, students normally have no difficulty finding dissertation supervisors with special competence in their subjects, but the aid of faculty from other Departments may be enlisted when necessary. Every major area of the discipline has been represented in the list of dissertations submitted in recent years.
Research Workshops
During each year in residence, graduate students are expected to participate actively and regularly in one or more of the many research workshops run by the department. Students beyond their fourth term are required to enroll in at least one of the workshops for credit and all workshops are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. All students are expected to present a research paper of their own at one of these workshops before the end of their fourth year. Workshop participation does not count toward the requirement of sixteen term courses.
Degrees
M.A. (en route to the PH.D.). The M.A. degree is awarded upon completion of a full year of course work in the program (i.e., at least eight term courses) with an average of High Pass or better. The courses must include one each in at least three of the department’s substantive fields. The B.A./M.A. program must also include a graduate–level course in statistical analysis. Language requirements are the same as for the PH.D. degree.
M.Phil. The academic requirements for the M.Phil. degree include all of the requirements for the Ph.D. with the exception of the dissertation.
