From the Director of Graduate Studies

Our graduate program in political science reflects changes in the discipline, shifts in the political landscape, and the additional new faculty who have expanded the depth and breadth of our offerings. We currently offer a Ph.D. specializing in four of the major subfields of political science: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. Within each of these fields we offer coursework as well as faculty mentorship, encouraging students to get grounding in the traditional subfields as well as designing a research program drawing from our different faculty strengths. Within and across subfields we have clusters of faculty specializing in global governance, political psychology, political behavior, quantitative​ and qualitative methodology, security studies, critical theory, constructivism, and gender and politics. Our department complements training inside the department with interdisciplinary ties to the Department of Women and Gender Studies, Department of Communication, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences​, Africana Studies​, the Center for Global and Area Studies​ and others.

We also provide students with access to a variety of methodological skills through coursework inside and outside the department, in addition to off-campus opportunities such as attending the​ ICPSR at the University of Michigan and the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-method Research at Syracuse University.

Our program is a Ph.D. program, with students earning an M.A. along the way. Ph.D. students pursue two subfields of Political Science. Each subfield offers students opportunities to explore in depth complex theoretical, conceptual, and practical questions related to particular issues, and to develop specific research interests under the guidance of distinguished faculty.

Approximately 50 graduate students from all over the United States and the world are currently enrolled in our graduate program. Our faculty provide close advising and mentoring to our graduate students who find a collegial atmosphere in the department. Through colloquia, seminars and an annual spring speaker series, we offer a stimulating intellectual environment. In addition, we provide our advanced graduate students with opportunities to teach their own courses. Finally, we encourage our advanced graduate students to present their research at conferences and to publish their scholarship in peer-reviewed journals.

We are excited about the growth and new directions in graduate education in our department and at our University, and we encourage you to explore our website to learn more about our program. ​

Should you have any questions, please contact Dr. Joanne Miller (jomiller@udel.edu), director of graduate studies.​