Program Overview

Government and Politics (GVPT)

Overview

The Department of Government and Politics offers a Ph.D. degree in political science, intended for those planning academic and research-based careers. Students can specialize in American politics, comparative politics, international relations, as well as a minor in methodology. In addition, students can study in depth more specialized fields such as public law, national security, public policy, political psychology, international and inter-ethnic conflict, international political economy, post-Soviet and post-communist studies, East-Asian studies, and the politics of advanced industrial societies.

Financial Assistance

Students are only admitted with a graduate fellowship. In addition to fellowships and teaching assistantships, there are also a limited and variable number of research positions available.

Faculty

The faculty members of the Department of Government and Politics are:

• Alcaniz, Isabella: Professor, Government and Politics
• Alford, Charles F.: Professor Emeritus, Government and Politics
• Allee, Todd: Associate Professor, Government and Politics
• Banks, Antoine J.: Professor, Government and Politics
• Birnir, Johanna: Professor, Government and Politics
• Calvo, Ernesto: Professor, Government and Politics
• Carcelli, Shannon: Assistant Professor, Government and Politics
• Croco, Sarah E.: Professor, Government and Politics
• Cunningham, David: Professor, Government and Politics
• Cunningham, Kathleen: Professor, Government and Politics
• Flores, Alejandro: Assistant Professor, Government and Politics
• Gimpel, James G.: Professor, Government and Politics
• Glass, James M.: Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, Government and Politics, Professor Emeritus, Government and Politics
• Gray, Breanna C.: Assistant Professor, Government and Politics
• Hanmer, Michael J.: Professor, Government and Politics
• Haufler, Virginia Ann: Professor, Government and Politics
• Huth, Paul K.: Professor, Government and Politics
• Johnson, Marcus: Assistant Professor, Government and Politics
• Jones, Calvert: Associate Professor, Government and Politics
• Karol, David: Associate Professor, Government and Politics
• Kastner, Scott: Professor, Government and Politics
• Laird, Chryl: Associate Professor, Government and Politics
• Lee, Frances E.: Professor Emerita, Government and Politics
• Lichbach, Mark: Professor Emeritus, Government and Politics
• McCauley, John: Professor, Government and Politics
• McIntosh, Wayne V.: Professor Emeritus, Government and Politics
• Miler, Kris: Associate Professor, Government and Politics
• Oppenheimer, Joe A.: Professor Emeritus, Government and Politics
• Pearson, Margaret M.: Professor, Government and Politics
• Reed, William: Professor, Government and Politics
• Shen-Bayh, Fiona: Assistant Professor, Government and Politics
• Swistak, Piotr T.: Associate Professor, Government and Politics, Associate Professor, Applied Mathematics & Statistics, and Scientific Computation
• Telhami, Shibley: Professor, Government and Politics, Affiliate Professor, Jewish Studies
• Tismaneanu, Vladimir: Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, Government and Politics, Professor, Government and Politics
• Uslaner, Eric M.: Professor Emeritus, Government and Politics
• Visconti, Giancarlo: Assistant Professor, Government and Politics
• Wohlfarth, Patrick: Professor, Government and Politics
• Wong, Janelle: Professor, Government and Politics, Associate Professor, American Studies

General Requirements

• Statement of Purpose
• Transcript(s)
• TOEFL/IELTS/PTE (international graduate students)

Program-Specific Requirements

• Letters of Recommendation (3)
• Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) (optional) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (optional)
• GRE Subject (optional)
• Supplementary Applications (up to two optional, contact department for details)
• CV/Resume
• Writing Sample (one required, up to one more optional)

Application Deadlines

• Domestic Applicants: December 2, 2025
• International Applicants: December 2, 2025

Research Areas

Graduate students in the department participate in the activities of the Center for International Development and Conflict Management, the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Computational Social Sciences, the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, and Project ICONS.