Master of Arts in Political Science
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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. Michelle Keck Follow our M.A. program on Twitter. Click 
Associate Professor & Associate Chair
michelle.keck@utrgv.edu
Office: Brownsville, BMSLC 3.216
Phone: 956-882-6517
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 |
|
Required Courses |
9 |
|
Prescribed Electives |
9 |
|
Subfield Concentration |
12* |
|
Thesis |
6 |
|
TOTAL |
36 |
|
NON-THESIS OPTION** |
|
|
Category |
Semester Credit 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 |
Critical Concepts in Political Science |
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.