About PhD Program,
The Thesis-Based MA in Political Science prepares students to undertake a significant independent research project. This prepares you for a variety of careers including political support roles and government, as well as a prerequisite for PhD studies in Political Science and further studies in Business or Law. The Course-Based MA in Political Science provides an opportunity to study more advanced courses in the discipline as well as a chance to investigate a specific research problem in a final capstone paper.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
Applicants who have completed the equivalent of a Master’s degree will be considered for admission to the PhD program. Graduate degrees in Political Science or close cognates such as International Relations or Public Policy are strongly preferred; applicants with fewer than four graduate-level courses in Political Science are admitted to the PhD only under exceptional circumstances.
GPA
Applicants must have a minimum GPA of at least 3.3 in the last 60 graded credits of academic studies, but successful applicants will typically have a GPA of 3.7 or higher.
PhD Funding Coverage,
The Department of Political Science offers very competitive funding packages for graduate study. Completing a graduate degree is a demanding full-time commitment, and the department works very hard to assure students that their education will be supported either by scholarships, bursaries, or awards, or by paid employment within the department as a Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, or (for PhD students post-candidacy) as a Principal Instructor. The department is sometimes able to offer additional financial support to international students to offset the higher tuition fees.
The department has a policy of offering full funding to admitted PhD students for years one through five of the program. The department normally offers a first year of funding to full-time MA in Political Science (Thesis) students but also may make offers of admission without funding. Applicants to the course-based MA who intend to take the degree part-time (or students who switch from full-time to part-time status after being admitted) are not eligible for funding.
The department does not normally extend funding offers to applicants to the course-only and practicum-based MA in Policy Studies. The department will support students admitted to the practicum-based MA in Policy Studies to identify and secure paid work placements as part of POL S 802 and POL S 803.
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies includes estimates of the cost of living in Edmonton as well as the latest schedules for tuition and fees. The department considers a “full funding offer” to be any total annual income in excess of FGSR’s minimum estimate of the annual cost of living for a single person in Edmonton.
Teaching Assistants are employed on four-month contracts usually at either six, ten, or twelve hours per week. (Twelve hours of academic-related labour is the university’s maximum permitted for full-time students.) In practice this means that you will be assigned as a TA during the September-December and/or January-April semester, working on one or two courses, and possibly as an RA during the May-August semesters. The Association of Employed Graduate Students collective agreement can be found on the university’s website as well as through the Graduate Student Association, and it includes up-to-date pay schedules as well as important information about employment conditions.
Application Requirement,
- Transcripts
- Degree certificates
- Marksheets
- Application form
- CV, statement of intent and writing samples
- Letter of confirmation from prospective supervisor(s) (thesis-based programs);
- GRE, GMAT or other test scores
- Reference letters
Application Deadline,
Jan 15, 2025
Application Fee,
A $135 CAD non-refundable application fee is required to submit your application. This fee is non-transferable.
