Program Rules and Guidelines

1. All students are required to take at least 18 courses in the first two years of the Ph.D. program prior to taking the comprehensive exam, with an overall grade point average of 3.3 or better.
   1. All students must complete the four-course core curriculum, Political Science 203A-B and 204A-B. No other UCSD courses may be substituted to fulfill this requirement.
      
      
   2. Fifteen of these eighteen courses must be offered by the department, with a number between Political Science 200 and 279, and students are expected to take these courses prior to taking the comprehensive exam.
      
      If extraordinary circumstances require it, this deadline can be extended to the end of the Winter Quarter of their third year in the Ph.D. program prior to prospectus defense. Students who would like to take their required political science courses after the end of the second year must be in good academic standing with respect to their substantive coursework. Approval depends on the signature of the second-year advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies and needs to be obtained before the end of the first week of the Fall quarter of their second year.
      
      Students who would like to extend the normal deadline are required to take at least 12 courses within the department in the first two years of the Ph.D. program prior to the comprehensive exam.
      
      
   3. No more than three courses, offered within or outside the department, may be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
      
      
   4. Students may not have more than 8 units of 'F' or 'U' grades.
      
      
   5. In some individual fields, the faculty normally recommends that students take more graded courses in political science than the minimum.
2. Additional requirements, such as coursework or research skills including proficiency in a foreign language, may be set by the faculty in any examination area as a prerequisite for taking the General Examination in that area.
   
   
3. A student who has completed work toward a graduate degree in political science at another institution prior to enrollment at UCSD is subject to all requirements of the UCSD program.
   The only exception is as follows:
   With permission of the Department's Director of Graduate Studies, a student that has received a graduate degree in political science at another institution may count up to four quarter-course equivalents (taken at other institutions) toward the department's eighteen-course requirement, including the core curriculum. Typically, we only allow credit for skills courses, such as statistics or game theory. The rest of our curriculum is highly specialized and not substitutable.
   
   Note: non-UCSD coursework cannot transfer towards the eighteen course “good progress” requirements at UCSD for students who intend to apply for the MA on the way.
   
   
4. All registered students-in-residence must be enrolled in their field workshop of choice (POLI 280-289) and attend both integrated and field workshops regularly. This includes first-year through Nth-year students. Students who do not attend the workshops regularly will receive a grade of U for that quarter. For more information on field workshops, please refer to the Departmental Workshops section below.
   
   
5. Good progress toward the Ph.D. requires that a student complete nine courses by the end of the first year. In addition to the six course core curriculum, students are advised to complete two or three field core courses during their first year. At the end of the second year good progress requires completion of eighteen courses, of which at least fifteen must be numbered between Political Science 200 and 279.
   
   
6. A student who has not made good progress in coursework may receive no more than a 33% teaching or research assistantship from the Department for the following year. Students on a UCSD fellowship may receive no more than two-thirds of their stipend for the following year.
   
   
7. All registered students must be enrolled in at least 12 units per quarter in order to remain eligible for financial support (workshops, directed reading, and dissertation research counts toward these 12 units). Students in-absentia must file to renew in-absentia status for each quarter they plan to be in-absentia and be enrolled in at least 12 units of directed reading and/or dissertation research. 

UC San Diego Political Science Department

Comprehensive Exam Information

In May 2022, the Graduate Council approved a reform to the comprehensive exam for the political science Ph.D. program. The exam format and rules are explained below.  The expectation is that you have already been thinking about your topics and discussing them with your advisor.

General Examination

Students must stand for the Qualifying Examination by the end of their second year. The department offers exams in five fields – American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Methodology, and Political Theory. Students pick two exam fields and are expected to have completed their field requirements before taking the Qualifier.

