The Political Science Department at the University of Michigan has long been ranked among the very top departments in the country in terms of both the distinction of its faculty and the excellence of its graduate training.The primary goals of the graduate program are to train doctoral candidates in research and develop professional political science colleagues who go on to successful careers in academia, government, nonprofit organizations, consulting and research.
The graduate program is distinguished by a wide variety of areas of specialization and ample flexibility to tailor programs to fit the needs and interests of individual students. It is also distinguished by the ease of pursuing cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary topics with department faculty and superb faculty across the rest of the university. Although no separate Masters program exists, the opportunity to earn an M.A. is available. The graduate curriculum is organized around a set of core seminars and specialized courses, but there are several possible paths to the doctorate and distinctive subjects and fields are encouraged.
Admission to the graduate program in political science is highly selective. Each entering cohort is large enough to stimulate productive student interaction and yet small enough to yield an excellent faculty-to-student ratio that permits individual work with members of the faculty. Financial assistance is available. The department takes seriously its commitment to teaching and to preparing future teachers before they enter the classroom. For questions about the graduate program that are not covered in these pages, please contact the department at psgradinfo@umich.edu.
