Students in the Ph.D. in Political Science and Peace Studies program normally take a minimum of 69 credit hours (57 of which are in substantive courses, with 42 in political science and 15 in peace studies).
Other requirements include proficiency in English and one other language; a research paper of publishable quality submitted to a scholarly publication; teaching and research assistantships in both political science and peace studies; written comprehensive examinations in three areas; and a dissertation of original research. Students complete all existing regular political science requirements and take peace studies courses as the third area of specialization, plus two or three additional peace studies courses.
Some courses not listed below might be substituted, depending on the student's professional goals and availability of courses.
Semester 1 [12 credit hours]
International Peace Research: Origins, Methodologies, Results
Global Politics of Peacebuilding Proseminar in Political Science
Math for Political Scientists (unless Political Theory is the first field)
Semester 2 [12 credit hours]
Culture and Religion in Peacebuilding
Conflict Transformation and Strategic Peacebuilding
Introduction to Quantitative Methods (unless Political Theory is the first field)
Theories of International Relations
Summer 1
Study language if needed or take the foreign language exam
Semester 3 [9 credit hours]
International Law (Political Science or Law School)
International Political Economy (this substitutes for Political Economy of War and Peace)
International Security, National Security Policy, or Causes of War
Semester 4 [3 credit hours]
Theoretical Approaches in Comparative Politics
International Cooperation or an elective course
Contemporary Conflict and Peace Processes
Take first written comprehensive exam (May)
Summer 2
Prepare for second comprehensive exam or summer methods workshop
Semester 5 [9 credit hours]
Comparing Democracies
Seminar in Comparative Politics
Methods course – qualitative or advanced quantitative (Political Science)
Prepare for second comprehensive exam
Semester 6 [6 hours]
Armies and Politics, or Theories of Identity and Conflict, or Comparative Foreign Policies
Political Science elective or Directed readings
Take second written comprehensive exam (January)
Perform teaching assistantship in Peace Studies
Summer 3
Prepare for Peace Studies comprehensive exam
Manuscript for submission to scholarly publication
Semester 7
Take Peace Studies comprehensive
Prepare dissertation proposal
Application for external support for dissertation or second manuscript submission to scholarly publication
Perform teaching assistantship in Political Science
Semester 8
Dissertation research and writing
Summer 4
Dissertation research and writing
Semester 9
Dissertation research and writing
Semester 10
Completion and defense of dissertation
reparation of Job Placement Dossier
