The graduate faculty of the Political Science Department has as its primary mission the education and graduation of policy specialists whose competence is demonstrated in their ability to extend the theoretical, conceptual, and professional boundaries of public policy through an emphasis on scholarly research. Students are tarined to pursue careers in academia, public service and private sector. Programs The Department of Political Science offers work leading to the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Public Administration and Doctor of Philosophy. The Ph.D. program in the Department of Political Science at Kent State Universityi provides a graduate program focused exclusively on the study of public policy. The Department has sought to build a comparative advantage in the provision of a Ph.D. focused in public policy analysis by emphasizing three main foci.
Emphasis is placed on public policy.
These concentrations will incorporate substantive domains such as health policy, foreign policy and institutional policy. Upon completion of coursework and successful defense of the dissertation proposal, in consultation with the dissertation committee, the student writes and defends the dissertation proposal. In the first semester, the student may participate in the teaching development program as a teaching assistant, learning how to teach by watching and participating in classroom teaching experiences. In the second semester the student may participate as a team teacher, assuming more responsibility for the conduct of a course. The student completes and presents a public oral defense of the dissertation.