Government (PhD)

Graduate School

Program Website

Graduate Field

Government

Program Description

Students are expected to acquire a thorough knowledge of the discipline, including substantial theoretical, conceptual, and substantive competence in a major subject; to provide a clear demonstration of the methodological, linguistic, and other skills needed to conduct original scholarly research; and to acquire at least one semester's experience as a teaching assistant. Students who have not had equivalent coursework are expected to take three of the four field seminars in the major subjects.

Doctoral students are assigned an interim supervisor upon admission. In the second year, students assemble a temporary special committee which guides and supervises subsequent academic preparation and assists in preparation for the Q exam and field papers (if required). In the third year, students assemble their final special committee which supervises the A exam (prospectus defense) and all subsequent dissertation research.

By the end of the second year of residence, students are expected to have taken a written qualifying exam (Q exam) in the student's major subject. Students specializing in international relations and comparative politics are additionally required to compose an extended research paper in the student's specialized field of interest before the beginning of the third year. Students are required to complete their A exam (prospectus defense) by the end of the third year. At this oral exam, the student presents a thesis proposal outlining the hypothesis, data, methods, and resources needed to carry out the dissertation research. The remaining years of the program are spent on the research and writing of the dissertation. The PhD in Government is designed to be completed in six years or fewer, and students are expected to work with their advisors to develop a project that can be completed within the field’s six-year program timeline.

Numerous interdisciplinary programs are available to support students’ research, including the Cornell Center for Social Sciences; the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies; separate area studies programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and Latin America; Slavic and Eastern European Studies; the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies; the Western Societies Program, Gender and Global Change;  and the International Political Economy Program to name only a few. Other important centers for students include: the Institute for European Studies; the Society for the Humanities; the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures; the Center on Global Democracy; Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability; the Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program; the Program on Ethics and Public Life; the Program in Visual Studies; the Africana Studies and Research Center, and the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development.

Concentrations

  • American politics
  • Comparative politics
  • International relations
  • Political methodology (minor)
  • Political thought
  • Public policy (minor)