Format

The exam is written and has two components:

1. Research Paper. Students must demonstrate depth of knowledge of the chosen field and ability to do original research.
   1. The research paper is on a topic of the student’s choosing.
   2. The paper must be solo-authored.
   3. The length cannot exceed 10,000 words, including abstract and references, but excluding appendices.
   4. The research may draw upon work originally submitted for courses.
   5. The scope, ambition, and format of the paper must conform to the norms of the discipline, as exemplified by articles in its leading journals.
   6. The research paper should conform to current academic standards with respect to transparency, replicability, and ethics.

2. Review Paper. Students must demonstrate breadth of knowledge by engaging with the literature across at least two subfields, synthesizing existing research, identifying knowledge gaps in current debates, and gesturing toward avenues for research that could potentially fill these gaps.
   1. Students must select at least three debates in Political Science, critically assess the state of current knowledge about them, and bring them together to address an enduring major topic in the field.
   2. The paper must be solo-authored.
   3. The integration of the two chosen subfields can occur within these debates or across them.
   4. The length cannot exceed 8,000 words, including abstract and references, but excluding appendices.
   5. While students are encouraged to engage in debates that are relevant to their research agenda, the content of the Review Paper must not overlap with the literature review section included in the Research Paper.

Deadlines

Student’s First Year:

1. It is recommended the students meet with their faculty mentor to discuss expectations for the review paper.
2. Friday of the 9th week of Spring Quarter: Students choose one faculty advisor (Second-Year Advisor) to supervise their Review Paper and Research Paper. The Second-Year Advisor signs a form in which they agree to supervise the two papers for the Qualifier, which is submitted to the Graduate Coordinator. This advisor may be the same as the First-Year Advisor initially assigned to the student, and this advisor may go on to supervise the student’s dissertation.

Student’s Second Year:

1. Friday of the 2nd week of the Fall Quarter: The Second-Year Advisor must approve, in writing, a rough outline of topics to be covered in the Review Paper (including an initial reading list), which the student submits to the Graduate Coordinator. Students should discuss an appropriate timeline for sending their work to their advisor, but must plan on submitting the materials to them at least two weeks in advance of this deadline. When preparing their initial reading list, students should anticipate that the Review Paper will be assessed by faculty from their first and second subfield. Accordingly, they should seek guidance from faculty in both subfields when crafting the reading list. The reading list is just a starting point; students are expected to revise and expand their list as they develop their Review Paper.
2. Winter Quarter: The student presents a draft of the Research Paper in the Integrated Workshop. Students are encouraged to contact faculty whose attendance they wish to ensure at least two weeks in advance of their scheduled presentation.
3. Friday of the first full week of Spring Quarter: The student submits, in electronic form, rough drafts of both Qualifier papers to the Graduate Coordinator with the Second-Year Advisor CC-ed. Failure to submit rough drafts of the papers by this deadline will automatically disqualify the student from taking the Qualifying Examination, which implies leaving the program.
4. Friday of the 5th week of Spring Quarter: The student submits in electronic form penultimate drafts of the papers to the Second-Year Advisor.
5. Friday of the 6th week of Spring Quarter: The student submits the final drafts of the papers via Turnitin (on Canvas course site) to the designated assignments labeled review paper and research paper. The Second-Year Advisor signs a form, submitted to the Graduate Coordinator, certifying that they have read the papers and that the papers represent substantially the work of the student. Failure to submit the final drafts of the papers by this deadline will automatically disqualify the student from taking the Qualifying Examination, which implies leaving the program.

