Masters Programs
- MA in Political Science
- MA in International Relations
- JD/MA Joint Degree Program
- Combined BA/MA Program
- Public Affairs Program
- Political Campaigning Program
- Conditions for Dismissal from a Masters Program
Click here for information on the department's Doctoral Programs.
Master of Arts in Political Science
The Department of Political Science at the University of Florida offers a Master of Arts in Political Science. Students in the M.A. program are permitted, but not required, to pursue a companion certificate program in Public Affairs or Political Campaigning. Information on these programs can be accessed by following the links listed above.
Students may complete their M.A. degree with a thesis or without writing a thesis. Students pursuing the M.A. with Thesis option must complete 30 hours of graduate coursework. Students pursuing the M.A. without Thesis option are required to complete 36 semester hours of graduate course work and submit two qualifying papers.
Students in the certificate program in Political Campaigning and Public Affairs pursue the M.A. without Thesis.
For both M.A. with Thesis and M.A. without Thesis students, course work in political science, exclusive of core courses, must include a minimum of two graduate-level courses in one field of political science. The fields are American Government and Politics, Comparative Politics, Public Affairs, International Relations, Political Behavior and Methodology, and Political Theory.
Descriptions of these fields of study are available through linking to the Doctoral Program. M.A. students may pursue a joint degree program with the Levin College of Law, which would allow students to earn both the Master of Arts and the Juris Doctor degree in approximately four years.
Master of Arts in International Relations
The M.A. in International Relations program provides education those whose primary interest is a professional career in foreign relations in either the public or private sector. The program does not offer narrow, specialized training in policy making; it is rather designed to broaden students' intellectual horizons by introducing them to a variety of conceptual perspectives on international relations and to a variety of substantive international issues. Coursework includes International Relations Theory, International Security, International Political Economy, International Organization, and Foreign Policy Analysis.
I.R. students may pursue a joint degree program with the Levin College of Law, which would allow students to earn both the Master of Arts and the Juris Doctor degree in approximately four years.
The M.A. in International Relations is a 36-hour program of study with both thesis and non-thesis options available. The guidelines for the M.A.-I.R. degree are as follows:
For both thesis and non-thesis options:
6-credit Political Science core sequence:
POS 6736 (Conduct of Inquiry for M.A. students)
STA 6126 (Statistical Methods in Social Research), or equivalent
15 credits of International Relations graduate courses as follows:
INR 6607 (International Relations Theory)
At least two (2) of the following survey seminars:
INR 6039 (International Political Economy)
INR 6337 (Survey of International Security)
INR 6305 (Politics of American Foreign Policy Making)
INR 6507 (International Organization)
The remaining two courses may be any 6000-level INR course, or any POS 6000-level course with an explicit focus on international relations.
For thesis option:
9 credits of Departmental or extra-Departmental electives.
6 thesis credits (POS 6971)
Oral defense of M.A. thesis
For non-thesis option:
15 credits of Departmental or extra-Departmental electives
Comprehensive Examination
Supervisory Committees
The Supervisory Committee acts as the student's principal academic advisor and also conducts the Thesis defense and takes part in the I.R. comprehensive examination. Students should nominate three faculty to serve on their supervisory committees no later than the beginning of their second semester. M.A.-I.R. students are normally expected to nominate at least two members of the I.R. Faculty; the third member may be from the I.R. Faculty or from another appropriate field within Political Science. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that their course selection is acceptable to their committee.
M.A. Theses
Students wishing to complete an M.A. thesis will count (6) thesis hours as elective credit. Thesis students should select a Supervisory Committee as early in their careers as possible and clear a thesis topic with that Committee early in the Fall of their second year. Theses must be completed according to the guidelines laid out by the Graduate School and be defended in an oral examination in the presence of their Supervisory Committee members. Students selecting the thesis-option are not required to sit for the comprehensive examination.
Comprehensive Examination
M.A. students should sit for the comprehensive examination during their final semester. Fall M.A. exams will normally be administered in November, with Spring exams taking place in April.
