The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is designed to build on work done at the masters degree level. Students who have completed an M.A. degree in Political Science at UGA will have made a substantial beginning toward the fulfillment of the Ph.D. requirements. Most or all of the courses in the Ph.D. methodology core will have been completed. Substantive course work will prepare the student for doctoral comprehensive examinations. Students who enter our Ph.D. program with masters-level work from other universities should consult with the Graduate Coordinator about the applicability of that course work to our doctoral requirements.

Among the requirements of the Graduate School is one specifying that 30 hours of consecutive graduate course work after the masters degree be completed at the Athens campus and included in the program of study. All requirements except the dissertation and oral defense must be completed within six years.

Assuming the full applicability of a student’s masters-level course work, it is possible for the student to complete our Ph.D. program in three years. The doctoral comprehensive examinations should be taken at the end of the second year of Ph.D. studies, and the third year should be devoted to writing a dissertation.

Ph.D. students must submit a dissertation, which represents originality in research, independent thinking, scholarly ability, and technical mastery of a field of study. The student’s major professor has the primary responsibility for guiding the dissertation research, however the student should consult all members of the advisory committee to draw upon their expertise. After the dissertation has been approved by the student’s advisory committee, a final oral examination is held, when the student must successfully defend the dissertation.