Political Science, M.A.

Degree Requirements

• Credit Hours: Students are required to complete a minimum of 38 credit hours in POLS at the graduate level. Up to 12 credits can be at the 400 level. The number of credit hours may vary depending on number of semesters in residence.
• Grade Point Average: Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 and a minimum GPA of 3.0 in courses applied to the degree.
• Benchmarks: For details, go to the Political Science Degree Progress tab.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CORE COURSES:		11
POLS 500	Introduction to Political Research
POLS 501	Quantitative Political Analysis
POLS 502	Advanced Quantitative Methods
POLS 796	Graduate Seminar
POLITICAL SCIENCE ELECTIVES: *		27
Any POLS courses at the 400 level or above
Total Hours		38

*

Excluding POLS 790, POLS 796 and POLS 797 .

Major Learning Outcomes

M.A. in Political Science

Students earning an M.A. in Political Science will be able to:

1. Demonstrate basic substantive knowledge of the institutions, political actors, and relevant processes in state, national, and international political systems.

2. Effectively communicate knowledge of major policy issues in state, national, and international affairs and convey the importance of the uncertainties, trade-offs, and institutional/bureaucratic contexts of problems confronting governments.

3. Evaluate potential explanations of political phenomena in a way that considers alternative explanatory perspectives across the major theoretical schools of thought in the political science literature.

4. Carry out systematic empirical research in political science, including articulating a theoretical question, constructing a rigorous research design, and analyzing data or cases using appropriate methodological approaches.

5. Clearly articulate the potential policy implications of research findings in political science and how those findings relate to larger practical, political, and ethical questions faced by West Virginia, the nation, and communities worldwide.

Accelerated B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in Political Science

Students must fulfill all degree requirements for the B.A. in Political Science and all requirements for the M.A. in Political Science with the exception of the minimum number of credit hours in M.A. in Political Science Electives and the minimum number of credit hour required for the M.A., as described below. Students must also meet all requirements for the A.B.M in Political Science.

Credit Hours: Students are required to complete a minimum of 31 credit hours in POLS at the graduate level. Up to 12 of those credits can be at the 400 level. The number of graduate credit hours may vary depending on number of semesters in residence.

*

Excluding POLS 790, POLS 796 and POLS 797