Regulations and Procedures of the Graduate Studies Program

Originally approved by the Graduate Studies Committee, November 18, 1974; revised, February 3, 1978 and including revisions made in October 1982. Approved by the department on April 8, 1983. Amended December 6, 1990, April 5, 1991, March 6, 1992, April 8, 1994, November 6, 1996, March 3, 2000, December 7, 2001, and December 15, 2005.

1. Introduction

1.1. The official, binding regulations for the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degree programs are those published in the Graduate Catalog. Changes in requirements cannot usually become effective until they have been published in the Graduate Catalog. Departmental policy changes are made in accordance with the provisions of the Department Operating Paper, that is by majority vote of the Department at its scheduled meetings, usually on the recommendation of the Graduate Studies Committee.

2. The Graduate Studies Committee

2.1. The Graduate Studies and Admissions Committee (hereafter abbreviated as GSC) is a standing committee of the Department. The Chairperson of the Department determines the size of this Committee and appoints half its members annually after consultation with the departmental Executive Committee. GSC membership is ordinarily for a two-year term with reappointment permitted.

2.2. A maximum of three representatives of the Graduate Student Organization may attend meetings of and vote on all matters before the GSC except those portions of the meetings involving decisions concerning personnel, namely, admission to the program and disciplinary action. Voting on the aforementioned personnel decisions is restricted to the faculty members of the GSC.

2.3. Normally, meetings of the GSC are called with at least three days notice by the Director of Graduate Studies (hereafter abbreviated as DGS), who provides an agenda for the meeting. Any faculty or student member of the GSC may submit items for the agenda of these meetings.

3. Director of Graduate Studies

3.1. The Chairperson of the Department, after consultation with the Executive Committee, appoints departmental officers, one of whom may include the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) who is ex officio chairperson of the Graduate Studies and Admissions Committee. The DGS also serves as Departmental Placement Officer. The DGS serves for a term of two years; reappointment is subject to the approval of the departmental Executive Committee.

3.2. The duties of the DGS are considered to be half of the DGS's academic assignment so that this officer normally teaches two courses one semester and one course the other semester.

4. Admissions Procedure

4.1. Graduate School and Department admission requirements are published in the Graduate Catalog. Additional departmental requirements are found in separate documents routinely mailed or circulated to those students interested in entering the Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy programs in political science.

4.2. Ph.D. applicants. The completed files of all applicants for the Ph.D. program must be circulated to all faculty members of the GSC by the DGS. The faculty members of the GSC will examine those files before the application dates for Graduate School financial awards and at appropriate times thereafter. If the applicant has had courses in the Department, and if those faculty who taught any of these courses have not supplied a written evaluation of the applicant's performance and potential, the DGS will invite the departmental faculty to comment on the application. These comments will be included in the applicant's file. The faculty members of the GSC will not consider the admission of a student whose Master's work was done in this Department to the doctoral program without reviewing a letter of evaluation from the chairperson of the student's Thesis Committee or, in the case of the research paper or internship report, the student's Advisory Committee.

4.3. Each faculty member of the GSC will signify approval of the applicant, disapproval, or deferral of judgement pending discussion. If all members approve the applicant's request for admission, the DGS will approve the application and notify the applicant of acceptance. If any GSC faculty member signifies disapproval or requests discussion, the faculty GSC members will act on this application by majority vote at a meeting called with proper notice. The DGS will then process the application accordingly and inform the applicant of the decision of the GSC. The GSC can place any conditions permitted by the rules of the Graduate School and of the Department upon any admission.

4.4. M.A. applications. The GSC decides how it wishes to process M.A. applications. All M.A. applications are sent to a faculty sub-committee of the GSC. The DGS appoints two members of the sub-committee on which the DGS is included as a voting member.

5. Admission Policy: Three Degrees from SIUC

5.1. The director of Graduate Studies will review the advantages and disadvantages of earning three degrees from one institution with those applicants to the Ph.D. program who have received two degrees from SIUC.

