Our growing full-time doctoral program opened in 2007 and is attracting promising national and international applicants. This innovative new program unites the main five fields of political science around a common emphasis on the relevance of public policy to larger debates in political science. While focusing on two main subfields, students also receive sound theoretical and methodological training in research in the discipline. The department is committed to fostering a supportive doctorial community and provides PhD student office space, competitive funding packages, top-up funding to incoming SSRCH/FQRSC holders, teaching and research assistantships, small class sizes, and dedicated and approachable faculty. After the completion of comprehensive examinations, the opportunity to teach courses may also be available.
Deadline for application: January 15
Note: International Students wishing to apply for an International Student Fee Waiver or any student wishing to apply for Concordia scholarships must apply by December 15.
Dr. Jean-François Mayer (Associate Professor )
Professors: Harold R. Chorney, Marcel Danis, Horst Hutter, Brooke Jeffrey, Guy F. Lachapelle, Csaba Nikolenyi (Chair), Norrin Ripsman, Daniel Salée, Peter Stoett
Associate Professors: Antoine Bilodeau, Elizabeth Bloodgood, Axel Huelsemeyer, Mebs Kanji, James Kelly, Ed King, Michael Lipson, Patrik Marier (Canada Research Chair), Kimberley Manning, Jean-François Mayer, Kimberley Manning, Stephanie Paterson, Maben Poirier, Amy Poteete, Everett M. Price, Francesca Scala, Julian Schofield, Leander Schneider, Travis Smith, Marlene Sokolon
Assistant Professors: Ceren Belge, Graham Dodds, Kenneth McIntyre
Admission to the Ph.D. in Political Science requires a Master of/Magisteriate in Arts in political science, political studies, international relations, public policy, or another relevant field from an accredited university. A superior academic record and strong references are both essential; professional work experience will be taken into consideration.
All documents that are not in English or French must be translated and stamped by a certified translator. The following documents are required for application to the PhD program:
1) The application form and the application fee ($100.00).
2) Original Transcripts must be sent directly by the respective registrar’s office.
Note 1: To be considered for the PhD the minimum GPA from your MA degree must be at least 3.5 on a 4.3 scale. Applicants from universities that work on a different scale will be adjusted accordingly.
Note 2: All transcripts should be in the original language. If you submit certificates in a language other than English or French, you must submit a copy translated into either English or French by a certified translator.
3) Three academic reference letters sent by separate mail directly to Concordia. All reference letters must be submitted together with the graduate admissions assessment form
4) Statement of Purpose: The statement should be approximately two pages. This statement should include an explanation of why you will succeed in a PhD program (your skills, experience, and preparation for PhD work), a statement outlining your proposed PhD research program, and a justification of why your research is a good “fit” with departmental faculty research expertise and interests.
5) Writing Sample: You can submit the following as your writing sample: (a) introduction and one chapter of your master’s thesis; (b) a sole author peer-reviewed publication; (c) a MA level term paper in which you received an “A” grade.
6) International students whose first language is neither English nor French must submit their TOEFL score. The provisional minimum acceptance score for the Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT) for admission into a graduate program is 90. (Concordia will accept test results for the paper-based TOEFL iBT if they are less than 2 years old). The minimum required score for the paper-based TOEFL iBT is 600. The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) requires a minimum Band score of 6.5.
Deadline for applications, including all supporting documents, must be submitted by January 15 for September Admission.
If you wish to apply for Concordia University Graduate Fellowships and/or the International Student Fee Remissions, you must submit your completed application by December 15.
These deadlines are very strict; please contact the Graduate Program Assistant at mpppa@alcor.concordia.ca to ensure that your file is complete.
The degree covers the five sub-fields of Political Science which include public policy and public administration, Canadian and Québec politics, international politics, comparative politics, and political theory. This is a unique and innovative program in Canada, which cuts across the disciplines by means of an overarching policy emphasis intersects and links these five sub-disciplines of Political Science. Policy in the sense used above entails not only the scholarly understanding of the decision making process (policy formation), implementation difficulties of policy realization, the assessment of policy evaluation, as well as the search for alternative policy options.
The purpose of the program is to provide students with a sound theoretical training so that they can have wide-ranging knowledge of the discipline and be prepared for a career in teaching and research and for research careers in public and private organizations. Students will acquire competence in two major sub-fields in political science with a focus on the policy domain. Students will be exposed to major methodological and theoretical debates, thus preparing them for an original contribution to the discipline. Students are also expected to disseminate their research through the publication of reports and academic papers. The department is committed to maintaining graduate training in the full range of expertise contained in all the sub-fields of contemporary political science.
A fully qualified candidate is required to complete a minimum of 90 credits. In order to fulfill the requirements of the program, students will select two areas of specialization. The requirements are 21 credits of course work, 12 credits in the form of two comprehensive exams, 3 credits of thesis proposal, and 54 credits of thesis.
