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Graduate Master of Arts in Political Science

Department of Political Science College of Liberal Arts

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Contact Us

Brownsville Department Email:
politicalsciencebro@utrgv.edu

Edinburg Department Email:
politicalscience@utrgv.edu

Brownsville Department Phone:
956-882-8890

Edinburg Department Phone:
956-665-8065

Dora Sallie Maldonado
Administrative Assistant II
Edinburg Campus, ELABN 208
Email: dora.maldonado@utrgv.edu
Phone: 956-665-3341
E-Fax: 956-665-2805

Marcela Escalante
Administrative Assistant I
Brownsville Campus, BMSLC 3.218
Email: ela.escalante@utrgv.edu
Phone: 956-882-8890

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Master of Arts in Political Science

APPLY NOW REQUEST INFO GRADUATE COLLEGE

Program

The Department of Political Science Master of Arts in Political Science has been approved by the U.T. System and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The Graduate Program Director is:
Dr. Sylvia Gonzalez-Gorman                    Follow our M.A. program on Twitter. Click Twitter Image
Associate Professor
sylvia.gonzalezgorman@utrgv.edu
Office: Edinburg, ELABN 214
Phone: 956-665-3239

Mission

The primary objective of the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Political Science at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is to provide graduates with training and expertise in selective subfields of Political Science that are uniquely relevant to the Rio Grande Valley, such as World and Borderland Politics and Transnational Governance and Policy Process. Education in these substantive subfields will be supplemented with methodological training in statistical and qualitative research methods.

This mix of content knowledge and research skills will provide graduates with a degree that allows them to advance in the professions of education, government, academia, and the non-profit sector, where this knowledge, as well as underlying research and technical skills are highly valued by employers. A variety of different career paths are available to our graduates, including, but not limited to working in federal and state government agencies, education (secondary and community college), domestic and international non-profit organizations, and journalism, among others.

Thesis and Non-Thesis Option

Students have the option of completing the M.A. degree on a thesis or non-thesis (i.e., comprehensive examination) track, which must be declared by the time a student completes 18 credit hours toward the degree. For students on the thesis option, a thesis committee will be formed by the end of the student’s first year to guide the student through the thesis-writing process. Full-time students will complete their theses during their second year in the program, while part-time students taking two courses per semester will complete their theses during their sixth semester (third year), after completing 30 hours of course work.

Students choosing the non-thesis option will schedule and complete a comprehensive examination during their final semester in the program.

Degree Requirements

THESIS OPTION

Category

Semester Credit Hours

Clock Hours

Required Courses

9

 

Prescribed Electives

9

 

Subfield Concentration

12*

 

Thesis

6

 

TOTAL

36

 

 

NON-THESIS OPTION**

Category

Semester Credit Hours

Clock Hours

Required Courses

9

 

Prescribed Electives

9

 

Subfield Concentration

12*

 

Second Subfield Concentration

6

 

TOTAL

36

 

*Students may request to take 1 graduate course outside of political science to fulfill an elective requirement; permission of the department Graduate Coordinator is required.

**Students must petition the department Graduate Coordinator to pursue the non-thesis option.

 

Curriculum

Prefix and Number

Required Courses

SCH

POLS 6330

Public Institutions & the Policy Process

3

POLS 6340

Political Theory

3

POLS 6370

Research Methods & Applied Statistics

3

 

 

 

Prefix and Number

Prescribed Electives

SCH

 

POLS 6320

POLS 6321

POLS 6322

World & Borderland Politics, Choose One:

Theories & Concepts of World Politics

Global Political Economy

Nationalism & Borderland Politics

 

3

3

3

 

POLS 6331

POLS 6332

POLS 6333

Governance & Policy Process, Choose One:

Agenda & Information Control

Theories of Policy Formation

Policy Analysis

 

3

3

3

 

POLS 6310

POLS 6323

POLS 6336

Politics of Race, Gender, & Class, Choose One:

U.S. Race & Ethnic Politics

Gender Theory in World Politics

Inequality & the Welfare State

 

3

3

3

 

Prefix and Number

 

SCH

Subfield Concentration

World & Borderland Politics Concentration

POLS 6320^

Theories & Concepts of World Politics

3

POLS 6321^

Global Political Economy

3

POLS 6322^

Nationalism & Borderland Politics

3

POLS 6323^

Gender Theory in World Politics

3

POLS 6324

Conflict Studies 

3

POLS 6325

Global Social Movements

3

POLS 6380 

Independent Study

3

POLS 6392+

Special Topics in World & Borderland Politics

3

Subfield Concentration

Governance & Policy Process Concentration

POLS 6310^

U.S. Race & Ethnic Politics

3

POLS 6331^

Agenda & Information Control

3

POLS 6332^

Theories of Policy Formation

3

POLS 6333^

Policy Analysis

3

POLS 6334

Class, Power, and the State 

3

POLS 6335

U.S. Economic Policy

 3 

POLS 6336

Inequality and the Welfare State

3

POLS 6337

U.S. Environmental Policy 

3

POLS 6338

Applied Policy Research

3

POLS 6341 

Democratic Theory

3

POLS 6380

Independent Study 

3

POLS 6393+

Special Topics in Governance & Policy Process

 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prefix and Number

Thesis

SCH

POLS 7300

Thesis I

3

POLS 7301

Thesis II

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^These classes will be counted only once in a student’s course plan, either as a course meeting the required course option OR as a free elective.

+These course numbers may be used multiple times with different course topics; students may take these courses more than once for credit as long as the course subtitle is unique each time.

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