OVERVIEW OF THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
The primary goal of the doctoral program of the Department of Political Science is to produce
graduates who become scholars and teachers at leading research institutions. To reach this goal
several specific objectives must be achieved.
First, the doctoral student must develop expertise in the subject matter of one of the major and one of the minor fields of political science covered by the Department. The Department offers a major field of study in American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Thought, and a minor field of study in American Politics, Comparative Politics, Public Policy, International Relations, Political Thought, Positive Political Theory, and Research Methods.
Second, the doctoral student must develop expertise in research design and quantitative methods, as well as exposure to the major themes of political philosophy and formal models of political science.
Third, the doctoral student must develop expertise in the research enterprise. While the particular nature of the expertise depends on the student’s chosen fields of political science, in general the student is expected to learn how a research program is developed and conducted. The doctoral student must also develop advanced skills in the research tools relevant to the subject of the student’s doctoral dissertation.
Fourth, the doctoral student must develop expertise in written and oral communication. Expertise in written communication will be developed through writing papers for courses, conferences, and scholarly journals, and through writing the doctoral dissertation. Expertise in oral communication will be developed through participation in classroom discussions and debates, through conference presentations, through involvement in professionalization sessions, seminars, and colloquia, through oral presentations of the dissertation proposal and defense, and (where feasible) through experience as a teaching assistant and graduate instructor.
The Department of Political Science at Michigan State University promotes these objectives by providing an environment which supports the conduct of high quality scientific and scholarly research and which is responsive to valid academic needs and desires.