Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science

The Political Science Ph.D. program at Texas Tech University is designed to produce capable and active research scholars. Its emphasis is on preparing talented individuals for faculty careers at major, research-oriented, academic institutions. We also welcome applicants whose career interests may be either non-academic settings, or academic institutions stressing teaching, but our preparation of, and standards for, of all graduate students are the same. It takes a competent research scholar to maintain currency in the field and thus provide their students or employers with the best contemporary information the discipline has to offer. 

 

Department offers only the M.A./Ph.D. track that is designed to be equivalent to the Ph.D. degree plan in terms of degree requirements. However, students enrolled in the M.A./Ph.D. track can earn an M.A. degree while working toward the completion of their Ph.D. requirements. Applicants who intend to pursue a Ph.D. degree are encouraged to apply to this program.

 

The M.A. portion of this degree plan is integrated into the Ph.D. degree plan, requiring 36 hours of doctoral-level course work and completion of the 2nd-year research paper requirement. All political science graduate courses taken at Texas Tech and applied to the master’s degree will be counted toward the coursework requirements for the Ph.D. degree. 

Basic Requirements

A doctoral degree candidate must fulfill the following general degree requirements to receive a Ph.D.: 1) complete 61 hours of coursework beyond their bachelor's degree; 2) pass 9 hours of required methods classes; 3) complete 12 hours of coursework in two major fields and 9 hours of coursework in one minor field; 4) successfully defend their second-year paper; 5) pass written Ph.D. Qualifying exams in their two major fields; 6) pass their oral defense of their Dissertation Prospectus; and 7) write an original dissertation and successfully defend it in an oral examination. For a more detailed discussion of the basic requirements, students should consult the Graduate Handbook.

Fields and Coursework

All students must select three fields of study for their doctoral program. Two of these will be major fields, a primary major field and a secondary major field. The primary major field is the area where the student expects to write his or her dissertation. Students must pass qualifying exams in their two major fields at the end of their coursework and before proceeding to the dissertation. A third (minor) field is also required and is satisfied by coursework only. At present, all doctoral students must select their two major fields from the areas of: American politics, Comparative politics, International Relations, or public administration. A student’s minor field may be selected from the four above or research methodology. On rare occasions, and with the approval of the Graduate Director, a student's minor field may be taken outside the department if that field clearly represents a strong supplement to the student’s work in one or both of the major fields. Students must complete 12 hours of coursework in two major fields and 9 hours of coursework in one minor field. Students should consult the Fields page for more information on the research fields in political science.

All first-year students must enroll in the standardized-first year curriculum. This curriculum consists of: POLS 5380 "Data Management," POLS 5381 "Research Design," POLS 5382 "Data Analysis," POLS 5383 "Advanced Quantitative Research Methods in Political Science," POLS 5322 "Pro-Seminar in American Politics," POLS 5360 "Pro-Seminar in International Relations," POLS 5370 "Pro-Seminar in Comparative Politics," and POLS 5100. Students must obtain at least a B in each of these first-year curriculum courses, or they must retake the class.

Doctoral students should maintain a grade point average significantly above 3.0. A grade point average falling below 3.0, the receipt of two or more grades below B (including B-), or any single grade below a C (including C-) may be grounds for termination.