Graduate Study in Political Science
at Texas Tech University
The faculty of the Department of Political Science cover a wide spectrum of political science research in its three major fields: American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International Relations. We offer opportunities for students interested in American Politics to study not only political institutions, such as Congress or the courts, but also political behavior. The Department houses the Earl Survey Research Lab, which provides comprehensive survey research services to the university community and to public sector agencies and organizations. The Comparative Politics faculty provide research and training on a number of critical areas such as political parties, democratization, political behavior, electoral systems, and comparative political economy. They cover regions as diverse as Asia, Western Europe, Latin America, and Post-Communist Europe. The International Relations faculty offer a diverse set of opportunities for students, in particular in security and conflict, international political economy, and globalization.
Graduate students at Texas Tech are offered a rigorous theoretical and methodological training. Students will be introduced to sophisticated methodological tools to advance their own, personal research interests. The bulk of students’ course work will fall into two fields of study of their own choosing (American Politics, Comparative Politics, and International Relations). Students are also given the opportunity to minor in any one of our major fields, but also in Research Methods, Public Policy, or Public Administration. Working with their faculty advisors, students will have significant discretion over their coursework as well as their future research.
The Department provides significant financial resources. Students may apply annually for teaching assistantships and department scholarships. The Department also provides travel support for graduate students to attend conferences. These funds can be supplemented with monies from the Graduate School. In addition, students may apply for Summer Research and Training Scholarships to fund trips to the Inter-University Consortium for Political Science Research, language study, or research.
The University and the Department provide graduate students with significant research resources for students. The University Library has significant holdings in all political science fields and offers electronic access to almost all essential political science journals. The Library also provides computer facilities for students. The Department funds the graduate-student computer lab that gives student’s access to critical computer and Internet resources.