Teaching Assistantships

Each year the Department of Political Science sets aside several Teaching and Research Assistantships for PhD students. Entering students recruited with assistantships may expect a minimum of five years of support so long as they make satisfactory progress in the program.

The call for Teaching Assistantship (TA) applications will be sent to the graduate student email list in the semester prior to the appointments. All students who wish to be considered for a Teaching Assistantship must fill out an application. Applications will be reviewed by the Director of the PhD Program. If selected for a fall or spring appointment, students will receive their assistantship letter by dates mandated by the University. Further information about assistantship policies can be found on the Graduate School website https://grad.msu.edu/assistantships). The Teaching Assistantship application for the Department can be found here  but is subject to change, so students are advised to monitor their email. Questions about the assistantship application process should be directed to Sarah Krause skrause@msu.edu.

 The following is a list of courses often taught by Political Science faculty that may require a TA*:

  • PLS 100 Introduction to American Politics
  • PLS 140 Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • PLS 160 Introduction to International Relations
  • PLS 170 Introduction to Political Philosophy
  • PLS 200 Introduction to Political Science
  • PLS 201 Introduction to Methods of Political Analysis
  • PLS 202 Introduction to Data Analytics
  • PLS 301 American State Government
  • PLS 302 Urban Politics
  • PLS 304 Minority Politics
  • PLS 310 Public Administration & Policy Making
  • PLS 313 American Public Policy
  • PLS 320 Judicial Politics
  • PLS 321 Constitutional Law
  • PLS 322 Comparative Legal Systems
  • PLS 323 Religion and Politics
  • PLS 324 Congress
  • PLS 325 The Presidency
  • PLS 331 Political Parties and Interest Groups
  • PLS 333 Public Opinion and Political Behavior
  • PLS 334 Campaigns and Elections
  • PLS 342 Comparative Political Economy
  • PLS 344 Politics of Developing Areas
  • PLS 345 Religion and World Politics
  • PLS 346 Middle East Politics
  • PLS 347 Democratic Regimes
  • PLS 351 African Politics
  • PLS 352 Latin American Politics
  • PLS 354 Politics of Asia
  • PLS 356 Politics of Europe and the European Union
  • PLS 362 American Foreign Policy and National Security
  • PLS 363 International and Domestic Political Conflict
  • PLS 364 Politics of the United Nations and International Organizations
  • PLS 371 Classical Political Philosophy
  • PLS 372 Modern Political Philosophy
  • PLS 377 American Political Thought
  • ISS 210 Society and the Individual
  • ISS 215 Social Differentiation and Inequality
  • ISS 220 Time, Space and Change in Human Society
  • ISS 225 Power, Authority, and Exchange
  • ISS 230 Government and the Individual
  • ISS 235 Liberal Democracy as a Way of Life
  • ISS 305 Evaluating Evidence: Becoming a Smart Research Consumer
  • ISS 308 Social Science Approaches to Law
  • ISS 310 People and Environment
  • ISS 315 Global Diversity and Interdependence
  • ISS 318 Lifespan Development Across Cultures
  • ISS 320 World Urban Systems
  • ISS 325 War and Revolution
  • ISS 327 Risk and Society
  • ISS 328 The Social Science of Sports
  • ISS 330A Africa: Social Science Perspectives
  • ISS 330B Asia: Social Science Perspectives
  • ISS 330C Latin America: Social Science Perspectives
  • ISS 335 National Diversity and Change: United States
  • ISS 336 Canada: Social Science Perspectives

 * These courses change from semester to semester and TA assignments depend on enrollment.

PhD