Georgia State University Political Science Department

Our programs have much to offer – unique research opportunities, valuable teaching experience, and intellectual challenge. We pride ourselves on fostering an atmosphere of collegiality with our graduate students, and faculty members value the opportunity to work closely with students at both the MA and doctoral levels. Our graduate seminars are capped at 15 students, ensuring a close working relationship between faculty and students.

Our faculty members are active scholars engaged in the production of nationally- and internationally recognized research, publishing in the discipline’s leading professional journals and university presses. They hold positions of leadership in the profession, and many are involved in policy work, lending their expertise to governmental agencies, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, and the private sector.

Our students regularly present their work at national professional meetings, and Georgia State political science graduate students have recently received prestigious fellowship postings, like the Presidential Management Fellowships to work in the federal government and a post-doctoral research fellowship at the London School of Economics, as well as Fulbright dissertation grants and other financial awards to conduct research or language study abroad.

Georgia State students represent a diverse group of promising scholars and practitioners from around the country and the world. Our location in close proximity to the state capitol building and in the heart of Atlanta – home to a host of international corporations, consulates, international business councils, and NGOs – offers abundant opportunities for applied research and practical experience.

The Doctoral Program

The PhD program offers concentrations in:
● International Politics
● Comparative Politics
● American Politics
● Political Theory
● Methods

Within these fields, the department has particular strengths in the areas of comparative democratization, public law, and international governance. Comparative democratization is central to the research agenda of more than half a dozen faculty members in the department, who between them cover most regions of the world. The department also offers impressive depth in its public law program, with three of the twelve Americanists focusing their research in that area. No fewer than nine Georgia State political scientists are experts in international governance, able to mentor MA and PhD candidates in their study of international organizations, regional blocs, NGOs, multinational corporations, business associations, and transgovernmental networks across different international issue areas (such as finance, trade, development, environmental protection, and human rights).

Doctoral students who have graduated in recent years are in tenure-track positions at Vanderbilt, University of Maryland-Baltimore, the University of Zagreb in Croatia, Kennesaw State University, and Bridgewater College in Virginia, to name a few. They have worked as lecturers at institutions ranging from Central European University in Budapest to Agnes Scott College in Atlanta.

The department offers graduate research and teaching assistantships on a competitive basis. Assistantships offer a full tuition waiver and an annual stipend, and students get invaluable opportunities to work closely with faculty on ongoing projects. We expect to fund doctoral students for four years, and students frequently have the opportunity to teach their own classes in their final years in the program.

The department actively encourages students to present their work at professional meetings and offers financial support to offset expenses. We also offer limited support for students to attend the ICPSR program on quantitative research methods, the qualitative research methodsworkshop at Arizona State, and other opportunities for professional development.

Students may enter the PhD program with either a BA or an MA. Our website, at http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwpol/graduate_programs.html

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwpol/doctoral_degree.html provides more details on application and program requirements.

The MA program

The department also offers a terminal MA degree in Political Science for students interested in pursuing careers in government, in policy, or private sector jobs.

In the MA program students may choose the general degree program or opt to specialize in one of three areas of concentration:

● Comparative politics/international relations
● American politics
● Professional politics and governmental practices

The department also offers a joint Master’s degree in Political Science and International Business (MA-MIB) in conjunction with Georgia State’s nationally ranked J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

Our recent MA graduates are working in policy jobs in Washington, for the US Foreign Service, for NGOs and, in the case of some international students, for their home governments. In addition, a number of well qualified MA students continue on to the Georgia State PhD program.

More details on the MA program are available at
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwpol/graduate_programs.html
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwpol/master_degree.html

Thank you very much for your consideration. If you or your students have any additional questions about either of our graduate programs, please do not hesitate to contact me at polgraddirector@gsu.edu. You may also contact Toni Creighton, Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies, at vcreighton1@gsu.edu (Tel. 404-413-6162)

Sincerely,
Carrie Manning
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Political Science
Georgia State University

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