Grad School - Political Science Department

Thinking About Graduate School?

Master of Public Policy (MPP) at Cal Poly
The Master of Public Policy degree program (MPP) is open to students who wish to pursue analytic careers in government and non-profit agencies or in businesses subject to government regulations. The MPP is a professional degree structured to prepare graduates to work as program managers and as analysts.

The core courses cover statistics, public policy, public policy analysis, quantitative methods, public finance, policy internship, and graduate seminar. This is a two-year program for students taking 8 or more units per term. The program consists of 55 approved units (not including courses necessary to compensate for deficiencies). The degree culminates with a two-term seminar (POLS 590) focused on analytical projects, in which students will develop, present and discuss group reports and individual papers. Students may develop a unique concentration of electives related to their interests, and may pursue joint graduate programs.

More information can be found at the Master of Public Policy website.

Application information is available at http://www.csumentor.edu/admissionapp/grad_apply.asp

WHY GRADUATE SCHOOL?
A graduate degree program in political science allows the student to specialize in a specific area of study at two different levels; the Master of Arts degree (MA), Master of Public Administration (MPA), Master of Public Policy (MPP), and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). The MA, MPP and MPA are usually one to two-year programs of study, while the Ph.D. may require between three to six years to complete.

Graduate degrees promote career advancement for certain types of jobs and are the prerequisite for faculty appointments at the college and university levels. An MA qualifies a person for teaching community college while the Ph.D. is required for university-level teaching and research appointments. For students considering a university career, the market will be improving somewhat for new Ph.D.'s over the next several years as the generation hired during the massive 1960's expansion begins to retire.

A Ph.D. may also be beneficial for certain higher level positions in the federal and state governments, as well as for positions with consulting firms. The MPA, like the Master of Business Administration degree (MBA), is required for management positions in the public sector and is of considerable value in the private sector. The MPP is advantageous for those preparing for analytical careers in business or government.

At one time, it was common for students to enroll in a MA program and then proceed to the Ph.D. Now, however, it is expected that most students who do want a Ph.D. will initially apply to the Ph.D program; after a specific number of graduate courses have been completed, the MA may be awarded. But, the MPA is a "terminal degree"- it is an end in itself rather than a degree conferred enroute to the Ph.D.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL
Most graduate schools require a 3.0 GPA (in Political Science), letters of recommendation, and the Graduate Record Exam (GRE); however, most schools do not indicate what score is acceptable, just that you take it and do "well." Many graduate programs require foreign language competency on entry or before degree completion. Increasingly, more schools look for a basic background in quantitative skills. Other factors that may work to your advantage in getting accepted include military service, experience in political campaigns, internships, and foreign study and travel.

TAKING THE GRE
The GRE General Test measures the skills that you've acquired in high school and college. It is an aptitude test meant to measure your potential to succeed in graduate school. While the GRE is only one of several criteria that graduate schools use to evaluate your appliation, it is one of the most important. This is particularly true if your college GPA is not as high as you'd like. Exceptional GRE scores can open up new opportunities for grad school.

The GRE General Test contains sections that measure verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing skills.

The verbal section tests your ability to understand and analyze written material through the use of analogies, antonyms, sentence completions, and reading comprehension questions.
The quantitative section tests basic math skills and your ability to understand and apply quantitative skills to solve problems. Types of questions include quantitative comparisons, problem solving, and data interpretation.
The analytical writing section tests your ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively, examine claims and accompanying evidence, support ideas with relevant reasons and examples, sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion, and control the elements of standard written English. It consists of two written essays: 45-minute "Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task and a 30-minute "Analyze an Argument" task.

The verbal and quantitative subtests yield scores ranging from 200 to 800. Most graduate schools consider the verbal and quantitative sections to be particularly important in making decisions about applicants. The analytical writing subtest yields a score ranging from 0-6.

GRE Facts:

The GRE General is administered by computer year-round.
Schedule an appointment with a center near you.
Arrive at the test center 30 minutes early to complete any paperwork. If you arrive late, you may not be admitted and will not be refunded.
Bring identification to the test center.
The fee for the GRE is $99 in the US and US Territories, $125 in all other locations.
The GRE General Test will take 2.25 hours to complete, but allow an extra hour and a half for reading instructions and taking tutorials.
Structure of the test:
- Verbal Section, 30 minutes, 30 questions
- Quantitative Section, 45 minutes, 28 questions
- Analytical Section, 60 minutes, 35 questions

Unofficial scores appear on the computer screen following your test. Official scores are mailed to you and the institutions you choose 10 days to two weeks afterward.

