The primary mission of the graduate program of Temple University 's Political Science Department is to prepare students for careers in academia. Towards that end, we train our students to become successful scholars, researchers and teachers. Some of our graduates, however, also successfully apply their political science training to non¬academic careers.

The M.A. and Ph.D. programs offer study in American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Political Theory. The M.A. program is structured to give students a broad training in Political Science in order to give them a well-rounded education in the discipline, provide a foundation for more specialized Ph.D. work and for preparation in academic careers that frequently demand teaching in more than a single field. The Ph.D. program seeks primarily to develop the research skills and substantive knowledge necessary for successful completion of a dissertation.

In American Politics, faculty teach and conduct research on political behavior, political institutions, public policy, urban politics, and political economy. In Comparative Politics, faculty focus on the issues of democratization, the role of the state in the economy, and identity politics in European and post-communist states, and Latin America and other developing regions. In International Relations, faculty emphasize the various theoretical approaches to the study of world politics, and the testing of such theories in the areas of international security, international political economy, and the study of international organizations. In Political Theory our strengths cluster around the research areas of late modernity; democratic and normative political theories, especially those pertaining to political questions of social and economic inequality, globalization, identity politics, and social movements; and the relationship between politics and religion.

Ideally, students entering the M.A. and Ph.D. programs must meet the following standards:

• scored at least 550 on the verbal portion and 600 on the quantitative portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
• an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 overall and 3.5 in their major, or higher.
• If graduate courses have been taken elsewhere, a GPA of 3.6 or higher.
• Favorable letters of recommendation (at least two, preferably from instructors with whom the applicant has taken courses).
• Submission of a research paper or other writing sample.
• A personal statement discussing the applicant's reasons for wanting to study Political Science.

The University and Department offer various types of financial aid, including fellowships, assistantships and tuition scholarships.

For more details about our program, click on “Graduate Handbook” on the left side of the screen.

For information on applying to the graduate program, click here.