Political Science

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OFFICE: Nasatir Hall 126
TELEPHONE: 619-594-6244 / FAX: 619-594-7302
WEBSITE: http://politicalscience.sdsu.edu

Undergraduate Information

The Major

Political Science is the study of governments. Its concerns, however, are not limited to formal governmental institutions such as the executive and legislative branches or the judicial systems. Political Science is also interested in other organizations and activities which are part of the process of government, including political parties, interest groups, protest movements, and the media.

Students who become Political Science majors will learn about who creates the rules by which people are governed, the attitude and behavior of leaders and members of the public which cause certain decisions to be made, and how these decisions affect liberty, equality, welfare, and justice. Political Science is concerned with contemporary public affairs, developments and controversies in other political systems and contemporary international politics, as well as with historical growth, evolution, and decline of various types of governments.The many career opportunities available to Political Science graduates include teaching at the secondary level; positions with the federal government in areas such as intelligence, foreign affairs, environmental protection, civil rights and civil liberties, and budget and computer administration; positions with state and local governments, including administrative aide for a city manager, staff assistant for a county supervisor, and assistant to the registrar of voters; administrative positions on the staffs of national, state, and local legislators; statistical technician; marketing researcher; lobbyist for a business, non-profit or trade organization; community organizer and service provider and political reporter.

Advising

All College of Arts and Letters majors are urged to consult with their department adviser as soon as possible. To add Political Science as a second major or to change from a different major or from undeclared status to Political Science, please contact the undergraduate adviser at psadvice@sdsu.edu.

Graduate Information

General Information

The Political Science graduate program emphasizes global developments and the interdependence of the United States and other states. It offers a variety of courses that provide a strong foundation in global politics, comparative and regional politics, theory, and research design.

This high-quality, flexible master’s program is designed to meet the needs of a diverse body of students, including: (1) Academic career students intending to enter Ph.D. programs and to pursue careers as university or college faculty or as professional researchers. (2) Community career students pursuing a master’s degree to obtain or enhance current employment including teaching, work in public agencies, activist organizations, business, military, law enforcement, and holding elected or appointed office. (3) Self-development students pursuing a master’s degree because they enjoy studying political science and politics. These students contribute breadth and sophistication of understanding and a wealth of diverse experience to graduate seminars.

For those who want to develop specialized skills, we offer two fifteen-unit certificate programs that can be completed as part of an MA or separately: the Advanced Certificate in Public Policy and the Advanced Certificate in Comparative and Global Politics. Both are open to all matriculated students with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or its equivalent from a foreign institution

The graduate program provides students with a depth and breadth of resources. The Department cooperates with the interdisciplinary degree programs in Latin American Studies, Islamic and Arabic Studies, and Asian Studies and shares faculty and expertise with the programs in International Security and Conflict Resolution  and Sustainability. The department offers training in both qualitative and quantitative methods as well as faculty mentorship on individual thesis projects. The Social Science Research Laboratory  provides technical support for students doing quantitative or survey research. The Department also holds an associate membership in the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) that provides students with ready access to national and international databases. The faculty includes experts in their respective fields of study and who remain professionally active in and out of the classroom.

The Department is committed to helping students secure financial resources in the form of scholarships, research and graduate assistantships, and graduate teaching associateships.

Admission to Graduate Study

All students must satisfy the general requirements for admission to the university with classified graduate standing, as described in Admission and Registration . Applicants must also submit two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with their academic potential and a statement of purpose. It is an advantage to have completed coursework in the social sciences, especially in Political Science. The Department strongly prefers applicants with a grade point average of 3.0 or above for the last 60 semester units of undergraduate work, for in upper-division courses in Political Science, and a 3.0 grade point average for all work taken in Political Science. Applicants lacking any of these requirements may be considered for conditional admission. The annual application deadline is March 1, and students who wish to be considered for scholarship/fellowship opportunities should have complete files by February 15.

Students applying for admission should submit the university application through http://www.calstate.edu/apply along with the application fee.

All applicants must submit additional admissions materials separately to SDSU Graduate Admissions and to the Department of Political Science, as follows:

Graduate Admissions

The following materials should be submitted as a complete package directly to:

1.     Official transcripts (in sealed envelopes) from all postsecondary institutions attended;

NOTE:

• Students who attended SDSU need only submit transcripts for work completed since last attendance.
• Students with international coursework must submit both the official transcript and proof of degree. If documents are in a language other than English, they must be accompanied by a certified English translation.

2.     English language score, if instruction was in a language other than English (http://www.ets.org SDSU institution code 4682).

Department of Political Science

The following admissions materials must be submitted through Interfolio:

1.     Two letters of reference;

2.     Statement of purpose;

3.     Writing sample (optional).

For information regarding each step of the admissions process and the Interfolio link for applicants, visit the department website at https://politicalscience.sdsu.edu/graduate/apply.html.

