Surviving Grad School

Prepared by Dr. Leah Wilds

The following information has been developed to apprise you of various items regarding your graduate career in our department. This has been developed in response to typical questions, concerns, and problems of graduate students, and is designed to address the former and help avoid the latter.

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Filling Out Forms and Meeting Deadlines

It is your responsibility to be aware of all the rules, regulations and deadlines concerning the graduate program. These rules (and especially calendars listing various important dates and deadlines) are published in a number of places, but most prominently in the University catalog.

The Program of Study and Graduate Committee

Every student must file a Program of Study (POS) form. The POS lists by name and number all courses to be taken in fulfilling requirements for the graduate degree. This form also allows you to officially designate those faculty members who have agreed to serve on your committee. (All graduate students must form a graduate committee; the members of this committee, and the chair of that committee in particular, help you as you develop and carry out your final research project in the program. They also serve as your advisors, once this form has been filed.) Their signatures must appear on this form prior to filing it with the Graduate School.

MA/MPA POS Committees consist of at least three members. The chair and one other member must be from the Department of Political Science. A member from another university department must also be included. Ph.D. Committees consist of five members. The chair and two members must be drawn from our department; two must be from other departments. All POS Committee members must hold graduate faculty status. (Graduate faculty are marked with an asterisk at the back of the University catalog.) If you are declaring a formal minor, then you also must have a representative from the minor department on the POS Committee.

Forming a POS

Your POS Committee should be formed as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the semester in which you complete your 12th graduate credit. At that time, your committee assumes the primary responsibility as your program advisors in the department (especially the committee chair). Since the committee generally supervises your course work preparation and your professional paper/thesis/dissertation (PTD), you should choose faculty members who can give you substantive guidance. Thus, you need to take courses from or otherwise work closely with faculty who might serve on your POS Committee.

Professional Paper/Thesis/Dissertations (PTD)

All students must complete a major research project, the end result of which is a PTD. The PTD, in turn, must be approved by and defended before your committee: a thesis or professional paper for MPA and MA students, or a dissertation for Ph.D. students. There is no single form for PTDs. (Professional papers will probably show the most variation in style.) However, there are some general points of commonality. These include:

a. The topic is selected by the student. It is your research project.
b. All papers should review relevant literature. This covers both the specific topic (e.g. nuclear waste) of the paper and also the broader body of literature (from political science and/or public administration) into which your topic falls. Remember, you are getting a degree in political science and/or PA and have been exposed to distinct bodies of the relevant literature(s). Graduate level work makes the connection between specific topics of analysis and broader theoretical issues.
c. A PTD is not a term paper. You may use a term paper (e.g. the paper you produce as part of the required two courses in research methods--with the approval of your committee) as the basis for a PTD, but expansion will be necessary.
d. The paper does not have to be quantitative. A key lesson to be learned from the methods sequence is the appropriate use of various methodologies. Hence, use the mode of analysis that is appropriate.
e. Your PTD must conform to one of several acceptable academic styles. Whether or not you can use this at work is irrelevant. This paper is not being written for your employer; it is being written to receive a graduate academic degree.

Procedures Governing a PTD

In part the procedures are subsumed by point 1 above. The following items are either requirements, good form, or both.

a.  The PTD you write should be the paper you originally discussed with your POS Committee.
b.  It is unreasonable to expect that the first draft of your PTD will be of sufficient quality to defend. (All PTDs must be orally "defended" in the presence of your committee, as well as other faculty or students who may be in attendance. You should be prepared to respond to questions about the PTD at your defense. Work closely with your chair as you approach this last stage of your graduate program.)
c. Your PTD should first be given to and reviewed by your POS Committee chair. A good rule of thumb: when the chair is satisfied, it is time to go forward with the process.
d. There must be a ten working day period between the announcement of the oral (final) PTD defense and the actual defense.
e. You should schedule your final defense in order to meet various deadlines stated in University calendars. This will generally require you to have a preliminarily approved version of your paper (in accordance with point 5c above) done about one month before these deadlines take effect. Theses and dissertations have more formal rules attached to them than professional papers; plan accordingly.
f. You are responsible for scheduling the defense. Remember, this involves coordinating the schedules of at least three other people (your POS Committee). Leave adequate time for such scheduling and various deadlines.
g. Failure to heed items in points four and five above can easily lead to delays in the completion, acceptance and successful defense of your PTD.

