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Home > Graduate Studies : Admission/How to apply

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are your past admissions statistics?
A. The Graduate School has admissions and GRE statistics for the last few years. Go to http://www.grad.umn.edu/programs/ click on "Twin Cities Graduate Programs," then select "Political Science" and "Program Statistics."

Q. Can I schedule a campus visit now?
A. We do not arrange visits until after the admissions committee has made their decisions. Visits are arranged whenever possible for each student admitted to the program, and infrequently, some students on our backup list.

Q. How do I apply to the graduate program in political science?
A. You need to submit application materials to both the Graduate School and to the Department of Political Science itself. Further details are available on our Graduate Applications Page. We do not currently have an application that can be filled out online, but you can download all of the forms and information from this site.

Q. When is the application deadline?
A. The PhD program deadline is December 15th. The PhD program does not have a Spring term admission.

Q. Do entering students receive financial aid?
A. It is the department's policy to extend full financial support to all those accepted into the PhD program, including International students, in the form of assistantships. There are also a number of fellowships available. For more details, take a look at our Financial Aid Page.

Q. Is there a minimun GRE score or GPA requirement?
A. No. Each file is looked at as a whole, and the overall best applicants are admitted, so we do not have a cut-off point for scores or GPAs.

Q. Which GRE tests do you require?
A. We only require the GRE general test. We do not require the subject test.

Q. What should I send in as my writing sample?
A. The preferred writing sample is a paper written for a political science course. The writing sample must be written in English.

Q. Can I still apply to your program if I my undergraduate degree is not in Political Science?
A. Yes. Preferably your writing sample should be political science-related.

Q. How many new students are admitted each year?
A.The graduate program is small and selective, averaging ten to twelve new students each year in the PhD program. All graduate courses are taught in seminars, usually in classes of five to ten graduate students.

Q. Do you offer a PhD in International Relations?
A. There are five subfields in our department that students may choose to study (students take exams in two of these fields): American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Methods and Modeling, and Political Theory. There is not an International Relations PhD, but you may pursue a Political Science PhD with an International Relations focus.

Q. What if I want to pursue a joint degree?
A. If you are interested in pursuing degrees in two departments at the University, you should apply separately to each department. If you are admitted to both programs, you should meet with the Director of Graduate Studies to plan your coursework in the two departments.

Q. What opportunities are available for women and minorities?
A.The department encourages applications from women and minorities and there are a number of university and departmental fellowships available specifically for such applications. Over the past five years, over half of new PhD students have been women. Further information is available on our Financial Aid Page.

Q. What opportunities do graduate students have to teach classes of their own?
A.The department's general policy is to offer all graduate students the opportunity to teach at least one course of their own before graduation. Students are eligible for instructorships once they have passed their written and oral preliminary exams. Most students teach more than one class before they leave the program. In addition, the department requires each student to take the Teaching Political Science sequence of the Political Science as a Profession class.

Q. What kind of a setting does Minneapolis provide?
A.For more information about living in the Twin Cities, please visit Wish You Were Here.

Q. Can I pursue the PhD part time or through distance learning?
A. No. The PhD program is a full-time endeavor

Contact Info

Graduate Studies Assistant
Beth Ethier
1408 SocSci
612-624-1187
ethier@umn.edu

Director of Graduate Studies

Dara Strolovitch
1408 SocSci
612-624-1028
dgs@umn.edu