Facilities, Support Services, and Housing

Libraries

Temple has twelve libraries, with total holdings of 2.1 million volumes and 16,000 periodical titles. For Political Science students, the Samuel Paley Library on the main campus is the major, comprehensive library. The Paley Library includes a special collection of government documents, an extensive reference collection, computerized bibliographic searching facilities, and a center for general purpose micro‑computer services. The library also has journal article retrieval services, as well as data conversion facilities and optical scanning equipment.

The Social Science Data Library, conveniently located in the same building as the Political Science Department, is a center for machine‑readable social science data on any subject. It offers many services from consulting to remote job‑entry and print‑out capability. Temple University also has special offices to facilitate student computer utilization for training and research.

University Community Collaborative of Philadelpha (UCCP)

The UCCP is of special interest to students who wish to study urban politics and public policy. Its purpose is to coordinate non-profit organizational needs with faculty research expertise in the Philadelphia area. The underlying premise of the UCCP is that institutions of higher education can play a critical role in urban revitalization through a strategic application of their human capital resources. The UCCP operationalizes this principle through its active partnership with community-based organizations and through its intentional development of a network of faculty, students, and staff from Philadelphia area colleges and universities who are engaged in action-oriented, community-driven research activities. The UCCP focuses its efforts in two primary areas: community economic development and youth civic engagement. The objective in both cases is to increase the capacity of marginalized groups to articulate their goals and to access the resources of governmental, economic and social systems to achieve those goals.

Academic Centers and Campuses

Temple University has a wide range of special centers that support research activities relevant to Political Scientists. These include the Institute of Public Affairs, the Center for the Study of Military Force and Diplomacy, and the Asian Studies Center. In addition, Temple has campuses in Rome and Tokyo that may be helpful for students in international and comparative studies.

Advising‑counseling

Program advising is the key to a well-planned and rewarding course of study. All students are assigned a faculty advisor upon admission to the program based upon their stated interests. Students are urged to contact their faculty advisor as soon as they begin their studies in the department. Student who wish to change their advisor should contact the Graduate Chair. Faculty are normally available during office hours or by appointment. The university also has a career counseling service in Mitten Hall.

Housing

Graduate students have a wide range of affordable housing options. Detailed descriptions and information about cost and availability of on‑campus housing can be obtained from the Office of University Housing (215‑204‑7184). Information about off campus housing options can be obtained from the university's coordinator of off‑campus housing (215‑204‑3279), www.temple.edu/housing

In seeking housing, students will want to consider access to the main campus which is 2 miles north of Center City (i.e. downtown). Classes are normally held in the late afternoon and early evening at the Main Campus. Faculty offices, library resources, and class rooms where most teaching assistants offer courses, are on the main campus. The main campus is easily accessible by public transportation (bus and train) and has sufficient fee-based parking lots.