Numerous books are available that describe the Professional Paper, Thesis and/or Dissertation research and writing process and provide useful, frequently time-saving tips. Offerings available in our library include: The Thesis Writer's Handbook (Joan Miller); Surviving Your Dissertation (Erik Kjell Rudestam); Strategies for Academic Writing (Irvin Hashimoto); Proposals That Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertation and Grant Proposals (Lawrence F. Locke); How to Write Theses (Harry Teitelbaum); Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: A Handbook for Students and Faculty (James E. Mauch); The Dissertation Cookbook: From Soup to Nuts (Marilyn Simon).

Students completing a thesis (as opposed to a professional paper) or a dissertation must follow the format mandated by the Graduate School. You can get a copy of the Graduate School's Instructions at the Graduate School web site.

Comprehensive Exams

All students must successfully complete one or more comprehensive exams; this typically occurs after the student has taken "enough" preparatory coursework to pass such an exam. Remember, these exams are "comprehensive" in nature; by definition, they may cover any aspect of the entire field in which you are testing (American Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Public Policy or Public Administration). Thus, it is not a glorified final exam. You are strongly advised to take the Seminar in the field in which you plan to test, as well as any other course offerings that will help you pass this exam. You are also expected to do additional reading beyond those to which you are exposed in a classroom context. You are expected to know "the literature" in the field(s) in which you test. Work closely with your committee, especially your chair, in selecting a menu of courses and independent readings that will adequately prepare you for this exam. Although you may be allowed to retake a failed exam once, permission to retake a failed exam is not automatically granted. That decision is entirely discretionary; such discretion is granted to your Committee, working in consultation with the Graduate Director and the Department Chair.

NOTE: Ph.D. reading lists are available for student testing in Public Administration and Public Policy.  You may obtain copies of these lists in the main Political Science office.  Professor John Marini also has developed a reading list for MPA students.  A copy of this list can be obtained from the front office.

MPA students take their comprehensive exam in Public Administration, which is administered as part of PSC 785, Leadership in Public Organizations. You may not take PSC 785 until completion of the five core MPA courses. (You can take PSC 785 simultaneously with a needed core course.) MA students must pass one comprehensive exam in a field of study selected by the student. Ph.D. students must pass two such exams, in both a major and a minor field of study (also selected by the student). You cannot substitute an area from outside the department for either the major or minor field. MA and Ph.D. comps are given twice a year. Ph.D. and MA exams are given twice each year, in September and May. Beginning in Spring 1996, however, the the exams will be given in April rather than May. You must give written notification to the Director of Graduate Studies one month in advance of the time (either Fall or Spring semester) you plan to take a comprehensive exam. You do not need to register for PSC 795 Comprehensive Exam, but some students prefer to do so, as this is reflected on your transcript.

Sources of Information

Rules and procedures are generally covered in catalogs or other program statements. When in doubt, ask the Director of Graduate Studies or your POS Committee Chair. Generally, a poor source of information on formal rules and procedures is another student. Use students for informal information on whom to work with, take classes from or other issues associated with student life.

Filing for Graduation

A separate form, Application for Graduation, must be filed in the semester in which you plan to graduate. (There is a $25 charge associated with this form.) You must have a POS form on file in the Graduate School before you can apply for graduation. The graduation application must be filed early in the semester during which you plan to graduate. (See point 1 above about knowledge of the exact date.) If you fail to complete all materials for graduation in the semester during which you apply for graduation, you must re-apply.

This memo covers some basic, albeit abbreviated points concerning the graduate programs. In general, we want you to graduate, but will enforce academic standards. Academic standards may not be as clear as you would like and may seem a bit arcane. Being socialized into such standards is a key component of graduate education.