Political Science - MA

The Master of Arts (MA) in Political Science at Utah State University prepares students for rigorous engagement with the study of government, public policy, political processes, and international affairs. Working alongside award-winning faculty, graduate students develop expertise in research design and data analysis, political theory, and in political behavior and institutions at local, national, and international levels. The program serves students with a wide range of professional and academic goals, including careers as policy analysts in government and the private sector, positions in the Foreign Service, international organizations, think tanks, and lobbying firms, as well as entry into doctoral programs in political science and related disciplines at leading research universities.

Students select from coursework spanning American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory, with opportunities for interdisciplinary engagement through affiliated centers and institutes, including the Heravi Peace Institute, the Institute of Government and Politics, and the Center for the Study of American Constitutionalism. Faculty research strengths cluster in four areas that are unusually difficult to find combined in a single master's program. The first is American political institutions and behavior: faculty research addresses Congressional bargaining and bicameral dynamics, judicial selection and court reform, campaign finance and electoral representation, and the intersection of political psychology, public opinion, and health politics. The second is conflict, peace, and geopolitics: faculty work covers the quantitative study of bargaining obstacles to war resolution, the micro-level dynamics of civilian survival in conflict, and the geopolitics of great power transitions and world-systems — a combination of statistical, field-based, and geographic approaches to conflict directly supported by USU's Heravi Peace Institute. The third is comparative politics and political economy: faculty expertise includes autocratic politics and democratic backsliding, as well as electoral and administrative accountability in unequal democracies. The fourth is political theory and constitutional thought: faculty work spans the realist tradition in western political philosophy, the founders' constitutional design and its relationship to partisanship, and the theory of republican government and the rule of law. Across all four areas, the political science faculty brings methodological range (statistical analysis, survey experiments, formal modeling, multi-method field research, and political geography) that prepares students for both applied policy careers and doctoral study.

The MA and MS degrees differ in their competency requirements. MA candidates must demonstrate proficiency in one or more foreign languages, reflecting the program's preparation for fields where language expertise is essential. MS candidates fulfill a quantitative competency requirement in lieu of a foreign language, providing advanced methodological training suited to empirical research and policy-analytic careers.

Funding in the form of teaching assistantships is available on a merit-based, highly competitive basis.

Contact Information

Location: MAIN 320
Phone: (435) 797-1306
Fax: (435)797-3751
E-mail: politicalscience@usu.edu
WWW: http://politicalscience.usu.edu/

Director of Graduate Studies:
Anna O. Pechenkina, PhD
Associate Professor of Political Science
E-mail: Anna.Pechenkina@usu.edu

Graduate Program Coordinator:
Megan Sills
E-mail: megan.sills@usu.edu

Admission requirements can be found on the USU School of Graduate Studies website (gradschool.usu.edu/admissions/policies). Applicants are expected to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on the final 60 semester or 90 quarter credits. The department will consider applications from students with undergraduate degrees in subjects other than political science; acceptance in these cases may require fulfilling certain course prerequisites. The department accepts new students each fall; the application deadline is February 1. Applicants who submit after February 1 may still be considered for admission but will not be reviewed for financial assistance.

Additional information about the program may be obtained by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies for Political Science (see the contact information above) or by visiting the program website at artsci.usu.edu/social-sciences/political-science.