The department requires that scores from the GRE General Test accompany an application Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree Students are required to pass fourteen term courses during their first two years in the program, and receive a grade of Honors in at least two of them. Two of the courses may be in departments other than Political Science. Students are normally expected to complete seven courses in the first year. Each student must demonstrate competence in three of the seven fields by the beginning of the third year.
Competence is demonstrated by passing the comprehensive examination in the field.
The department also allows students to petition for the creation of a special field of study and examination. As part of the second year of courses, all students are required to take the two-term course in Research and Writing, which is devoted to the preparation of a manuscript based on original research on a topic of the student's choice. Students are also required to take a one-term course in statistical methods, successful completion of which satisfies the statistics requirement. Students may alternatively satisfy this requirement by completing an equivalent course, or by displaying requisite proficiency in statistical analysis. All students are required to demonstrate at least an elementary reading competence in one foreign language.