Department of Political Science

Loeb Building B641
Telephone: 788-2764
Fax: 788-4064

The Department

Chair of the Department: V.S. Wilson

Departmental Supervisor of Graduate Studies: S.L. Sutherland

Assistant Supervisor: A.S. Chandler

The Department offers programs leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Specialized graduate study and research may be undertaken in the fields of political theory, Canadian government and politics, comparative government and politics, international relations, and public administration and policy analysis. Within these fields, students may select more specialized areas of concentration, such as classical, medieval, and modern, or analytic and empirical theory; comparative government and politics of a particular area or group of countries where the Department has developed particular strength and resource materials.

Ottawa provides a wealth of resources, both in personnel and in research material, for the student of government, politics, public administration, and international relations. Carleton has specialized schools and institutes for interdisciplinary study in public administration, Canadian studies, international affairs, and post-Soviet and East European studies. In addition to the university facilities, Ottawa offers the graduate student in political science a host of study and research opportunities unparalleled in Canada. The Public Archives, the National Library, the Library of Parliament, the Supreme Court Library, the National Museums, and Statistics Canada are all located in Ottawa. The headquarters of many government departments, most federal government agencies, and a multitude of national organizations and trade associations are located in Ottawa; many maintain specialized libraries. Some of the embassies and diplomatic missions located in Ottawa maintain specialized libraries, and offer access to documents and other research materials.

Qualifying-Year Program

Applicants who have a general (pass) B.A. in Political Science, with second-class standing, may be considered for admission to a qualifying-year program. Candidates who complete the qualifying year with high honours standing may be considered for admission to the master's program the following year.

Refer to the General Regulations section of this calendar for details of the regulations governing the qualifying year.

Master of Arts

Admission Requirements

The normal requirement for admission to the master's program is an honours B.A. (or the equivalent) in Political Science, with at least high honours standing.

Honours graduates in fields other than political science will be considered on the basis of their academic background and standing. Those with deficiencies may be required to take additional courses or to register in the qualifying-year program.

Program Requirements

All master's candidates will enrol in an approved number of courses in political science, including political theory and research methodology, if not already taken. No more than one of these courses may be taken at the 400 level.

Each candidate, in consultation with the Department, will select and follow one of the following three optional program patterns:

All master's candidates in political science must also undertake comprehensive examinations on approved fields. Details of these examinations are outlined in the section on comprehensive examinations.

All candidates must normally demonstrate a reading knowledge of French. Students from abroad, whose mother tongue is other than English, or students whose research interests require another language, may obtain permission from the departmental graduate studies committee to substitute this language for French. Language tests are conducted twice a year, in October and February.

A supervisor will be assigned to each candidate to advise and assist in the preparation for the comprehensive and language examinations.

Comprehensive Examinations

Those master's candidates electing a five-course program will be required to take a comprehensive examination, orally or in writing, on an approved major and allied field. The major field of concentration will be chosen from the following:

Comprehensive examinations normally will be undertaken no later than the term immediately following the completion of course work for the master's degree. Those master's candidates electing the four course plus research essay, or three-course plus thesis options, will be required to defend the essay or thesis at an oral examination. This examination may include material related to the general field of the essay or thesis.

Academic Standing

All master's candidates must obtain at least B standing (grade point average 8.0). One grade of C+ may be allowed.

Doctor of Philosophy

The Ph.D. program in political science normally will be undertaken on a full-time basis. However, in cases of exceptional merit, the Department will accept a few candidates for the degree on a part-time basis.

Admission Requirements

The normal requirement for admission to the Ph.D. program is a master's degree (or its equivalent) in political science, public administration, or international affairs, with at least high honours standing. This normally will mean a Carleton equivalent grade point average of 9.5, taking into account both transcript and letters of reference.

Program Requirements

The normal program requirements for Ph.D.

candidates are outlined in the General Regulations section of this calendar.

All students are required to have or to acquire an adequate basic knowledge of political theory and research methodology, regardless of their field of specialization. If statistical proficiency is needed for the preparation of their thesis, students will also be expected to undertake further work in statistics.

The specific program requirements for Ph.D. candidates in political science are the following:

The completion of the Ph.D. course work and comprehensive examinations will normally require at least two years of full-time study beyond the master's degree.

