Ph.D. and Designated Emphasis Advising

Students can choose to take their written examinations as two 72-hour take-home exams. Students decide when each 72-hour home exam takes place; however, the specific time frame must fall between the weekend before the start of the quarter in which each written exam is required to take place and the second weekend in that quarter. 

The Core Literatures Exam is organized around questions the QE Committee faculty presents. The Dissertation Literature Exam focuses on questions the student determines in conversation with the QE committee. After each exam, the essay responses should be sent to the whole QE committee in a single email. About a week after each essay is received, the chair reports the committee’s collective feedback to the student (with a cc to the graduate program coordinator), including a clear signal that it is OK to proceed to the next step in the QE process.

The aim of having a written exam option with a time limit of 72 hours, rather than a specific length requirement, is to provide an alternative to the dangers of overextension and paralysis that can sometimes come with the more open-ended field statement format. 

Students can choose to submit their written examinations as two “field statements” of approximately 25 double-spaced pages each, with a 7,500-word maximum per field statement. The process for developing field statements is as follows:

• An abstract of 500 words, identifying the question to be addressed and a preliminary argument, must be submitted to the chair of the QE Committee one week before the start of the quarter in which each examination will take place, and must be approved by the chair (after any necessary revisions) by the end of the first week of that quarter.
• By the end of the sixth week of classes, a complete draft of the field statement should be sent to the whole committee in a single email. Faculty have one week to return the statement with comments.
• The completed field statement, which addresses the QE Committee members’ comments, is due by the last day of the quarter. About a week after each statement is received, the chair reports the committee’s collective feedback to the student (with a cc to the graduate program coordinator), including a clear signal that it is OK to proceed to the next step in the QE process.

The deadline for the completed field statement may be extended only in cases of major extenuating circumstances, with the prior written approval of each member of the QE Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies (or Department Chair, if the DGS serves on the QE Committee). In such cases, the QE Chair and the DGS will set a new and final deadline. 

Failure to obtain advance approval to extend a deadline or to meet the revised deadline will constitute a failure of the field statement in question. Failure to submit satisfactory work within six weeks of a missed deadline will constitute a second failure of the field statement, meaning that the student will not be allowed to continue in the program. 

Students must demonstrate knowledge by developing a coherent argument integrating readings from two Politics Ph.D. core areas (represented in the department’s four core graduate seminars). Students must select the two areas to be addressed and then work closely with their QE committee chair to compile the full list of readings to be examined based on the syllabi and core area readings lists archived online in the four Core Folders (available as shared folders on Google Drive). The examination should demonstrate the student’s ability to engage and articulate knowledge from the two chosen core literatures.

Students must demonstrate an ability to develop a coherent argument by reviewing a broad range of literature relevant to their potential dissertation topic. The reading list is in this case, compiled by the student with the advice of the QE committee chair and at least one other person on the committee. The list should speak to an issue that the student intends to address in the dissertation in ways that build on the input of the QE committee faculty. The exam should show how these chosen readings frame the main dissertation focus.

The prospectus should be approximately 15 pages long and should describe:

• The political problem the student wishes to address.
• The specific questions to be examined.
• The significance of the research for larger theoretical and intellectual concerns in the study of politics and its relation to relevant literature.
• The planned research strategy and methodology.
• The principal sources that are available.
• The qualifications or limitations that may affect the results.
• A proposed table of contents and a bibliography.
• A projected timetable for completing the dissertation.

Students should prepare the prospectus in consultation with members of their QE Committee. All candidates for the Ph.D. must submit a dissertation prospectus by the end of their third year. The prospectus is to be completed by the following deadlines:

• A complete draft of the prospectus is due to the committee by the end of the third week of spring quarter classes. Committee members have one week to return the draft with comments.
• A revised draft is due to the committee by the end of the sixth week of classes or two weeks before the scheduled oral examination (whichever comes first). The revised draft will be a principal topic of discussion in the oral exam.
• Subsequent to the exam, the prospectus will be revised as needed based on comments made in the Oral Exam.
• The revised prospectus must be approved by the Committee Chair and another Politics faculty member on the committee, and submitted along with a completed Committee Nomination Form to the Department’s Graduate Program Coordinator. These materials are due no later than the last day of the spring quarter. 

This portion of the oral exam lasts at least an hour, during which the student reviews their work on their two take-home exams or field statements. Committee members raise any unresolved questions from their initial review of the written exams and may raise additional questions pertaining to the readings, particularly those relevant to the exam topics.

This portion of the oral exam lasts at least an hour and is an opportunity for the student and committee to have a frank scholarly exchange about the student’s proposed research project. Following the oral exam, the student will make necessary revisions to the prospectus before securing the necessary approval and filing it. During the exam, the student may be asked to elaborate on the following aspects of their prospectus:

• The specific questions to be examined.
• The significance of the research for larger theoretical and political concerns in the study of politics.
• The research strategy and/or methodology to be used.
• The principal sources that are available.

If the committee decides the exam is unsatisfactory, the chair will communicate that outcome to the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Program Coordinator. The student will have the chance to schedule a second exam. In the event of a second unsatisfactory oral exam, the student will no longer continue in the doctoral program.