Grading

1. Each of the fields, in which Qualifying Examinations are administered, must have a designated Field Coordinator (FC), who is appointed by the Department Chair in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). The FC nominates examiners, who are then appointed by the Department Chair.
2. Exam Committees have three Readers – two in the first field, and one in the second. Whenever possible, the Research Paper and Review Paper should be graded by a different committee. Students are informed about the composition of Exam Committees during the 4th week of Spring Quarter.
3. Grading is single-blind (student’s name is redacted) and can result in either Pass or Fail. It is based on the common published Assessment Criteria developed by the Department. Committees are strongly encouraged to provide comments in writing.
4. Members of the Exam Committees meet with each other if, and only if, at least one Reader has rated the paper as Fail. If this meeting results in a collective rating of Fail, the student can revise and resubmit the paper before September 1 of the same year. The student may request a meeting with the Committee to receive guidance for revisions. The revised version is graded by the same Committee using the same procedure as in the initial assessment.
5. Each paper is graded separately. The student must Pass both papers to continue in the program.
6. Students who have not attempted all parts of the Qualifying Examination by the end of their second year may not continue in the program unless they have an advance exception under Department Rules.

A student must complete one seminar paper in one of their examination fields. This paper may be written as part of the requirements for a regularly scheduled seminar course or in an independent research course.

Guidelines for the Seminar Paper

• Acceptable article length for most journals is eight thousand to ten thousand words and seminar papers should be a similar length.
• The basic structure of the article should include:
  • An introduction framing the significance of the question, sketching the answer, and (where subfield appropriate) delineating the research design and empirical findings
  • A comprehensive yet succinct literature review placing the research in the context of prior work on the subject
  • A discussion of research design (where subfield appropriate)
  • Appropriate empirical analysis (where subfield appropriate)
  • A conclusion highlighting the contributions of the research and returning to general questions
  • Papers must be solo authored.

Examples of recent published articles written by UC San Diego graduate students will be available to students upon request.

Papers may draw from papers originally written for courses. However, it is generally the case that course papers will need substantial revision before becoming suitable seminar papers. Students may write papers in fields other than their first or second exam fields.  

Students must identify an adviser for the seminar paper. Seminar paper advisers may be the first-year adviser but are not required to be. Seminar paper advisers may go on to supervise dissertations but are not required to do so. Advisers must agree (certified in writing, to the graduate program coordinator) to serve this purpose by 4:00 p.m. on Friday of the eighth week of fall quarter. Penalties for failing to identify an adviser by this due date are at the discretion of the director of Graduate Studies. Students are advised to contact the director of Graduate Studies or their field chair if they are having difficulty identifying an adviser.  

Students must submit a rough draft of the seminar paper (in hard copy and electronic form) to the graduate program coordinator by 4:00 p.m. on Friday of the first full week of spring quarter. The graduate program coordinator is responsible for ensuring that a copy of the paper is provided to the seminar paper adviser. Students failing to submit a draft of the paper by this deadline will not be permitted to take the comprehensive exam in the spring quarter. Please note that this implies leaving the program.

Students should submit a penultimate draft of the paper to the seminar paper adviser one week prior to the final draft due date. Students must submit a final draft of the seminar paper (in hard copy and electronic form) to the graduate program coordinator by 4:00 p.m. on Monday of the week prior to the written exams. Students failing to submit a final draft of the paper by this deadline will not be permitted to take the comprehensive exam in the spring quarter. Please note that this implies leaving the program.   

1. All registered students-in-residence must be enrolled in their field workshop of choice (POLI 280-289) and attend both integrated and field workshops regularly. This includes first-year through Nth-year students. Students who do not attend the workshops regularly will receive a grade of U for that quarter.
   
   The Integrated Workshop is an effort to build an integrated scholarly community across all substantive subfields in our Ph.D. program. The integrated workshop and subfield workshops are designed to promote intellectual engagement and conversations across fields, so as to better prepare our students to conduct research that scholars across fields will care about. Workshops typically meet on a weekly basis, and include discussion of common readings, public talks, professional development seminars, and student presentations.
   
   
2. All third-year students are required to present a draft dissertation prospectus or an original piece of research to a workshop at least once, either in the Fall or the Winter quarter. Second-year students who have far-advanced seminar papers are encouraged to present their work, schedule permitting. A form indicating that the third-year student has completed this requirement must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator by the end of the third year.
   
