Graduate Program Forms

Please review the Program Overview and the Graduate Program Rules to familiarize yourself with general program requirements. Please download the Form Requirement Checklist to understand which exact forms are required in order for you to successfully obtain your Ph.D.

Ph.D. Course Work

Program Requirements and Required Documentation

Program Requirement		Required Documentation
Statistics	Qualifying Undergrad Stats (equivalent to 3 quarters) or 2 grad level stats courses	Stats Form
Advanced Research Skills	Advanced Research Skills Certification or Completion of Language Requirement	Certification of Advanced Research Skills Form or Certification of Fulfillment of Language Requirement Form
3 of 4 Field Seminars	American Politics Comparative Politics Int'l Relations Political Theory	Transcript review by Grad Director

2 Major Fields

Field 1: Name, Curriculum and Coordinator Click on field name for link to field curriculum information	Field Check List
American Politics / Danielle Thomsen Comparative Politics / Kamal Sadiq Int'l Relations / Erin Lockwood Political Theory / Keith Topper	American Politics Field Form Comparative Politics Field Form Int'l Relations Field Form Political Theory Field Form

Field 2: Name and Coordinator contact coordinator for requirements	Field Check List
Public Law / Mary McThomas Political Psychology / Kristi Monroe Ethics / Kristi Monroe Methodology / Ines Levin Public Choice - Political Economy / Marek Kaminski Democracy Studies / Louis DeSipio Critical Theory / Kevin Olson Race and Ethnicity / Davin Phoenix	2nd Field / Other Form

Overall Coursework	Min 12 Pol Sci courses (48 units) Max 6 non-Pol Sci courses (24 units)	Transcript review by Grad Director

Ph.D. coursework requirement forms info also available in pdf format here.

Ph.D. Non-Coursework Requirements

Grad Division Filling Deadlines

Program Requirement		Required Documentation
Qualifying Paper #1	2 Readers required Signed Qualifying Paper Approval form from each reader required	1 copy of the paper Qualifying Paper Approval Form
Qualifying Paper #2	2 Readers required Signed Qualifying Paper Approval form from each reader required	1 copy of the paper Qualifying Paper Approval Form

Advancement to Candidacy Exam

Program Requirement	Required Documentation
Advancement to candidacy approval Submit at least 2 weeks before exam Must be signed by all candidacy committee members	Approval of Advancement to Candidacy Committee Form
Payment of Grad Division Advancement to Candidacy fee is required before submitting Ph.D. Form 1	Grad Div Adv to Candidacy Fee Payment Portal
Ph.D. Form 1 - submit after exam Must be signed by all dissertation committee members DocuSign form - see DocuSign instructions	Advancement to Candidacy Form (Ph.D. Form 1)

Colloquium presentation

Email notification from Colloquium Director or Graduate Director, or copy of colloquium flyer

Dissertation prospectus defense

Must be signed by all dissertation committee members

Dissertation Prospectus Defense Approval Form

Completed dissertation

Ph.D. Form 2 - submit after dissertation defense

Must be signed by all dissertation committee members

DocuSign form - see DocuSign instructions

Dissertation Defense Paperwork (Ph.D. Form 2)

Ph.D. non-coursework requirement forms info also available in pdf format here.

Optional MA Degree

Pol Sci MA Requirements Summary:

Completion of 48 units of graduate course work (excl 299's, grade of B or better, max 12 units outside UCI, and min 24 units in Pol Sci Dept courses)
Completion of Pol Sci statistics requirement
Completion and acceptance of one qualifying paper

NOTE: See section 16 of "Grad Program in Pol Sci Requirements, Rules, and Regs" document for details

Required Steps	Required Documentation
Step 0 The MA request/approval process is a multi-quarter process. Read the detailed MA instructions at least 3 quarters before you want MA conferred to understand the requirements and timeline. You will need to plan appropriately if you need an MA for potential summer teaching appointments.	PolSci MA Instructions for Students
Step 1 - MA Form 1 The first of 2 required forms. Can be submitted 1 quarter before PolSci MA requirements are completed. NOTE: You do NOT need to advance to Ph.D. candidacy to submit MA Form 1. DocuSign form - see instructions in Step 0	MA Form 1 (Step 1) (Grad Div form name: Master’s Advancement to Candidacy Comprehensive Exam)
Step 2 - MA Form 2 The second of 2 required forms. MUST BE SUBMITTED AT LEAST 1 QUARTER AFTER MA FORM 1 SUBMITTED. Must complete all Pol Sci MA requirements before MA Form 2 can be submitted. DocuSign form - see instructions in Step 0	MA Form 2 (Step 2) (Grad Div form name: Final Degree Paperwork for the Master's Degree)

Masters requirement forms info also available in pdf format here.

DocuSign Online Forms

DocuSign Process - In what order do I fill the above forms?

1 - Please click on the appropriate Docusign form link
2 - For the Dept Form Preparer — please put your own name/email
3 - Please list the names and emails of all your committee members (only applies to Ph.D. Form 1 and Ph.D. Form 2)
4 - For Student — please put your own name/email
5 - For Department Chair/Grad Advisor — please put “Dept of Political Science” for name and place this email: gradpolisci@uci.edu
6 - For Associate Dean — please put “Barbara Sarnecka” and place this email: sarnecka@uci.edu
7- For Department Copy— please put “Dept of Political Science” for name and place this email: gradpolisci@uci.edu

Once you hit “BEGIN SIGNING,” it will ask you to fill out part of the form (your name, ID no, school/dept). Once you fill that out, it will ask you to hit “FINISH” and it will send to the next person on your list (usually in the order you set your committee members, chair will likely be first).

After it routes through them, it will come back to you as a student, where you might have to sign in the appropriate fields depending on the form (Docusign will indicate where).

Then, it will route to the email (gradpolisci@uci.edu) where the department graduate director will sign.

Then, it will route to Associate Dean Sarnecka.

Finally, after all those members have signed, it will route automatically to the Grad Division.

*Please make sure you enter all email addresses correctly; if not, your paperwork will get stuck within the Docusign platform