6. Committee Composition

6.1. The Advisory Committee (composed of a minimum of three faculty members for the M.A. student and three or four faculty members for the Ph.D. student) will counsel the student in planning a program. The M.A. Advisory Committee will supervise and guide the student in the preparation of an Internship Report or a research paper (accelerated entry option). The Thesis Committee will supervise the student's preparation of an M.A. Thesis. The Ph.D. Advisory Committee will be in charge of the comprehensive examinations. The Ph.D. Dissertation Committee will supervise and guide the student's preparation of the Dissertation. The composition and responsibilities of the Thesis and Dissertation committees are specified below. The membership of the Thesis or Dissertation committee may be different from that of the Advisory Committee. Advisory Committees may contain no more than one member from outside the Department. A Dissertation Committee must consist of a minimum of five members, including at least one but no more than two members from outside the Department. Advisory, thesis and dissertation committees may contain no more than one emeritus professor. Committee membership may be changed when appropriate with the approval of the GSC.

7. Advisement Policy

7.1. The DGS is responsible for the initial advisement of students entering the Department, supervision of the Advisory Committees, assessment of students' completion of program requirements, and registration and other forms for new students each term. Before seeing the Director about registration for their first term students should familiarize themselves with degree requirements and course offerings and draw up their proposed course schedules.

7.2. Before the end of the first semester in residence, both M.A. and Ph.D. students should have a program approval form with the signatures of all Advisory Committee members on file with the DGS. The Advisory Committee should comprise only those faculty members whose expertise lies in the fields of concentration chosen by the student both for course work and examination. The Advisory Committee will be appointed by the DGS in consultation with the student and with the consent of those faculty asked to serve.

8. MA and PhD Fields, Coursework, and Proseminar

8.1. The fields of study for M.A. and Ph.D coursework are:

Theory
Methods
American Government and Politics
Public Law
Public Administration
Comparative Politics
International Relations
Cognate or Interdisciplinary Field

8.2. M.A. students select three fields for coursework from those listed in 8.1, taking at least six credit hours of substantive coursework in each field they select.

8.3. Ph.D. students select three fields for coursework from those listed in 8.1, taking at least twelve credit hours of coursework in each of two primary fields and at least nine credit hours of coursework in one secondary field.

8.4. Ph.D. students may choose primary fields only from American Politics, Public Law, Public Administration, Comparative Politics, and International Relations. Secondary fields may be chosen from any of the fields named in 8.1.

8.5. To sit for Ph.D. comprehensive examinations, students in both the specialist and generalist programs must complete a minimum of thirty-three credit hours in substantive fields. These thirty-three hours may include related coursework at the M.A. level, subject to approval by the student's advisory committee and the DGS.

8.6. M.A. students must complete proseminars in at least two of the three fields they select for study. Ph.D. students must complete the proseminars in all the fields they select except in cognate fields offering no proseminar..

8.7. Students may take Readings (POLS 590) and Individual Research (POLS 591) only after completing six hours of coursework in the field to which the credit is to apply.

9. Residence Policy

9.1. In accordance with university regulations, Ph.D. residence begins with the completion of the M.A. The DGS, with the permission of the Graduate School, may permit a student to count one term toward the residence requirement if the M.A. is completed early in that term.

10. Comprehensive Examination Procedures

10.1. The doctoral student will take a comprehensive examination in each field selected from the list in section 8, "M.A. and Ph.D. Fields."

10.2. Students must notify the DGS and all members of the Ph.D. Advisory Committee in writing the semester before they wish to sit for the comprehensive examination. Upon notification of intention to sit for examinations, the DGS will verify the student's eligibility in terms of departmental requirements and by seeking the Advisory Committee's approval..

10.3. Comprehensive examinations shall be administered once during the fall term and once during the spring term of each academic year. The written portion of the examination shall take place by October 1 for Fall semester examinations or by March 1 for Spring semester examinations. The exact date will be announced before the first day of the semester. The exam period will last two weeks. A student will take an examination in a maximum of two fields per week. A student may take all three written examinations in a single period or divide them between two periods in successive semesters. The oral examination shall take place not more than two weeks after the student has passed the last written examination. All scheduling exceptions must be approved by the DGS upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee.

