Requirements
Comprehensive Exams
Students in good academic standing and who have completed 42 of the 48 credit hours required for the doctoral degree will take two comprehensive exams (one in their first field; one in their second field) in the fall semester of their third year. The first field for the PhD in Political Science is Comparative Politics or International Relations. The second field is International Relations (for those choosing Comparative Politics as their first field) or Comparative Politics (for those choosing International Relations as their first field). The exams serve two purposes. First, passing them is a prerequisite for continuing to the dissertation stage of the PhD program. Second, they evidence mastery of the knowledge base in the first and second fields, which is one main prerequisite for students to develop and teach their own courses independently. The format for both exams is the same. They are timed, written examinations taken in a locked browser setting. An abbreviated set of hard-copy notes may be brought to consult. They consist of written answers to two questions. The first exam will require written answers to the two questions of around 2,000–3,000 words each. The second exam will require answers of around the same length as the first exam. Faculty members will grade each exam. The grading scale has three points: distinction, pass or fail. If the faculty examiners deem it necessary to clarify grades, students may be called for a supplementary oral examination. A student who fails a comprehensive exam on the first attempt may be re-examined only once, in whichever fields were failed. A student who fails a second time will be terminated. Grievances regarding the outcome of comprehensive exams can be pursued according to the procedures outlined in the Graduate School grievance policy.
Dissertation Prospectus Defense
The dissertation prospectus defense is an important milestone in the PhD program. Once they have successfully defended the prospectus, students will have fulfilled all requirements for the PhD except producing a dissertation (so, they will be considered ABD or “all but dissertation”). Only after students have passed comprehensive exams and the prospectus defense, will they officially advance to candidacy and be eligible to use the title of PhD candidate. We expect students to defend their prospectuses no later than the end of their third year in the program.
The dissertation prospectus represents a piece of original research on an important question in the field of political development that is approximately 35-40 pages in length, inclusive of references. The prospectus should clearly state the puzzle of the dissertation; its theoretical importance; and the research hypotheses that will be evaluated. In addition, students should explicitly articulate the specific empirical evidence and methodological techniques that they will use to assess the validity of the research hypotheses. A strong proposal does more than just summarize existing research on the question that the dissertation plans to investigate – it constitutes a promise to produce a PhD dissertation that will advance the state of the field.
The prospectus will be subject to a public defense attended by all members of the dissertation committee. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, a faculty member different from the chair of the dissertation committee will serve as chair of the prospectus defense. The defense will begin with a short (15-20 minute) statement by the student that will focus on the research puzzle, the central hypotheses, and the specific methodological approach that the dissertation will use to evaluate these hypotheses. The next stage of the defense will involve a conversation between committee members and the student about various aspects of the prospectus. At the end of that conversation, the student will leave the room and the faculty will confer about the quality of the prospectus. A student may pass the defense; pass pending requested revisions; or fail. A student who fails the prospectus defense can be dismissed from the program following a recommendation from the Committee on Graduate Study.
Dissertation
The dissertation project is the culmination of independent research undertaken by the candidate and represents a significant scholarly contribution to the existing political science literature. The dissertation announces the arrival of a new and promising scholar, and the dissertation process must be infused with utmost enthusiasm and careful planning. Dissertations are often multi-year projects, and involve extensive data analysis, fieldwork, or other forms of research. Upon passing the comprehensive exams, the candidate may proceed to the dissertation phase, assuming all other departmental requirements have been met. At this point, students will want to constitute their dissertation committee to reflect areas of concentration in the dissertation proposal. A committee of no fewer than three and no more than four members is assembled, including the dissertation advisor. One member may be from another graduate unit within Tulane or from another university based on competence in an area related to the candidate’s dissertation. This external member cannot serve as dissertation adviser. At least three members must be faculty in the Tulane Political Science department.
Forms for appointing dissertation committees are available on the department’s website. It is the responsibility of the candidate’s dissertation committee to approve the student’s dissertation proposal and to supervise the student’s progress through completion of the project. The candidate prepares a formal dissertation proposal of approximately 35-40 pages, plus appendices, and orally defends the proposal before the committee, before proceeding with the dissertation. The dissertation proposal must be unanimously approved by the committee and a copy of the approved dissertation proposal is to be placed in the student’s file. If, in the opinion of a majority of the committee, a student’s work on his or her dissertation proposal or dissertation does not show satisfactory progress, the student will be notified, in writing, that his or her degree candidacy may be terminated. During the dissertation stage, normal progress is considered to be a chapter of written work for each semester, or its equivalent in terms of fieldwork, library research, or data collection and/or analysis.
Students are required to submit an application for candidacy (available on the departmental website). This form must be submitted to department staff to be approved by the chair of the committee, the departmental chair, and the Director of Graduate Studies prior to the student being advanced to candidacy.
Students in the program are expected to maintain a presence in the department and to attend departmental functions such as speaker events and ad hoc seminars, even after the completion of their coursework, comprehensive exams, and oral prospectus defense. Other than students who have explicit permission to be away for extended periods to conduct dissertation research or associated activities, absences of more than two weeks must receive permission from the Director of Graduate Studies. Students on stipend are also expected to be available for work on campus as research and/or teaching assistants through the end of their fifth year in the program.