   A third-year student who has not completed the above requirement by the end of the third year may receive no more than a 33%. teaching or research assistantship from the Department until the quarter after the workshop requirement is fulfilled. Students on a UCSD fellowship may receive no more than two-thirds of their stipend until this requirement is fulfilled.
   
   
3. For all registered students-in-residence, good progress toward the PhD requires that a student enroll in a departmental workshop in every quarter for which they are in residence. Students who do not attend or participate regularly will receive a grade of U for the workshop. 

Doctoral students in the Department of Political Science who do not already hold an MA may apply for an MA after successfully completing fifteen quarter courses, nine of which must be numbered between Political Science 200 and 279, and one seminar paper approved by a member of the Department.

Note: Joint PhD students in Political Science and International Affairs (PS76) are not eligible for a MA on the way. 

1. In order to advance to candidacy, a student must prepare a dissertation prospectus and pass an oral examination with a committee (please refer to 'Forming Committees and Defenses'). Rules governing this examination have been established by the Graduate Division and are printed in the University catalog. 
2. By the end of spring quarter of the second year each student must submit a form to the Graduate Coordinator identifying a faculty member as Third-Year Prospectus Advisor. (The role of the Third-Year Advisor is described below under 'Advising and Evaluation'). By October 15 of the third year, each student must submit to the Graduate Coordinator a form identifying a tentative topic of the prospectus.
3. Once the committee has been submitted and approved and the defense has taken place, the student or a committee member must communicate the results of the defense to the Graduate Coordinator. The Graduate Coordinator will then initiate a DocuSign form that will be routed to all committee members, the student, and the department chair before being routed to the Graduate Division. Once complete, the student must pay a $50 candidacy fee either online on their student account or at the UCSD Cashier's Office.
4. A $500 stipend will be awarded to any student in the Political Science PhD program that defends by the end of the Spring quarter of their 3rd year; this is the last day of Spring quarter as defined by the University. 
5. Good progress toward the Ph.D. requires that students advance to candidacy by end of the fall quarter of the fourth year. A student who fails to advance to candidacy by the end of the fall quarter of the fourth year may receive no more than a 33% teaching or research assistantship from the Department for the following quarters until advancing to candidacy. Students who have received guaranteed funding may receive no more than two-thirds of their stipend for the subsequent quarters until advancing to candidacy. 
6. If you are an international student, the non-residential supplemental tuition (NRST) remission is guaranteed for the first three academic years. You will be eligible to be exempt from non-resident tuition for 9 consecutive quarters IF you have advanced to candidacy by the end of your third year in the program. International students who fail to advance to candidacy by the end of their third year in the program will be responsible for paying their own NRST until they advance to candidacy. 
7. A student who fails to advance to candidacy by the end of the summer of their fourth year will not be permitted to continue in the graduate program in political science.

1. By the end of the sixth year, good progress requires completion of the dissertation and defense (please refer to 'Forming Committees')
2. A student who fails to complete the dissertation by the end of the sixth year may be denied all departmental financial assistance.

Committee Membership Rules

Prospectus and Dissertation committees must follow the membership rules as outlined.
You may view example committees here.

Committee Formation for Advancement to Candidacy

A student must submit their committee members for approval to the Graduate Program Coordinator at least two weeks prior to their scheduled Prospectus defense. The committee request must be submitted by the Graduate Program Coordinator to the Graduate Division for final approval. Failure to obtain Graduate Division approval prior to the defense may delay advancement, or may invalidate the defense completely. In the case that the defense is invalidated due to the committee not being approved, the student must defend again. 

Once the committee has been submitted and approved and the defense has taken place, the student or a committee member must communicate the results of the defense to the Graduate Coordinator. The Graduate Coordinator will then initiate a DocuSign form that will be routed to all committee members, the student, and the department chair before being routed to the Graduate Division. Once complete, the student must pay a $50 candidacy fee either online on their student account or at the UCSD Cashier's Office.