Preparation Tips
Prepare extensively to ensure that you get the highest score possible. This is not the time to cram.

Buy a GRE review book.
Download sample tests.
Try a practice test under conditions similar to the actual GRE.
Based on your practice score, devise a study plan to help you brush up on vocabulary, reading comprehension, analogies, algebra, and geometry.

Plan to take the GRE well in advance of application due dates. Try to take it the Spring or Summer before you apply to grad school. You can always retake the GRE, but remember that you're allowed to take it only once per calendar month. Because all prior scores are sent to the institutions to which you're applying, never take the GRE as practice. For more information, see www.gre.org/writdir.html#testprep

WHAT'S EXPECTED IN A MA PROGRAM?
Typically, MA students take classes (seminars) in four or five different subfields of the discipline: International Relations, Comparative Government, American Politics, Public Administration/Policy, Political Theory and Methodology. Some programs offer an exam or thesis option. Under their exam system, you take comprehensive exams in three major fields as well as an exam in a specialized subfield (e.g. Chinese Politics, National Security, Judicial Behavior, Political Psychology, Public Policy, etc.). Under the thesis option, you take several additional courses and write a Master's thesis on a specific topic, which may bridge two or more subfields in the discipline. You may also be required to take a foreign language exam.

WHAT'S EXPECTED IN A MPA PROGRAM?
Most programs span 12 to 18 months and require a core of public administration courses, including Finance, Personnel, Theory, Policy, Comparative Administration, and Quantitative Methods. Good MPA programs offer a breadth of course offerings, resident faculty (in addition to practitioners considered as adjunct faculty), and job placement services.

WHAT'S EXPECTED IN A MPP PROGRAM?
These programs are structured like the MPA program, but emphasize analytical techniques related to government, economics, and business. This is still a relatively new degree but one which is more versatile than the typical MA and MPA degree. This degree would qualify you for most "analyst" positions in the public and private sectors.

WHAT'S EXPECTED IN A Ph.D. PROGRAM?
Usually, only one or two year's worth of courses beyond what was taken as an MA student is required. If you received an MA at one institution and are in a Ph.D program at another, you will again take the comprehensive exams. An unsatisfactory response on these exams can result in your dismissal from the program. You will also be required to take a foreign language exam, if your special field of study concerns a foreign language, and to demonstrate competency in computers and/or statistics. If your special field of study concerns a foreign country (e.g., Russia, China), you will be expected to be fluent in the appropriate language. If you focus on a region (e.g., Latin America), you will be expected to be fluent in a major language of the region. The culmination of the Ph.D. degree rests with the completion of a dissertation, an in-depth comprehensive analysis of a particular problem or issue in your field of specialization.

Many graduate students seek teaching positions or other employment after they have completed the dissertation. Such students are known as ABDs ("All But Dissertation.") Your dissertation has to be acceptable to your dissertation committee (usually 3-5 faculty). If there is a single aspect of graduate school that causes grief to students, it is the dissertation. Sometimes the dissertation goes smoothly; usually it does not. Depending upon your topic, you may be required to do fieldwork overseas or to conduct interviews with prominent policymakers in this country.

DIFFERENCES IN GRADUATE SCHOOLS
Many of the CSU institutions offer Master's degrees in Political Science or Public Administration. Major state universities (and some private schools) usually offer MA, MPA and Ph.D. programs. Some schools have reputations in some fields but not in others in the discipline. The more prestigious the institution you receive your degree from, the more options (especially in university teaching) are available to you.

The more prestigious the graduate school, the more competitive it is in the admissions selection process. There is a hierarchy among graduate schools which works like this: if you get a Ph.D. at the University of Wyoming (or North Dakota, Tennessee, South Carolina or other less well-established schools), you will not be hired to teach at Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford or the University of Washington. However, you may be hired to teach at any of the CSU institutions, University of Northern Arizona, Boise State, and so forth. If you receive your Ph.D at Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford or the University of Washington, then you have a variety of teaching positions available to you.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE EDUCATION
In contrast to the conventional undergraduate experience characterized by a wide variety of required survey classes spread out among several disciplines, a graduate program is focused and theoretical. It is important to note that the Ph.D. program's seminars and skills requirements are designed to train students to research and publish using an assortment of theoretical frameworks and data analysis techniques. Master's level programs also contain a significant theoretical component, but do not provide in-depth preparation in an area of study. Graduate students are perceived by faculty as potential equals, hence there is both the corresponding respect and demand for quality work of grad students by faculty. In terms of financial support, Master's level students receive little or no scholarship aid; the better Ph.D. students receive teaching or research assistantships or fellowships during the course of their graduate careers. Most graduate programs have between 15 to 70 graduate students.

