Graduate Program
The MU Political Science Department conducts basic, theoretically significant research in five areas of the discipline that will advance the frontiers of knowledge and also will provide a basis for advanced and contemporary postgraduate education.
The Department does not intend to provide applied training for practical politics, but rather sees its primary mission as the education of college and university teachers and researchers. Advanced education in the study of politics and government is crucial to generating the knowledge and analyzing the values that are necessary to enhance the quality of political life wherever possible.
Masters degrees were first awarded in 1846. The first doctor of philosophy degree was awarded in 1899. MU's students come from everywhere, all 50 states and from 110 countries. The Graduate School has awarded 50,061 master's degrees, and 9,488 doctoral degrees in 967 educational specialist degrees. The University of Missouri-Columbia is a truly comprehensive university. In addition to a large and diverse College of Arts and Science, the University includes schools of Journalism, Law, Public Affairs, Business, Agriculture, Medicine, Engineering, Education, and others.
Students generally take nine to twelve hours of courses per regular (fall and winter) semester. Nine hours per semester is the minimum necessary to maintain full-time status. A student may opt for part-time status, but would still be obligated to maintain reasonable progress toward the degree and would be ineligible for Political Science assistantships.
Most courses in the program of study are graduate seminars; these small classes (from 4-15 students) allow intensive study of political science concepts and research, close interaction with faculty, and individual attention to student progress. Graduate study requires a student to be a participant in discussion and analysis rather than simply a spectator. Graduate faculty in Political Science at Missouri will advise and guide you in the transition from a passive learner to an active scholar capable of conducting independent analysis and research of political and social phenomena.