Department of Political Science

Loeb Building B644
Telephone: 520-2764
Fax: 520-4064
E-mail address: vperebo@ccs.carleton.ca

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. 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, 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.

Carleton University employs one of the three largest concentrations of well-known political science professionals in Canada in the Department and a number of self-standing schools and institutes. The Department's degree candidates are encouraged to explore approved political science courses taught in these schools and institutes (and at the University of Ottawa), as well as approved related subjects in other departments.

The Department is committed to the view that the goal of studying politics is to continue and further the search for the meaning and the morality of public life (community) by historical, critical, empirical and analytical means. A community's politics and its public policy describe the extent of political community that is aspired to, and which can feasibly be accomplished given the context of power relations in the international and domestic institutional and economic conjunctures. The Department exists to continue the discussions that run through the history of the study of politics about what is good, and how to maintain the autonomy of the sphere of the public and the political in the face of multiple challenges, which now include citizen apathy and economic forces that escape states. Students emerge with minds trained to identify, weigh and sift ideals and evidence, using the full range of methodologies, and also with a grounding in the politics of areas and institutional configurations. They are also equipped for one of the most important roles in human life: that of citizen.

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 1.0 credit equivalent may be taken at the 400 level.

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

Details of defences for the above M.A. options are outlined in the section on defences.

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 supervisor to substitute this language for French. Departmental French language tests are conducted twice a year in October and February. Also, the student may satisfy the language requirement by passing an approved language course with a grade of B- or higher.

Defences

In the case of the student choosing an integrative essay option, that essay must relate to main themes in their course work. The written essay will be evaluated by two of the Department's faculty members including the supervisor and a second reader, and a letter grade will be assigned. An oral defence of the essay is not required but may be requested by the supervisor or second reader.

In the case of the student choosing a research essay, that essay will be evaluated by two of the Department's faculty members including the supervisor and a second reader, and a letter grade will be assigned. An oral defence of the essay is not required but may be requested by the supervisor or second reader.

In the case of the student choosing a thesis, the thesis will be evaluated by three people: the student's thesis supervisor from the Department, a second reader from the Department, an external third reader who is generally from another Carleton Department but may sometimes come from outside the University. A thesis must be defended orally before the three evaluators. No letter grade is assigned, but notations of Pass with Distinction, Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory are assigned.

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:

Full-time students must complete all requirements of the program up to and including the defence of the dissertation proposal within two years of entering the doctoral program.

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:

At the discretion of their comprehensive examiners, candidates may be required to take an oral comprehensive examination.

Full-time students must complete comprehensive examinations and the defence of the dissertation proposal 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: federalism and 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".

Thesis Proposal

All students must publicly defend a thesis proposal after completing their comprehensive examinations. Full-time students must complete this requirement within the first two years of registration in the program. Details on this program requirement are provided in Departmental Guidelines for the Graduate Program.

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 1996-97. 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.