The "better" graduate programs are concerned about the writing sophistication and quantitative background of applicants. If you do not have a good background in communication and statistical analysis, then graduate school is not for you.

THE TOP POLITICAL SCIENCE GRADUATE DEPARTMENTS
It is difficult to find common agreement on the "best" graduate programs, but U.S. News and World Report publishes a reasonable list of the top 25 graduate schools each year. You can find the lists at USNews.com or by visiting your local library. Remember that some departments may be well known in one or two areas (i.e. Theory or Methodology) but not in others (i.e., African Politics or Public Law). Obviously, most graduate students do not study at the "top" schools.

Comments and suggestions from Cal Poly Political Science grads currently in Ph.D. programs
(Institution of respondent in parenthesis)

On the transition from undergraduate school to a graduate program:

"The level of reading for graduate school is easily twice what was assigned as an undergraduate." (Claremont Graduate School)

"Huge amount of work, especially the reading level. I was also surprised by the dominant methodological orientation of the field toward Political Science as a science." (UCSB)

"Grad school workload makes undergrad look like a joke. Did not realize how quantitative the discipline was." (Florida State University)
"The workload was much greater than I expected. I was under-prepared in the classics of political science literature and poorly prepared in statistical analysis (largely on my account for both deficiencies)." (University of California, Irvine)

"Ironically, I found that I had no idea what political science was. This sounds strange, but political science is not a study of politics in the traditional sense (i.e., who will win the next election, where is the next war to occur). Rather, it is a field desperately trying to find itself methodologically...and theoretically. There seems to be an endless war between structuralists, culturalists...In many ways political science is number, number crunching and is extremely statistically minded." (University of Colorado)
"The transition from Master's program to Ph.D. was really hard. The work at the Ph.D. level has to be near perfect all the time. There is a lot of work and you're expected to know your stuff." (Cal Tech)

What advice or observations should be passed along to our seniors who are considering pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science and the possibility of university teaching?

"Take a long, serious look at the scuttle of employment in higher education. Inquire seriously about working conditions for graduate employees...Find a place where you have multiple faculty that you will fit with (intellectually, personally, etc.). Ask what percent of graduate students complete their Ph.D.'s. If you are a woman or minority male, ask about the success rate of people like you." (University of Oregon)
"Students will need to come into graduate school with a basic understanding of micro-economic principles. Also, they should have (at least) two courses in statistics...I can't emphasize enough the need to get some non-academic work experience before entering graduate school." (Claremont Graduate School)
"Really look into programs--talk to grad students and faculty at universities before you go there. You have to be highly personally motivated to make it to a Ph.D. In a competitive job market, the reputation of the program you are in will make a difference, even if this is mostly academic snobbery. Much of Political Science is highly scientific and quantitative. Be prepared for this. Teaching is fun and rewarding." (UCSB)
"Job market is scary. People with lots of great publications in (select journals) not even getting job talk flybacks. If given the chance, go for as highly ranked a school as possibly. Name is high at this level. Be clear in who you want to study under as well as what research you wish to undertake; meet with faculty to see if you like them and what they do. Publish or perish is now going on at the graduate level--no publications, no chance to perish in a job! Grim as this all sounds, I still remain cautiously optimistic that people will want people who are interested in teaching as a vocation at this level--this has been my bet and still is." (University of California, Irvine)
"Peruse the journals, get a feel for what the discipline is about. Take stats courses; learn a stats package such as SPSS. Buy as powerful a computer as you can reasonably afford." (Florida State University)
"Do not go directly into a Ph.D. program! Travel, see the world, work in D.C., join the Peace Corps, teach English in Costa Rica or something that you have always wanted to do but were afraid to try. The experience will give you perspective, enrich your research and make yourself a much, much more interesting lecturer. The discipline is now dominated by statisticians so a very strong mathematics, computer, statistics, research methodology background will serve you well. I recommend calculus, at least two statistics courses, and one or more computer related social science courses. Also, take as much economics as you can stomach because politics and economics are inseparable. Most importantly, establish a working relationship with the faculty at Cal Poly; try to collaborate on research or become published before graduate school, then you are light years ahead of most students. Political philosophy shouldn't be underemphasized either. Read Mill, Locke, Hegel and Marx, because they are the foundation of what we do." (University of Colorado)
"The top programs want to know how well-prepared you are mathematically. These programs will assume you can write well. One advantage you have (coming out of Cal Poly) is the school name and your senior project. Put a really good effort into your project and send a copy to a professor you'd like to work with." (Cal Tech)