Program Overview

PhD Program in Political Science

The PhD in Political Science at Waterloo is the most innovative program of its kind in Canada, offering students considerable flexibility in core research activities, formal professional development for both academic and non-academic career paths, an experiential option, and a teaching option.

Program Structure

• The program includes one year of coursework featuring a mandatory, team-taught methodology course, two courses in the student’s major field, two courses in the student's second major field or custom concentration, and one elective.
• Students must also complete the PhD Professional Development Seminar, a series of half-day seminars offered by the Department and additional workshops delivered by campus units.

Fields of Study

• Students have the option of choosing from three major fields:
  • Canadian Politics
  • International Relations
  • Political Economy
• For their secondary field, students may choose either a second major field or create their own ‘custom concentration’ based on coursework in a designated area of the discipline.

Research and Thesis

• The capstone research project (the PhD thesis) requires students to complete and defend a thesis proposal.
• Students may choose a traditional dissertation or a ‘publication model’ consisting of at least three sole-authored works and including an original introduction, conclusion, and any necessary bridging chapters.
• In rare cases, and with the approval of the student’s supervisor and the Department Graduate Committee, students may opt for a non-traditional thesis format that meets the standards of an original doctoral-level contribution to knowledge.

Thesis Defence

• The completed thesis will be subject to an oral defence before a committee, including the supervisor(s), two other political science faculty members, an internal-external examiner from another department/program at Waterloo, and an external examiner.

Professional Development

• Professional Development training gears students to both academic and non-academic job markets, fostering skills enhancements in research methods, communications to non-academic audiences, fieldwork, conferencing best practices, and career planning.