The International Studies graduate programs enroll about 60 graduate students, with about half in the M.A. program and half pursuing the Ph.D. degree. The vast majority of the students come from outside the Southeast and roughly one-third come from outside the United States. The M.A. program requires 27 hours of course work and 6 hours devoted to the thesis. International Law and Organization International Relations. The Ph.D. program requires 60 hours of course work and 12 hours devoted to the thesis.
All applications are for fall admission only.
Students with either an MA or just a BA degree who are interested in pursuing a more academically oriented program and who hope to eventually obtain the Ph.D. degree should apply directly to the Ph.D. program in either Political Science or International Studies. Students who have earned at least a BA degree who are interested in a more professionally oriented program with an international focus should apply to the MA program in International Studies. Students who are interested only in a terminal MA degree in Political Science are generally not considered for admission. Admission to each graduate program is based on an evaluation of the applicants' potential for successful graduate work. While the admission decision depends in part on the qualifications of the total pool of applicants, each applicant is evaluated in comparison to the two benchmark standards described below.