Faculty

Department Chair: Graubart, Jonathan, Professor of Political Science (B.A., University of Pennsylvania;  J.D. University of California Berkeley; Ph.D. University of Wisconsin)

Director Undergraduate Studies: Twist, Kimberly A., Associate Professor of Political Science (B.A., New York University; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley)

Undergraduate Adviser: Saunders-Harbaugh, Heather (B.S. Human Services, Southern Oregon University; Ed.M., University of Nebraska, Lincoln)

Graduate Adviser: Maher, Kristen H., Professor of Political Science (B.A., Illinois State University; M.A., University of Iowa; Ph.D., University of California, Irvine)

Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty:

Abdel-Nour, Farid, Professor of Political Science (B.S., M.A., Ph.D., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick)

Adams, Brian E., Professor of Political Science (B.A., University of Southern California; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Irvine)

Alexseev, Mikhail, Professor of Political Science (B.A., M.A., Kiev State University; Ph.D., University of Washington)

Gonzalez O’Brien, Benjamin, Professor of Political Science (B.A., University of Oregon; M.A., University of Victoria; Ph.D. University of Washington)

Graubart, Jonathan, Professor of Political Science (B.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. University of Wisconsin, J.D. University of California Berkeley)

Kuru, Ahmet, Professor of Political Science (B.S., Bilkent University, Ankara; M.A., Fatih University, Istanbul, M.A.; University of Utah; M.A., University of Washington; Ph.D. University of Washington)

McCall, Madhavi, Associate Vice President, Curriculum, Assessment and Accreditation; Professor of Political Science (B.A., Case Western Reserve University; M.A., University of Akron; Ph.D., Washington University)

Saccarelli, Emanuele G., Professor of Political Science (B.A., Wayne State University; Ph.D., University of Minnesota)

Varadarajan, Latha, Professor of Political Science (B.A., Ethiraj College; M.A., Jawaharlal Nehru University; M.Phil, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Ph.D., University of Minnesota)

Fletcher, Kimberley, Associate Professor of Political Science (B.S., M.A., Idaho State University; Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York)

Goggin, Stephen, Associate Professor of Political Science (B.A., Rice University; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley)

O’Brien, Cheryl M., Associate Professor of Political Science (B.A., University of Notre Dame; M.A., Ph.D., Purdue University)

Chase, Miranda, Assistant Professor of Political Science (B.A., University of Brasilia; M.Sc., University of Queensland; M.A., Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston)

Guajardo, Gustavo, Assistant Professor of Political Science (B.A., Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México; M.A., Ph.D., Rice University)

Kim, Jaeyoung, Assistant Professor of Political Science (B.A., M.A. Seoul National University; Ph.D. McGill University)

Lecturers: 

Cheng, Grace, Ph.D., Political Science

Dal Pubel, Luca, M.A., Negotiation Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding; L.LM., Jurisprudence

Gastelum, Yvonne A., Ph. D., Political Science

Greb, Gregory Allen, Ph.D., History

Ingram, James W., Ph.D., Political Science

Mercurio, John E., M.A., Political Science

Murren, James F., M.E.S., Political Science

Samstad, James G., Ph.D., Political Science

Emeritus Faculty:

Fairlie, Lyndelle, Ph.D., 1973-2010, Associate Professor of Political Science

Feierabend, Ivo, Ph.D., 1959-1992, Professor of Political Science

Greb, Gregory, Ph.D., 1996-2023, Lecturer of Political Science

Guang, Lei, Ph.D., 1999-2020, Professor of Political Science

Gupta, Dipak, Ph.D., 1977-2010, Albert W. Johnson Distinguished, Professor of Political Science

Heck, Edward, Ph.D., 1983-2009, Professor of Political Science

Hobbs, John, Ph.D., 1964-1998, Associate Professor of Political Science

Hofstetter, Richard, Ph.D.,1983-2010, Professor of Political Science

Keiser, Robert, Ph.D., 1968-2004, Associate Professor of Political Science

Kennedy, Carole, Ph.D., 1998-2020, Associate Professor of Political Science

King, Ronald, Ph.D., 2003-2019, Professor of Political Science

Lewin, Harlan, Ph.D., 1967-2000, Associate Professor of Political Science

Little, Richard, Ph.D., 1974-1995, Professor of Political Science

Loveman, Brian, Ph.D., 1973-2008, Professor of Political Science

Schultze, William, Ph.D., 1968-2000, Professor of Political Science

Schrieber, Ronnee, Ph.D., 2002-2025, Professor of Political Science

Soule, John, Ph.D., 1970-2001, Professor of Political Science

Strand, Paul, Ph.D., 1977-2004, Professor of Political Science

Additional Faculty

Carruthers, David, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science

Programs

• Global Politics Advanced Certificate
• Human Rights Certificate
• Political Science Minor
• Political Science, B.A.
• Political Science, International Relations/Comparative Politics Specialization, M.A.
• Political Science, M.A.
• Political Science, Public Policy Specialization, M.A.
• Public Law Certificate
• Public Policy Advanced Certificate

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