Dissertation Defense and Reconstitution of Committee Requests

The Dissertation defense committee may remain the same as the Prospectus defense committee. However, in the case that a student needs to change the members of their committee, a committee reconstitution request must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator at least two weeks prior to their Dissertation defense. The committee reconstitution request must be submitted by the Graduate Program Coordinator to the Graduate Division for final approval. Failure to obtain Graduate Division approval prior to the defense may delay conferral of the degree, or may invalidate the defense completely. In the case that the defense is invalidated due to the committee not being approved, the student must defend again. 

The student should refer to the Dissertation Preparation and Submission Manual to ensure that they are following necessary steps to graduate.

Once the defense has taken place, the student or a committee member must contact the Graduate Coordinator to initate a Final Report Form via DocuSign. The DocuSign form will be routed to the committee members and the department chair before being routed to the Graduate Division. 

Teleconferencing at Defenses

A doctoral committee member can participate in one of three ways at a Prospectus or Dissertation defense:

1. physically present (meaning they are in the room),
2. telepresent (meaning they participate by live video teleconference),
3. or in advance (if they must be absent on the exam date, it is permissible to examine the candidate in advance of the exam date).

More than half of the doctoral committee must be physically present. No more than two members may be telepresent.

The committee chair, or one co-chair, must be physically present.

The outside tenured member must be physically present or telepresent.

If an emergency situation arises that affects the number of committee members present, the committee chair (or co-chairs) may decide how to proceed. There must be sufficient expertise among present members (either physically or telepresent) to examine the student.

***Effective Fall 2022:

The default method for the doctoral and master’s committee to conduct graduate examinations (doctoral qualifying examination and final dissertation/thesis defense) is when the student and all members of the committee are physically present in the same room.

The Graduate Council recognizes, however, that practical exigencies do not always make this possible. Therefore, the Graduate Council will defer to the graduate programs (Department Chair or Program Director) to review requests for exceptions and to make decisions to allow remote participation. The graduate program must ensure that when an exam is approved to be held entirely remote or in a hybrid format (i.e., some members are physically present and some are remote) that the student has agreed to this format.

It is expected that there will be synchronous participation by all committee members in the scheduled exam. If an unavoidable situation arises that affects a committee member’s ability to participate synchronously, the committee chair (or co-chairs) may decide how to proceed. There must be sufficient expertise among present members to examine the student. If a committee member must be absent for the scheduled exam, it is permissible for one absent committee member to examine the candidate on a separate date. The committee chair, or one co-chair, must participate synchronously in the scheduled exam.

**COVID-19 Update: Effective until the end of Spring 2022 (June 10, 2022), any and/or all members of a master’s or doctoral committee or the student being examined may be telepresent (meaning participation by live video teleconference) for a prospectus defense, qualifying examination, and final oral examination (the dissertation defense).

More detailed information on teleconferencing may be found here.

1. Each incoming student is assigned a temporary faculty advisor by the Director of Graduate Studies. At the end of the first year, students are given the opportunity to confirm that advisor or select a new one.
   1. By the end of the spring quarter of the second of the second year each student must select a faculty member from the department to serve as a Third-year Prospectus Advisor. The Third-year Prospectus Advisor will help guide the student in writing the prospectus and selecting a dissertation committee. It is not assumed that the Prospectus Advisor will subsequently chair the dissertation committee, or even be a member of it. Those roles should be determined as the prospectus develops.

1. During the spring quarter each student is evaluated by his/her advisor in consultation with the departmental faculty. The student will receive a written evaluation from the advisor each year. The student must sign this evaluation for it to become an official part of the student's departmental file.
   1. As part of the first-year review each student must complete a plan of study that identifies a faculty seminar paper supervisor, two examination fields, a focus area, and intended preparation in each. This plan must be signed by the student's faculty advisor and submitted to the Graduate Coordinator by the end of spring quarter of the first year.