Program Overview

M.A. Program

The M.A. Program in the Department of Political Science is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the discipline and to prepare them for advanced research and academic careers.

Admission Requirements

For graduate studies in the Department of Political Science, each applicant must hold a baccalaureate degree and submit specific credentials, along with the application form and fee, no later than 90 days before the first day of classes of the semester for which admission is being requested. Applicants will not be evaluated until they have submitted all required materials.

• Application Form
• Application Fee ($50)
• Three letters of recommendation from former professors
• Statement of Objectives: The Statement of Objectives is required by the Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies. You should create your own document and include "Statement of Objectives" as the heading. The statement should be one or two pages and should include your purpose in undertaking graduate work, and an explanation of your study and research interests as they relate to your undergraduate/graduate study and professional goals.
• Transcripts of all prior undergraduate and graduate work. The department strongly prefers that applicants have a minimum GPA of 3.2 overall and a minimum GPA of 3.4 in Political Science courses.
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Results with minimum scores of 153 on Verbal, 144 on Quantitative, and 4.5 on Analytical sections.
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Scores (for international students only) with a minimum score of at least 577 on the paper version or at least 90 on the computer version of the TOEFL. A score of 7.0 is required on the International English Language Testing System.

Financial Aid

The department has limited funds to help students with up to half of the cost of tuition. Information on financial aid and student loans is available.

Program Requirements

M.A. students are expected to acquire and exhibit general knowledge of the discipline and consult with the Graduate Studies Director prior to enrollment each semester to determine the most appropriate courses to take. Each M.A. student must complete the following within five years of matriculation:

• Total of 30 semester hours of graduate level courses
• 3 hours in the area of American Politics & Government
• 3 hours in the area of Comparative Politics
• 3 hours in the area of International Relations
• 3 hours in POSC 449 Research Methods
• 18 credit hours of electives (can include a maximum of 9 hours of independent study or thesis preparation)
• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 must be maintained throughout the Master of Arts program.
• Completion of either an M.A. Thesis or the Examinations

Plan A: M.A. Thesis

An M.A. Thesis should be a major research paper equivalent to at least six hours of registration. Students shall register for POSC 651, M.A. Thesis Research, which will count towards the 30 hours of coursework required for completion of the M.A. An M.A. Thesis must be read by a committee of three members of the faculty, and defended in an oral examination with the faculty committee.

Plan B: M.A. Examination

For the M.A. Examination, students should be able to explain, critique, integrate and apply the arguments of leading works in two out of the three fields of American Politics and Government, Comparative Politics, and International Relations. Required upon completion of no less than 30 hours or no more than 42 hours of courses, the examination is a written test of five hours duration, with 150 minutes for each of the chosen subfields. The examination is administered in a controlled, closed-book setting. The department maintains M.A. Reading Lists of major scholarly works within the three fields listed above, and test questions will be based upon the expectation that the student has thoroughly studied the works designated on those lists.