10.4. The faculty members comprising the student's Advisory Committee write the questions and grade the answers for the written examination, each member having responsibility solely for the field for which he/she serves as advisor. Advisors write questions and grade answers in consultation with and subject to approval by a second reader, who is appointed by the DGS. The DGS will consult the advisor (or "first reader") before selecting the second reader and will appoint a third reader if the first and second readers are unable to agree on a result.

10.5. The examination shall be taken in offices of the Department and without the aid of books, notes, or any other kind of reference material except in cases of serious disability when special arrangements may be made consistent with strict monitoring procedures. Written examinations in a primary field may take up to two days, at the discretion of the first and second reader. For a two-day examination, students will be given approximately half of the questions on each day. Written examinations in the primary field shall be constructed so as to require four to eight hours of each day to complete. Written eaminations in the secondary field will consist of the presentation of evidence of teaching competence (e.g., writing and oral defense of a syllabus), with the exact nature of this evidence decided by the first and second reader.

10.6. Written examinations shall be graded Pass With Distinction, Pass, Conditional Pass, or Fail. If the grade on a written examination is conditional pass, the first and second readers will hold a sub-field oral within 10 working days to determine whether to pass the student or to impose a condition. Once any conditions are met and all exams are graded Pass or better, and within two weeks of meeting this requirement, the student's Advisory Committee will administer a general oral covering all three sub-fields. Second readers of the written examination may substitute for first readers and participate in the oral exam.

10.7. The reasons for the grade of Failure or Conditional Pass on a written examination are to be specified in writing and sent to the student, to the Chairperson of the student's Advisory Committee and to the DGS. At such time as the student has met the conditions specified in the grade of Conditional Pass, the Chairperson of the student's Advisory Committee shall so notify the DGS in writing.

10.8. If a student fails one or more written examinations, the student's Advisory Committee shall decide, after discussion with the student, whether only the failed examination(s), or the entire set of written examinations should be retaken. Failed examinations must be retaken during the next scheduled examination period. If a student fails one or more examinations a second time, the student shall be dropped from the doctoral program.

10.9. Upon completion of the oral examination, the comprehensive examination shall be graded Pass with Distinction, Pass, or Fail, with majority rule prevailing.

10.10. The reasons for the grade of Failure on the oral examination are to be specified in writing by the Chairperson of the Ph.D. Advisory Committee and sent to the student and to the DGS.

10.11. If a student fails the oral examination, another oral may be scheduled at the discretion of the student's Advisory Committee, but not before three months, nor later than six months, after the initial oral exam was failed. If a student fails the oral examination a second time, the student shall be dropped from the program.

10.12. When the student has passed all written examinations, passed the oral examination, and satisfied all conditions, the student will then be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy.

11. Thesis and Dissertation Committees

11.1. The Chairperson of the Thesis or Dissertation Committee must be qualified for the position by reason of academic specialization. The Committee must include faculty members whose academic specialization is appropriate to the subject and to the approach of the Thesis or Dissertation. The GSC is authorized to enforce the provisions of this paragraph.

11.2. Provided that the conditions in 12.1 are met, the Thesis or Dissertation Committees shall be selected by the student in consultation with the Chairperson of the Committees and with the consent of those faculty asked to serve. Ph.D. students will notify the DGS in writing of the members of the Dissertation Committee when filing their intention to take comprehensive examinations.

11.3. A Thesis, Internship Report or Dissertation Prospectus must be circulated to the members of the Thesis, M.A. Advisory Committee or Dissertation Committee, respectively, for their approval. A copy of the approved prospectus, with the signatures of all Committee members (including outside members), must be filed with the DGS. A Thesis, Dissertation, or Internship prospectus is considered as accepted only after Committee approval of the prospectus and the filing of this document with the DGS. (See 13.3 and 13.4 for time limits. See Appendix "A" for Prospectus Format).

11.4. The student will work primarily with the Chairperson of the Thesis or Dissertation Committee. The Chairperson is responsible for insuring that the Thesis or Dissertation is well written and adequately organized before it is circulated to other members of the Committee. Any member of the Committee may read the Thesis or Dissertation in draft form and offer suggestions for its improvement.

11.5. All students working exclusively on an M.A. Thesis or Ph.D. Dissertation and not registered in POLS 599 or POLS 600, must register for POLS 601.