The program of study is described below:
All candidates must take seven 3-credit courses (all courses are worth 3 credits) from the program as described below:
Course Work
The Department offers graduate courses in the following five Core fields:
All students will select two areas of specialization in the Core fields. Course work is divided into core courses and elective courses. Each student will take:
Core Courses
POLI 801 Advanced Seminar in Comparative Politics (3 credits)
POLI 802 Advanced Seminar in International Politics (3 credits)
POLI 803 Advanced Seminar in Canadian and Québec Politics (3 credits)
POLI 804 Advanced Seminar in Political Theory (3 credits)
POLI 805 Advanced Seminar in Public Policy (3 credits)
Methodology Courses
POLI 844 Advanced Research Methods (3 credits)
Elective Courses
All topics of Special topics courses vary from year to year.
POLI 811 Special Topics in Comparative Politics (3 credits)
POLI 812 Special Topics in International Politics (3 credits)
POLI 813 Special Topics in Canadian and Québec Politics (3 credits)
POLI 814 Special Topics in Political Theory (3 credits)
POLI 815 Special Topics in Public Policy (3 credits)
Directed Studies
This special reading course is designed to explore topics and themes relevant to a student’s doctoral research. Prerequisite: Permission of the Ph.D. Committee.
POLI 898 Directed Studies (3 credits)
All candidates are required to write two 6-credit comprehensive exams in their two areas of specialization, so that they are deemed competent to teach at the university level in these two areas. There will be a four-hour written exam for each area and a one-hour oral defence of the exam within a week of writing the former. Students must pass the written exam to move forward to the oral exam, but can still fail an exam with an incompetent oral performance. Failed exams (written or oral) will be permitted one re-take; a second failure will result in the student being withdrawn from the program.
POLI 885 Comprehensive Exam (6 credits)
POLI 886 Comprehensive Exam (6 credits)
In year two, after completion of the course work, the candidate with the concurrence and assistance of the Graduate Program Director finalizes the minimum three-member supervisory committee In year two, after completion of the course work, the candidate with the concurrence and assistance of the Graduate Program Director finalizes the three-member supervisory committee, consisting of the principal supervisor and two other members. Students are required to complete and defend their thesis proposal before the supervisory committee in a meeting chaired by the Graduate Program Director. The thesis proposal will include a literature review and a fully justified research agenda. In cases where the supervisory committee is not satisfied with the proposal, the student can resubmit and re-defend. A second unsatisfactory proposal would result in the student being withdrawn from the program.
POLI 889 Thesis Proposal (3 credits)
The candidate who has passed the Ph.D. comprehensive examinations and the thesis proposal will proceed to the final requirement. The final requirement is the writing and defence of an original doctoral thesis that contributes to one of the student’s areas of concentration. It shall be of publishable quality, and the defence will be before the Doctoral Examining Committee.
POLI 890 Thesis (54 credits)
Language Requirement
Ph.D. candidates must pass an examination either in French or in a language (other than English) which is required in their area of research.
Residence Requirements
The minimum period of residence is two calendar years (6 terms) of full-time graduate study beyond the Master’s degree or the equivalent in part-time study.
All current graduate students and new applicants are encouraged to apply for teaching assistantships. PhD students receive grade 1 teaching assistantships for the first three years of their program as part of their funding packages.
The following list is by no means exhaustive of the various research opportunities in the department, but highlights some of the interesting research assistantships available. Students apply for all research assistantships directly to the faculty members administering the grant.
Princess Boys, Trans Girls, and Queer Youth : Analyzing the Social, Educational, and Activist Worlds of Gender Nonconforming Children in Canada
Dr. Kimberley Manning
Dr. Manning is Principal Investigator of an Insight Development team grant from SSHRC.
Electoral Competition, Natural Resource Policy, and Political Development in Africa
Dr. Amy R. Poteete
This SSHRC-funded research project examines the interactions between (1) the intensity and scale of electoral competition, (2) the salience and framing of natural resource policies, and (3) the responsiveness of those policies to local conditions in Botswana, Senegal, and Tanzania. Cross-case comparisons will be complemented by within-case comparisons across: (1) electoral cycles, (2) sub-national regions, and (3) natural resource sectors. Research assistants support the project through activities such as: (1) the transcription of interviews; (2) the translation of documents and recordings; (3) coding transcripts, campaign materials, policy documents, and other materials for qualitative analysis; (4) the collation, entry, and analysis of electoral data; and (5) bibliographic support.
International Nongovernmental Organizations and Institutional Adaptation
Dr. Elizabeth Bloodgood
In this project, Dr. Bloodgood examines national legislation regarding the organization and operation of non-profit, non-governmental organizations within a set of 100 countries in order to understand how NGOs adapt to national opportunities and constraints and to test for isomorphism and other patterns in INGO location and operation decisions. Research assistants will help collect national legislation, maintain the dataset, and write conference papers based upon data analysis.
