Graduate Program
Additional questions?
If you have further questions, please contact Lisa Berry.
Phone: 302-831-2355
Fax: 302-831-4452
Director of Graduate Studies
From the Director of Graduate Programs
Our graduate program in political science reflects changes in the discipline, shifts in the political landscape, and the additional new faculty who have expanded the depth and breadth of our offerings. We currently offer a Ph.D. specializing in four of the major subfields of political science: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. Within each of these fields we offer coursework as well as faculty mentorship, encouraging students to get grounding in the traditional subfields as well as designing a research program drawing from our different faculty strengths. Within and across subfields we have clusters of faculty specializing in global governance, political psychology, political behavior, quantitative and qualitative methodology, security studies, critical theory, constructivism, and gender and politics. Our department complements training inside the department with interdisciplinary ties to the Department of Women and Gender Studies, Department of Communication, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Africana Studies, the Center for Global and Area Studies and others.
We also provide students with access to a variety of methodological skills through coursework inside and outside the department, in addition to off-campus opportunities such as attending the ICPSR at the University of Michigan and the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-method Research at Syracuse University.
Our program is a Ph.D. program, with students earning an M.A. along the way. Ph.D. students pursue two subfields of Political Science. Each subfield offers students opportunities to explore in depth complex theoretical, conceptual, and practical questions related to particular issues, and to develop specific research interests under the guidance of distinguished faculty.
Approximately 50 graduate students from all over the United States and the world are currently enrolled in our graduate program. Our faculty provide close advising and mentoring to our graduate students who find a collegial atmosphere in the department. Through colloquia, seminars and an annual spring speaker series, we offer a stimulating intellectual environment. In addition, we provide our advanced graduate students with opportunities to teach their own courses. Finally, we encourage our advanced graduate students to present their research at conferences and to publish their scholarship in peer-reviewed journals.
We are excited about the growth and new directions in graduate education in our department and at our University, and we encourage you to explore our website to learn more about our program.
Please contact me with any questions.
Joanne Miller, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
jomiller@udel.edu
Our graduate program
Field Descriptions
The American politics field broadly encompasses institutions (including Congress, the presidency, and the courts), mass behavior (including public opinion and political participation) and political organizations (like parties and interest groups). Our research program and courses are theoretically driven, but also offer opportunities for students and faculty alike to engage in applied politics. We have particular strengths in the study of political psychology, gender and politics, and race and ethnic politics.
Comparative Politics as a sub-field is a wide and diverse area of study that deals with politics beyond the U.S. It embraces a range of methodological and theoretical approaches. At the University of Delaware, our comparative politics faculty conduct research in gender and politics in Africa, governance in Africa, comparative political economy with a focus on Europe, populism in Latin America, regionalism in Asia, religion and politics in the Middle East, and ethnic conflict.
International Relations (IR) is the study of international and transnational politics broadly understood. Work in the IR subfield is attentive to exchanges and processes among states, peoples, corporations and other economic activity, organizations, transnational actors and movements, as well among the global, regional, and local levels of politics. The IR faculty at the University of Delaware conduct research in areas of historical IR and the historical evolution of the international system; normative IR theory; conflict and peace-building; international security; security studies; political economy; gender and IR; human rights and human security; and global, regional, and transnational governance.
The subfield of Political Theory consists of offerings in political theory and law. The political theory subfield focuses on the conceptual frameworks we use to understand, explain, and evaluate our political world. Our faculty includes specialists in both theory and law, many of whom overlap with other subfields in the discipline and who have interdisciplinary ties with fields including Legal Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Sexuality and Gender Studies, and Islamic Studies. Our department includes the study of both the history of ideas and contemporary political and social theory, with strengths in critical theory, modern and postmodern political theory, feminist and queer theory, democratic theory, and Islamic political thought.
The University of Delaware holistically supports its graduate students, beginning with their health and wellbeing. Benefits include a subsidized health plan and physical and behavioral health services. UD fosters a culture of academic excellence, with committed faculty and staff and access to state-of-the-art research facilities and technology. UD prioritizes professional development with job training, internships and industry partnerships. Graduates further enhance their professional growth and visibility with opportunities to work on interdisciplinary research teams, present their work at conferences and publish in academic journals. Visit the links below to learn how UD is supporting society’s future leaders, scholars, and innovators.