12. Accelerated Entry into the PhD Program

12.1. When a student who is enrolled in the M.A. program, wishes to become a Ph.D. student at SIUC, and has completed two semesters in residence, the student may petition the GSC for a waiver of the requirement for an M.A. degree as a prerequisite for admission to the doctoral program and for direct entry to the Ph.D. program. The granting of such a waiver depends upon the following two provisions. First, this student must be certified by the student's Advisory Committee to be an outstanding graduate student. In so doing, the Advisory Committee must consider a wide range of supporting evidence including, but not restricted to, G.P.A., G.R.E., M.A. tool requirement, and letters of evaluation from all faculty who have taught this student. Second, this student must include in the petition at least one graduate research paper of outstanding quality or an article published in an appropriate journal. The petition, accompanied by the Advisory Committee recommendation and the supporting evidence, must be submitted to the GSC which will make the final decision on the petition. If admitted, the student will proceed toward the Ph.D. in accordance with the established rules of the Department and of the Graduate School.

13. Policy on Incomplete Work and Satisfactory Progress

13.1. Each faculty member shall submit a grade change after an INC has extended either beyond a time limit that the faculty member has stipulated or beyond one year. The DGS will check regularly with relevant faculty members regarding the status of INC grades. No student with more than two incomplete grades can be awarded a graduate assistantship, and a student holding a graduate student assistantship is liable to have that assistantship terminated when the student earns two or more incomplete grades.

13.2 All INCs must be removed from the student's transcript before taking the M.A. oral examination or the Ph.D. comprehensive examination.

13.3. All students will present a brief dissertation topic statement (5-10 pages) within 30 days of passing the comprehensive examination. The chair of the student's dissertation committee will sign and transmit a copy of the statement to the Director of Graduate Studies for placement in the student's file.

13.4. All students must submit a dissertation prospectus within four months of passing the comprehensive examinations. A graduate student who fails to fulfill this requirement is liable to have the assistantship terminated. No student may register for dissertation hours without the consent of the dissertation committee chair in the form of a note on file with the Director of Graduate Studies.

13.5. Separately from the submission of grade sheets to Admissions and Records, each faculty member shall submit grades on a half-letter basis (A+, A, A- B+, etc.) to the DGS for graduate students enrolled in her/his 400- and 500-level classes. These grades will be kept in the students file.

13.6. Students who fail to make satisfactory progress toward completion of a degree may be dropped from the program and denied permission to enroll as a degree candidate in political science. The measures of satisfactory progress include, but are not limited to, grade point average, number of incompletes, time enrolled, and the consent of faculty members to serve as members of the student's Advisory, Thesis, or Dissertation Committee. The decision to drop a student is made by the student's Advisory, Thesis or Dissertation Committee, or by the Graduate Studies Committee if the student does not have an Advisory, Thesis or Dissertation Committee. This decision is subject to approval by the Department Chair.

14. Eligibility for Financial Assistance

14.1. Graduate students are eligible for a total of no more than 6 academic years (12 semesters) of financial assistance from the Department. This limit on eligibility is divided between 2 academic years (4 semesters) at the M.A. level and 4 academic years (8 semesters) at the Ph.D. level.

15. Methods and Tools

15.1. Students will select optional tools under the guidance of their Advisory Committee. The tool selected by M.A. and Ph.D. students will be appropriate to their chosen fields of study and to their Thesis or Dissertation research topic.

15.2. Equivalent courses offered from another university in lieu of two offerings from the methods sequence (POLS 501) must be approved by the student's Advisory Committee and by the DGS. The decision on equivalency shall be based on the number of credit hours earned and on the comparability of subject matter covered. The same provision will apply to equivalents proposed for tool requirements. When questions of course equivalency or exemption arise, the DGS will consult with those faculty who teach the course in question or, if this is not possible, with those faculty who teach in the methods area.

16. Internship Credit

16.1. Internship credit can be earned any time after admission to the program, provided that a student finds a qualified faculty member who agrees to supervise the internship. Thus, a student need not wait until the end of the program to earn internship credit.

