Political Science (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.  

Program Overview

Established in 1908, LSU’s Department of Political Science has a distinguished tradition. The faculty have included internationally recognized scholars, a president of the American Political Science Association, three presidents of the Southern Political Science Association, several Fulbright Scholars, editors of such academic journals as Journal of Politics and American Politics Quarterly, a program director of the National Science Foundation, and two members of the National Council on the Humanities. Many of these scholars are still on our faculty, and they and others serve on the editorial boards of leading political science journals. The faculty in the department have exhibited a high level of scholarly productivity. Recent professional surveys have placed the LSU Department of Political Science among the top 30 most productive departments nationwide in terms of faculty publication in the discipline’s leading journals over the recent decades.

The Department’s graduate program is comprehensive; hence, specialization is possible in many aspects of political science, including American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and political methodology. Specific programs of study, including minor fields, can be developed to meet the needs and interests of the individual student. Because graduate study involves both individual research and coursework, emphasis is placed on close consultation between faculty and students. The department’s graduate students have published their research in leading scholarly journals and presented their research at major political science conferences, both in collaboration with faculty and individually.

Administration

Political Science as a Minor

MA Requirements

A minor in political science consists of six hours of coursework with an average of 3.0 or better. Coursework should be limited to one field of political science.

PhD Requirements

A minor in political science consists of twelve hours of coursework, with an average grade of 3.0 or better. Coursework will normally be limited to a single field of political science. Permission may be granted to offer courses in more than one field if, in the opinion of the minor professor, it would serve the student’s particular needs.

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. For detailed information how to submit official transcripts, test scores, and other materials, please refer to the information provided by the Graduate School.

Applications for admission are received and evaluated by the department throughout the year, with a February 1 deadline for applicants seeking funding to begin study the following fall. Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School. Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, and three letters of recommendation from faculty who are familiar with their academic work. GRE scores are recommended, but not required for admission. An applicant whose native language is not English and/or who has been educated outside of the U.S. in a country or province where English is not the only official language must demonstrate proof of English proficiency by submitting a TOEFL iBT, an IELTS, a PTE, a Duolingo, or a Michigan English Language score before the application is evaluated for admission. Please refer to the Graduate School’s Admission site for a list of the required scores. Regardless of test scores submitted, official scores are those reported directly to LSU by the respective testing service at the request of the student. Students who have a less extensive background in Political Science (e.g., fewer than 18 undergraduate credit hours in Political Science) may be offered provisional admission and asked to complete several undergraduate courses, perhaps concurrently with introductory graduate courses, before full admission.

Financial Assistance

The department offers a number of graduate assistantships and fellowships. Department assistantships presently provide an annual living stipend and a waiver of tuition; students are responsible for paying required university fees. No separate application is necessary to be considered for a departmental assistantship. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted by February 1 and in accordance with deadlines established by the LSU Graduate School.

Graduate Faculty

(check current faculty listings by department here) 

Nichole Bauer (7M) • American politics, gender and politics
Kathleen Bratton (3A) • American politics, gender politics, state politics, legislative politics
Joseph Clare (7M) • International politics, American foreign policy
Belinda Davis (M) • American politics, public policy, state politics
Pearce Edwards (6A) • Comparative politics, authoritarian politics, repression, contentious politics, political violence, transitional justice.
Cecil Eubanks (Emeritus) • Contemporary political thought, existentialism, politics and literature, political theology
James Garand (M) • American national political institutions, electoral politics, public opinion, public policy, domestic political economy, research methods and statistics
Anna Gunderson (6A) • American politics, politics of punishment, policing, judicial politics, public policy
Robert Hogan (M) • American politics, campaigns and elections, state politics, legislative politics
Yann P Kerevel (7M) • Comparative politics, political institutions, representation, Latin American politics
Wonik Kim (3A) • Comparative politics, comparative political economy, comparative social welfare policy
Thiago M.Q. Moreira (6A) • Comparative politics, political economy, American politics, electoral systems, voting behavior
Kathleen Searles Nickerson (7M) • American politics, political communication
Alexander Orwin (6A) • Political theory, Islamic and comparative thought
T. Wayne Parent (Emeritus) • American politics, Southern politics, electoral politics, political attitudes
Lindsey Pruett (6A) • Comparative politics, African politics, state-building
Leonard Paul Ray (M) • Comparative politics, electoral politics, party politics
James R. Stoner, Jr (M) • Political theory, English common law, American constitutionalism
Christopher M Sullivan (7M) • International relations, international human rights
Jas M. Sullivan (M) • American politics, race and ethnicity
Daniel C. Tirone (7M) • International relations, international political economy
Rachel Van Nostrand (6A) • International relations, human rights, repression, conflict, transitional justice, concentration camps

Programs

• Political Science, M.A.

• Political Science, Ph.D.