Graduate Program

THE UNIVERSITY

The University of California, Irvine, (UCI) ranks among the top research universities in the nation. The UCI enrollment of 23,000 is large enough to provide an active university environment, while still small enough to preserve a friendly, personal atmosphere. UCI is the ninth campus, having opened in 1965.

THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Political Science is a nationally-ranked, top-30 department. In 2001, the Department was ranked 29th by U.S. News and World Report. Its faculty members have achieved distinction in research and professional visibility. Three members of the faculty are currently fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Other faculty members have served as officers of the major professional associations, including the American Political Science Association, International Studies Association, and International Society of Political Psychology. The Department has obtained a reputation for producing the very best innovative and interdisciplinary scholarship. Faculty are engaged in the study of such key questions as the politics of advanced and democratizing societies, international cooperation and peace, the politics of racial and ethnic minority groups, and the origins of altruism and morality and their impact on world politics.

THE CURRICULUM

The Department has a very innovative Ph.D. program with strong interdisciplinary emphases. Graduate students can pursue concentrations in democracy studies, international relations, political economy/games and decisions/public choice, political psychology, and race and ethnic politics. Our Ph.D. program offers big payoffs to our graduate students, in fact, because of the extended range of inquiry an interdisciplinary program affords.

One aspect of the UCI Political Science Department’s strong interdisciplinary emphases are the two M.A. Programs to which students in the Political Science Ph.D. program are eligible to apply for admission. While each of these programs is completely independent of the Political Science Department, each is structured in such a way that graduate students in political science can largely simultaneously satisfy the MA requirements for this program while completing their Ph.D. requirements in political science. These are the MA in Demographic and Social Analysis, which involves many faculty from the Sociology Department as well as from the School of Social Ecology who are interested in demographic trends and tools of demographic analysis, including geographic information systems; and the MA in Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, which, in addition to political science faculty, involves faculty from Economics, Logic and Philosophy of Sciences, and other departments, who have an interest in Games, Decisions, and Dynamical Systems, as well as faculty from Sociology who study the formal and empirical properties of Social Networks.

THE GRADUATE STUDENTS

Our Ph.D. students are a great reason to study political science at UCI. Many have won many awards and fellowships. Many present their research work at professional meetings and conferences. A number have also published their work. See our Graduate Student Accomplishments for a sample of the recent types of fellowships, awards, conferences and publications of our currently enrolled doctoral students.

A key feature of our Ph.D. program is that it fosters an environment in which students can begin their academic careers while in graduate school. While some have co-authored publications with faculty members, most have published on their own in large measure because of the qualifying paper requirement for candidacy.

ADMISSION & FINANCIAL SUPPORT

A number of our students win fellowship support. Most graduate students in the Social Sciences take advantage of teaching assistantships for financial support.

University of California, Irvine Department of Political Science

	Political Science Graduate Program
	The Department of Political Science offers a program of study leading to the Ph.D. in political science. The strengths of the graduate program include the reputation and research productivity of its faculty, its small size, its personal attention to students and mentoring of graduate student research projects, and its location within an interdisciplinary School of Social Sciences.
	THE UNIVERSITY The University of California, Irvine, (UCI) ranks among the top research universities in the nation. The UCI enrollment of 23,000 is large enough to provide an active university environment, while still small enough to preserve a friendly, personal atmosphere. UCI is the ninth campus, having opened in 1965. THE DEPARTMENT The Department of Political Science is a nationally-ranked, top-30 department. In 2001, the Department was ranked 29th by U.S. News and World Report. Its faculty members have achieved distinction in research and professional visibility. Three members of the faculty are currently fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Other faculty members have served as officers of the major professional associations, including the American Political Science Association, International Studies Association, and International Society of Political Psychology. The Department has obtained a reputation for producing the very best innovative and interdisciplinary scholarship. Faculty are engaged in the study of such key questions as the politics of advanced and democratizing societies, international cooperation and peace, the politics of racial and ethnic minority groups, and the origins of altruism and morality and their impact on world politics. THE CURRICULUM The Department has a very innovative Ph.D. program with strong interdisciplinary emphases. Graduate students can pursue concentrations in democracy studies, international relations, political economy/games and decisions/public choice, political psychology, and race and ethnic politics. Our Ph.D. program offers big payoffs to our graduate students, in fact, because of the extended range of inquiry an interdisciplinary program affords. One aspect of the UCI Political Science Department’s strong interdisciplinary emphases are the two M.A. Programs to which students in the Political Science Ph.D. program are eligible to apply for admission. While each of these programs is completely independent of the Political Science Department, each is structured in such a way that graduate students in political science can largely simultaneously satisfy the MA requirements for this program while completing their Ph.D. requirements in political science. These are the MA in Demographic and Social Analysis, which involves many faculty from the Sociology Department as well as from the School of Social Ecology who are interested in demographic trends and tools of demographic analysis, including geographic information systems; and the MA in Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, which, in addition to political science faculty, involves faculty from Economics, Logic and Philosophy of Sciences, and other departments, who have an interest in Games, Decisions, and Dynamical Systems, as well as faculty from Sociology who study the formal and empirical properties of Social Networks. THE GRADUATE STUDENTS Our Ph.D. students are a great reason to study political science at UCI. Many have won many awards and fellowships. Many present their research work at professional meetings and conferences. A number have also published their work. See our Graduate Student Accomplishments for a sample of the recent types of fellowships, awards, conferences and publications of our currently enrolled doctoral students. A key feature of our Ph.D. program is that it fosters an environment in which students can begin their academic careers while in graduate school. While some have co-authored publications with faculty members, most have published on their own in large measure because of the qualifying paper requirement for candidacy. ADMISSION & FINANCIAL SUPPORT A number of our students win fellowship support. Most graduate students in the Social Sciences take advantage of teaching assistantships for financial support.	The Program: Ph.D. Requirements, Rules and Regulations Current Quarter Course Descriptions Tentative Schedule of Classes for 2008-2009 Searchable Schedule of Classes Our Students: Our Current Graduate Students Graduate Student Accomplishments: 2006-2007 2005-2006 Placement History Hire a UCI Ph.D. Apply to UCI: Graduate Admission Graduate Admission FAQ's Funding for Political Science Graduate Students Other Links: UCI Office of Research & Graduate Studies APSA Graduate Student Connection Graduate Student Forms: Request for Graduate Course Credit Completion of Language Requirement Completion of Research Skills Requirement Approval of Qualifying Paper Advancement to Candidacy Form Dissertation Prospectus Defense Conference Fund Reimbursement Application Form
	Graduate Program Director Robert M. Uriu, Ph.D. rmuriu@uci.edu (949) 824-1868 SSPB 2275	School of Social Science Contacts Linda R. Cohen, Ph.D. Associate Dean of Graduate Studies School of Social Sciences linda.cohen@uci.edu John Sommerhauser Graduate Office Manager School of Social Sciences jdsommer@uci.edu (949) 824-4074 SSPA 5149 Patricia Frazier Graduate Admission Coordinator School of Social Sciences pfrazie@uci.edu (949) 824-4224 SSPA 5151
	For more information on the graduate program and the application process, please email the Graduate Office at socsci.gradinfo@uci.edu. Telephone 949-824-5361 FAX 949-824-8762 General Information: psdept@uci.edu Webmaster: psdept@uci.edu