Political Science, Ph.D.

Program Requirements

• The Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 90 post-baccalaureate hours. A master's degree is not required.
• At least 2 semesters in residence as a full-time student are required.

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Required Courses
P SC 5923	Introduction to Analysis of Political Data	3
P SC 5933	Intermediate Analysis of Political Data	3
P SC 5950	Research Problems	3
P SC 6003	Political Science: Survey of a Discipline	3
Fields
9 hours minimum of coursework in three of eight fields, as approved by the committee chair and graduate liaison, and selected from a list maintained by the academic unit and approved by the Graduate College: 1		27
American Government & Politics
Comparative Government & Politics
International Relations
Political Methodology
Political Theory
Public Administration
Public Law
Public Policy
Dissertation in an Examined Field
P SC 6980	Research for Doctoral Dissertation	2-44
Additional Hours
Additional field coursework, electives or master’s credit as needed to meet the degree total, as approved by the committee chair and graduate liaison, and selected from a list maintained by the academic unit and approved by the Graduate College.		7-49
Total Credit Hours		90

¹

Students must complete a General Examination (written and oral) in two of the three fields. (Political Methodology is a secondary examining field only. Public Law is a non-examining third field only.)

Up to 12 hours may be taken from outside the Political Science department, with not more than 6 hours from any one outside department and not more than 6 hours applied to any one Field of Study.

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General Requirements for Doctoral Degrees

A student should expect to spend at least the equivalent of three full academic years beyond the bachelor’s degree to obtain the doctoral degree. During this period the student will take appropriate graduate coursework, successfully complete the general examination, and successfully defend and submit the final dissertation.

All coursework applied to the doctoral degree must carry graduate credit.

The doctoral degree requires at least 90 post-baccalaureate hours, including both formal coursework and hours of research.

The minimum hour requirement for a specific doctoral degree program cannot be waived.

No more than one-half of the credit hours, both OU and overall, excluding Research for Doctoral Dissertation (6980), may be S/U-graded coursework.

The student must be in residence at OU for at least two consecutive 16-week semesters during the pursuit of the doctoral degree while enrolled and engaged in coursework or research activities as prescribed by the major academic unit.

For more detailed regulations and requirements for Doctoral degrees, please consult the Graduate College Bulletin: http://www.ou.edu/gradcollege/forms/bulletin