17. Appeals to Departmental Rules

17.1. As provided in the Graduate Catalog, students, with the written support of their Advisory Committees, may petition the GSC for exceptions to departmental rules.

17.2. By majority vote not including the DGS, the GSC may request full faculty review of decisions made by the DGS at Department meetings under committee business. Individual members may submit such items under new business.

18. Grievances by Graduate Students

18.1. 18.1. Any graduate student in the Department of Political Science who has a grievance that cannot be informally resolved is entitled to a hearing by an appeals committee. This committee and the procedure it follows are those provided for in the departmental Policy on Graduate Student Files, adopted on February 7, 1975.

APPENDIX A

19. Prospectus: Thesis, Internship Report, and Dissertation Procedures

19.1. A graduate student shall prepare a prospectus prior to writing a Thesis, Internship Report, or Dissertation in the Department of Political Science. This prospectus, which must be approved by the appropriate Committee, will include the following items:

19.1. (a) A brief, yet accurate, title of the Thesis, Internship Report, or Dissertation.

19.1. (b) A statement of the substantive elements of, and the research literature relevant to, the topic.

19.1. (c) A statement of the narrative, research design, methodology, and data to be employed.

19.1. (d) A listing of sample bibliography with an evaluation of the type, adequacy, location, and accessibility of the materials to be used.

19.2. This prospectus shall be circulated to the members of the appropriate committee for their approval. A copy of the approved prospectus with the signatures of committee members (including outside members) shall be filed with the DGS. Each Ph.D. dissertation prospectus shall be subject to an oral defense before the Ph.D. Dissertation Committee. Scheduling and format of the oral defense will be determined by the Chairperson of the students Dissertation Committee.

19.3. In the event any significant changes need to be made in the prospectus after it has been approved, a written statement of the changes shall be submitted to all committee members for their approval. The approved changes must be filed with the DGS. Since the definition of "significant changes" may vary from committee to committee, the preferable procedure is to file an approved written statement for all changes to be made in 21.1. above with the DGS.

19.4. The final draft of the Thesis, Dissertation or Internship Report shall not be presented to committee members until the Chairperson of the Thesis or Dissertation Committee or the Chairperson of the M.A. student's Advisory Committee (in the case of an Internship Report) has determined that it is in complete and acceptable form. This assessment shall be based upon, but not confined to, at least the following four matters:

19.4.(a) The consistency, accuracy, and documentation of the substantive elements.

19.4.(b) The conformity of the Thesis, Dissertation, or Internship Report to all the requirements of the Graduate School and of the Department.

19.4.(c) The conformity of the Thesis, Dissertation, or Internship Report with widely accepted standards of scholarly writing.

19.4.(d) The acceptability of the typing and reproduction processes used.

19.5. The members of the appropriate committee will not undertake the reading of the final draft until it has received the final approval of the committee chairperson.

19.6. Under no conditions shall committee members be given the final copy of a doctoral Dissertation for reading less than two weeks prior to the scheduled Dissertation defense. For an M.A. Thesis or an Internship Report, the minimum time shall be a week before the scheduled Thesis or Internship Report Defense.

19.7. One copy of all Theses, Dissertations, and Internship Reports shall be filed with the DGS, who will arrange for their preservation and use, before the papers certifying that the student has completed all degree requirements are forwarded to the Graduate School.

19.8. Upon acceptance of the prospectus, the title of the Ph.D. Dissertation will be filed with the P.S. coordinator by the DGS. Upon the awarding of the Ph.D. degree, the final Dissertation title will be filed with the P.S. coordinator by the DGS.

APPENDIX B

20. Policy on Graduate Student Teaching

20.1 It is the policy of the Department of Political Science to afford doctoral students the opportunity to teach their own courses under the supervision of appropriate senior faculty members, consistent with departmental teaching needs and capacities.

20.2 Preference will be given to qualified senior doctoral candidates who have successfully completed comprehensive exams, filed a dissertation prospectus, and have been admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

20.3 When a doctoral student is appointed to teach a class, the DGS will designate an appropriate faculty member to supervise and evaluate the student's teaching performance. Methods of evaluation may include classroom visits, visits by appropriate university personnel, and/or administration of specially constructed instructional evaluations.

Department of Political Science