Juris Doctor / Master of Arts Joint Degree Program
The faculty of the Department of Political Science and the Levin College of Law offers a joint degree program culminating in a Master of Arts in Political Science and a Juris Doctor degree. A joint degree program culminating in a Master of Arts in Political Science-International Relations and a Juris Doctor degree is also available. The Joint program enables students to earn both the J.D. and the M.A. in less time that would be required to earn both degrees consecutively. Full time students who make satisfactory progress can usually earn both degrees in four years.
Students in the Law - Political Science Joint Degree program are permitted, but not required, to pursue a companion certificate program in Public Affairs, Political Campaigning, or International Development Policy and Administration. Information on those programs is available from the Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Political Science.
- Candidates for the joint degree program must meet the entrance requirements for and be admitted to both the College of Law and the Department of Political Science. These requirements include both the LSAT and the GRE. Students are encouraged to announce their intent of seeking a joint degree as soon as possible.
- The joint degree program is not open to students who have already earned one of the degrees.
- Students who have at least three semesters remaining in either degree program may be considered for admission to the joint degree program.
- The Department of Political Science will allow twelve hours of appropriate law school law courses to be credited toward the M.A. degree. The twelve credits selected from the law curriculum must be approved by the Political Science Graduate Coordinator upon the recommendation of the student's supervisory committee. The College of Law will permit twelve hours of credit earned in Political Science graduate courses to be credited toward the J.D.
- Most students spend their first year in either the College of Law or in the Political Science graduate program, their second year in the other program, and their last two years taking courses from both programs. Students admitted to the College of Law and the Master of Arts in Political Science program and electing to spend the first three semesters in the College of Law must commence study in the Master of Arts in Political Science program no later than the beginning of the fourth semester. Students admitted to the College of Law and the Master of Arts in Political Science program and electing to spend the first semester in the Political Science program must commence study in the College of Law no later than the beginning of the third semester.
- Political Science courses which are to be credited toward the J.D. degree must carry a grade of "B" or higher but will not be counted in the College of Law grade point average. College of Law courses which are to be credited toward the MA degree must carry a grade of "C" or higher but will not be counted in the grade point average of the Department of Political Science.
- Students enrolled in the joint degree program must complete the College of Law's advanced writing requirement. The Department of Political Science offers both a thesis-option and a non-thesis option in its M.A. program. The M.A. thesis may fulfill the College of Law's Advanced Writing Requirement if so certified by a member of the faculty of the College of Law. The non-thesis option in the Political Science does not fulfill the College of Law's Advanced Writing Requirement.
- Students enrolled in the joint degree program may receive one of the degrees separately provided they have satisfied all of the requirements for that degree as if they had not been a joint degree candidate.
- Students who enroll in the joint degree program but do not complete the program may receive credit toward the College of Law degree under the graduate level course option for a maximum of two courses, not to exceed 6 semester credits, taken from the graduate curriculum of the Department of Political Science. Although the grade is not computed in the student's grade point average, a grade of "B" or higher must be earned to receive credit hours for the course(s). Likewise Political Science students who drop out of the joint program may receive credit for two courses with grade of "C" or better, not to exceed 6 semester credits, taken from the Juris Doctor curriculum.
- Students in the joint program will be eligible for the graduate assistantships and fellowships in the Department of Political Science on the same basis as other M.A. students, subject to the guidelines and restrictions set by the Department.
- A student's graduate supervisory committee in Political Science is normally comprised of three or four members. One of those members may be from the College of Law.
- The program will begin Fall Semester, 1999. Students beginning in either the M.A. or J.D. program in Fall 1998 will be permitted to apply for admission to joint degree, consistent with other provisions of this agreement.
- This proposal does not supersede the curriculum requirements of any student enrolled in the Joint program in Law and Public Affairs prior to the Fall Semester, 1999.
Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program
The combined bachelor's/master's degree program is designed for superior students who have the ability to pursue an accelerated program in political science leading to the Master of Arts in Political Science or the Master of Arts in Political Science-International Relations. This program is not generally recommended for students considering a Ph.D. program in Political Science at the University of Florida.
Students in the combined program may pursue the general M.A. in Political Science, the M.A. in Political Science - International Relations, or the certificate programs in Public Affairs or Political Campaigning.
More information on the Combined BA/MA Program can be found here.