Normally a thesis proposal will be submitted to and approved by members of the thesis committee within six months of the oral comprehensive examination.

A faculty member will be assigned to each Ph.D. candidate to advise him/her on his/her studies. The student's entire program must be approved by the Department.

Language and Research Skill Requirement

All Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate an ability to use two research skills appropriate to their program, one of which must be a language other than English.

Candidates, one of whose major fields is Canadian government and politics, or whose thesis deals mainly with Canada, must demonstrate an ability to read and translate French easily as one of their skill requirements.

All other candidates must demonstrate an ability to read and translate easily a language appropriate to their program.

The second skill requirement for all students may be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

The research skill requirement shall normally be satisfied before the thesis proposal defence.

Comprehensive Examinations

All Ph.D. candidates must select one of the two options below:

In addition, candidates must undertake a final oral comprehensive examination integrating the fields.

The comprehensive examinations will normally be completed by the beginning of the seventh term of registration. Candidates will be expected to complete these examinations successfully before beginning the thesis. The fields of study for the Ph.D. examinations are to be chosen from the following list:

Political Theory

A general knowledge of the main outlines and significant themes and problems of political philosophy and thought, with emphasis on two of the following: classical (mainly Greek and Roman); medieval political thought; modern (from the sixteenth century); political ideologies (nineteenth and twentieth centuries); Canadian and American political thought and its immediate European background (if Canadian political thought and ideology is not chosen as a subfield under Canadian); current theories and approaches to political analysis; quantitative theory and method.

Canadian Government and Politics

A general knowledge of Canadian political ideas, institutions, and processes, with emphasis on two of the following: federalismand the Constitution; parliament and legislatures; parties, elections, and interest groups; political culture and socialization; political economy; provincial government and politics; local government and politics; public administration (if not chosen as a subfield under public administration and policy analysis); public policy and policy analysis (if not chosen as a subfield under public administration and policy analysis); foreign policy and relations (if Canada is not chosen as the particular state under international relations); Canadian political thought and ideology (if not chosen as a subfield under political theory).

Comparative Government and Politics

A general knowledge of the theories and methodology of comparative politics, with emphasis on one subfield from each of the following two lists:

International Relations

A general knowledge of international theory, international organization, and the development of the field of international relations, with specialization in two of the following: analytical international theory; Canadian foreign policy (if this subfield is not chosen in Canadian government and politics); comparative analysis of foreign policy (including a knowledge of a particular state or region); international integration and organization; conflict and conflict resolution (including arms control and international negotiation); international political economy.

Public Administration and Policy Analysis

A general knowledge of theory and practice with emphasis on two of the following topics:

(1) theories of administration, organization, comparison, and policy analysis, (2) Canadian public administration (including some knowledge of provincial and municipal levels), (3) Canadian public policy and policy analysis (including some knowledge of provincial and municipal levels), (4) comparative public administration (with reference to developed or developing countries, or an approved combination of countries), (5) comparative public policy and policy analysis (with reference to developed or developing countries, or an approved combination of countries), (6) administrative responsibility (including judicial controls).

Candidates may not select both subfields 2 and 3 and may not select any of subfields 2, 3, or 4 in combination with the corresponding subfields in the main fields of Canadian government and politics and comparative government and politics. For example, a candidate may not select the Canadian subfield "public administration" and the public administration subfield "Canadian public administration".

Selection of Courses

Within the scope of the regulations, the following undergraduate courses (fully described in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar) may be taken by graduate students.

Please note that not all of these courses are offered every year. Students should consult the timetable published each year in early June.

Political Science

Students are encouraged to look at the course offerings of the Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, Economics, and Geography, the Schools of International Affairs, Public Administration, and Social Work, and the Institutes of Political Economy and Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies and other related disciplines at Carleton.

Except where an M.A. student is permitted to take an allied field in another discipline, a graduate student will normally take no more than one course in another department, school, or institute, in fulfilment of the M.A. or Ph.D. requirements.

Graduate Courses*

The following is a complete list of all political science graduate-level courses. Students should consult the timetable (published in early June) for a list of courses which will be offered during 1995-96. Enrolment in graduate courses requires the permission of the Department, through the supervisor of graduate studies.

Please note that courses numbered 47.600 through 47.661 are open to both M.A. and Ph.D. students.