Rules and Guidelines for Enrolled Students

Coursework

• A student must complete eighteen quarter courses before the end of the second year with an overall grade point average of 3.0 (B) or better.
  
  Nine of these must be courses offered by the department, with a number between Political Science 200 and 279; these must be taken for a grade, not on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
  
  All students must complete Political Science 200, "Political Science: Scope and Methods," with a grade of at least B-. No other course may be substituted to fulfill this requirement.
  
  In some individual fields the faculty normally recommends that students take more graded courses in political science than the minimum.
  
  
• Additional requirements, such as course work 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.
  
  
• 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 who has received a graduate degree in political science at another institution may count up to four quarter-course equivalents (taken at other institutions) toward our eighteen-course requirement, but none will count toward the nine courses in graded political science seminars at UCSD.
  
  
• Good progress toward the Ph.D. requires that a student complete nine courses by the end of the first year. Of these nine courses, at least five should be numbered between Political Science 200 and 279. At the end of the second year good progress requires completion of eighteen courses, of which at least nine should be numbered between Political Science 200 and 279. A student who has not made good progress in course work 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.
  
  

Seminar Paper

1. A student must complete one seminar paper in one of his or her examination fields. This paper may be written as part of the requirements for a regularly scheduled seminar course or in an independent research course.
   
   
2. Certification that a paper fulfills the seminar paper requirement is at the sole discretion of the faculty member supervising the work (i.e., the instructor of the course for which the paper was written).
   
   
3. A student may not take the General Examination before fulfilling the seminar paper requirement. A final draft of the paper, along with the appropriate form certifying that the paper meets the seminar paper requirement, must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator before the written portion of the General Examination may be taken. Copies of the seminar paper will be distributed to the General Examination committee.
   
   

General Examination

• By the end of the second year, a student must stand for the General Examination. The General Examination consists of written examinations in each of two fields and in a focus-area, and an oral examination.
  
  
• The department offers examinations in four fields: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. Each field also offers examinations in a number of focus areas that represent a specialized sub-field within a major research literature.
  
  
• By the first day of spring quarter of the second year each student must submit to the Graduate Coordinator a General Examination plan identifying the two fields within which exams will be taken, and the topic of the focus-field.
  
  
• The General Examination is conducted during the second half of spring quarter, normally beginning in the seventh week of the quarter. The Department announces the composition of the individual examination committees by the last day of winter quarter. All examination announcements are subject to such as the Department Chair deems necessary.
  

  Written Examinations

  • Written field examinations last four hours. These examinations cover major theoretical approaches in a field. They are structured so that passing requires general knowledge and understanding of important work in the field as a whole.
    
    
  • Written focus-area examinations last four hours. These examinations cover in greater depth one subfield within a major research literature.
    
    
  • Written examinations are open-note and open-book. Students are expected to do their own work, and to compose their answers on the day of the examination. Text from computer files may not be down-loaded into these answers.
    
    
  • Each field has a designated field coordinator, appointed by the Department Chair in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. The field coordinator, in consultation with the faculty in the field, prepares the written examinations.
    
    

  Oral Examination

  • The oral examination normally lasts between one and two hours, and covers all three written examinations. It may also include discussion of the student's seminar paper.
    
    
  • A student must take the oral examination, even if one or more of the written examinations is such that it is deemed impossible to pass the entire examination.
    
    

  Grading

  • Each General Examination is graded by a committee of four faculty members, with two from each of the student's examination fields. These examiners are nominated by the field coordinator and appointed by the Department Chair. Students are normally informed of the composition of General Examination boards during the fourth week of the spring quarter.
    
    
  • Each General Examination is graded in its entirety. A student passes or fails the entire examination, not simply parts of it.
    
    
  • The examination committee may assign a grade of fail, pass, or distinction. A student passes the General Examination if at least three examiners vote to assign a grade of pass or better. A student receives a grade of distinction by vote of at least three examiners. The student will receive written notification of the examination committee's decision.
    
    
  • A student who fails the General Examination must retake it at least one week prior to the start of the fall quarter of the third year.
    
    
  • A student who fails the General Examination twice will not be permitted to continue in the graduate program in political science.
    
    
  • Good progress toward the Ph.D. requires that a student complete the General Examination by the end of the second year.
    
    
  • A student who has not attempted all parts of the General Examination by the end of the second year may not continue in the program.
    
    

Depatmental Workshops

• During the third year a student must be enrolled in a departmental workshop (course numbers 280-89).
  
  
• Departmental workshops are intended to introduce students to advanced research in political science, and to facilitate the completion of the doctoral dissertation. Workshops typically meet on a bi-weekly basis, and include discussion of common readings, public talks, and student presentations. Each field is responsible for maintaining or identifying a workshop for students writing a dissertation in that field.
  
  
• During the third year each student is required to present a draft dissertation prospectus or an original piece of research to a workshop at least once. A form indicating completion of this requirement must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator by the end of the third year.
  
  
• By 15 October of the third year each student must identify a faculty research advisor and the tentative topic of the third-year paper. Under normal circumstances the third-year advisor will become the chair of the student's dissertation committee. Each student is responsible for submitting the appropriate form, indicating the advisor's name and the research topic, to the Graduate Coordinator.
  
  
• Good progress toward the Ph.D. requires that a student complete three quarters of a departmental workshop and present a draft dissertation prospectus or an original piece of research to a workshop by the end of the third year.
  
  
• A student who has not completed these requirements 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.
  
  

Masters in Political Science

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.

Advancement to Candidacy

• In order to advance to candidacy, a student must prepare a dissertation prospectus and pass an oral examination. Rules governing this examination have been established by the Graduate School and are printed in the University catalog.
  
  
• 2. Good progress toward the Ph.D. requires that students advance to candidacy by end of the fall quarter of the fourth year.
  
  

Dissertation

• By the end of the sixth year good progress requires completion of the dissertation.
  
  
• A student who fails to complete the dissertation by the end of the sixth year may be denied all departmental financial assistance.
  
  

Advising & Evaluation

1. Each incoming student is assigned a temporary faculty advisor by the Director of Graduate Studies. By the end of the first year each student must select a faculty member from the department to serve as pre-candidacy advisor until the student advances to candidacy.
   
   
2. During the spring quarter each student is evaluated by the pre-candidacy advisor (or by the dissertation advisor) in consultation with the departmental faculty. The student will receive a written evaluation from the pre-candidacy advisor (or dissertation advisor) each year. The student must sign this evaluation for it to become an official part of the student's departmental file.
   
   
3. 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.
   
   

Student Petitions

To contest an evaluation or any departmental action a student must do so in writing. A petition should be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies no later than the end of the quarter following the evaluation (or other action) contested by the student.