Program Requirements

The M.A. Program

M.A. students take 6 seminars (18 credits) during the academic year, three seminars per term. Students may take up to six credits outside the department with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies. M.A. students are also required to write a thesis, which should be completed within 12 months of entry into the program. While part-time M.A. studies are permitted, students generally are not initially admitted on a part-time basis.

The Ph.D. Program

The basic program for Ph.D. students is two years of graduate coursework, followed by two comprehensive exams (one each in a major and minor field) which normally take place in the November following the completion of course requirements. Students then write a dissertation proposal and with its approval move on to their dissertation research and writing which normally takes two to three years to complete.

Ph.D. students require 36 credits of graduate seminars (12 graduate courses), typically taken as six graduate seminars in each of the first two years of the program (three seminars each term). Students are also required to fulfill a methods requirement, consisting of any political theory graduate seminar and any two methods courses as approved by the Graduate Director. Previous graduate level coursework may be accepted for Ph.D. program credit to the extent that it fulfills UBC Political Science Ph.D. course requirements. This will allow MA students in Political Science to enter our Ph.D. program without having to repeat coursework and to reduce their coursework requirements from the two years normally required of our Ph.D. students. Credit for previous graduate courses is generally only given for political science courses, typically taken as part of a political science MA program. Other courses may be allowed, but the presumption is that they are functionally equivalent to political science courses, provide students with preparation essential for success in the discipline of Political Science, and fit with the student’s overall program of study, all of which will be determined by the Graduate Director.

Comprehensive Ph.D. examinations are offered in five fields: Canadian politics, international relations, political theory, comparative politics and American politics. Part-time Ph.D. studies are not permitted.