Presidential Directives in American Politics
Dr. Graham Dodds
Professor Dodds’s primary research project concerns the U.S. president’s use of unilateral directives (e.g., executive orders and proclamations). Specifically, he is examining how these controversial directives came to be accepted as constitutionally legitimate and what their impact has been on the U.S. presidency and U.S. politics.
Political Theory
Dr. Kenneth McIntyre
Dr. McIntryre is currently working on a book on the philosopher Herbert Butterfield; he is also working on an article on Oakeshott and Strauss on the character of historical explanation . Research assistant opportunities currently include German translations and an index of the Butterfield book.
Population Ageing and the Welfare State
Dr. Patrik Marier, Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Comparative Public Policy
The project focuses primarily on the impact of population ageing on the welfare state. From a comparative perspective, Dr. Marier explores the ageing strategies adopted by different countries, including their political implications. This research team consists of 4 to 6 research assistants with a background in social policy. Statistical training is an asset, as is proficiency in multiple languages, including French, Italian, Swedish, Japanese, Spanish, etc.
Unions and pension privatization in Latin America
Dr. Patrik Marier, CRC in Comparative Public Policy and Dr. Jean Mayer
The project examines the role of unions in the process of pension reform that occurred in a number of Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay. The research team consists of 1 to 2 research assistants. Background knowledge of the aforementioned countries is an asset. Proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese is essential.
Concordia Ageing Research Network
Dr. Patrik Marier, CRC in Comparative Public Policy
The project brings together scholars from across more than 10 departments with the objective of contributing to research on population ageing through inter-disciplinary collaboration. The research team consists of 2 research assistants, one to work at the Loyola campus, and one to work at the Sir George Williams campus. Background in ageing literature (from any discipline) is an asset.
Electoral Coalitions in Post-Communist Democracies
Dr. Csaba Nikolenyi
The project investigates the conditions under which political parties form, maintain and terminate electoral coalitions in the new democracies of Eastern and Central Europe.
The contemporary politics of First Peoples/Settlers relations
Dr. Daniel Salée
This research program aims at documenting and analyzing the political and societal processes shaping the relationship between Indigenous peoples, the state and settler society in Canada.
The following list only highlights some of the available funding for graduate students at Concordia. For a more comprehensive list of funding opportunities, including deadlines for application, please consult the School of Graduate Studies Graduate Awards Directory.
Offered to students who accept their offer of admission to Concordia and have received a fellowship/scholarship offer from one of the designated provincial or federal agencies (SSHRC or FQRSC). At the doctoral level, students receive a Special Entrance Award valued at $10,000 in the first year of tenure of their external award. At the master’s level, students receive a Special Entrance Award valued at $6,000 in the first year of tenure of their external award.
The Faculty of Arts and Science offers, on a competitive basis, recruitment fellowships to incoming students valued at up to $7000 for one year in MA programs and $12,000 per year for three years at the PhD level. In addition, graduate students are eligible to hold teaching assistantships through their departments and to work as research assistants with faculty members and research centers in the Faculty.
This award exempts students from paying tuition fees at the international student rates, however candidates will be expected to pay tuition fees at the regular (Quebec) rate, as well as foreign insurance. These awards are valued at 11.25 credits per term.
There is an Open Competition for select awards for which all students are eligible. These awards range in value from $2,500 to $20,000 per year, and are granted based on the applicant’s ranking in the competition.
Funds are available to registered graduate students for presentations at major scholarly conferences, or artistic exhibitions in a peer-reviewed or juried context. Deadlines are announced during the academic year. Download the application form | Download the referee form
Students must have completed their course work, comprehensive exam, thesis proposal must have been accepted and most of the research work completed before applying for this Award. The award may be held between the 10th and 15th terms (either year 4 or 5) of the doctoral program.
Please consult the Graduate School’s Awards’ Directory for deadlines: Graduate Awards Directory.
Independent Competitions
Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW)
1989 Polytechnique Commemorative Award
Value: $7000
PhD: Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
$ U.S.15,000.00
Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation of Canada
Doctoral Scholarship for Canadian Women
$5000
Federal and Provincial Government Agencies
FQRSC (Provincial)
All applications and recommendation letters MUST be submitted electronically to FQRSC (http://www.fqrsc.gouv.qc.ca/) and applicants MUST submit the cover page, the official transcripts, the copy of Medicare card, as well as the copy of IMM1000 (for Permanent residents only), to the Graduate Awards Office. At the time of application, a candidate must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and have been a resident of Quebec for at least one year. Both master’s and doctoral students are eligible. Please consult the FQRSC webpage to confirm all deadlines.
Duration: To a maximum of three years.
SSHRC (National)
Application at http://www.sshrc.ca; to be submitted to the Department if student (a) was registered at Concordia for their Master’s program any time during the last year, but is not currently registered at a university; or (b) is currently registered at Concordia in Fall 2009. Those submitted through the University are first ranked at the departmental level, then sent to University committee where a set number of applications are chosen to send on to national competition. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants.
Doctoral Fellowship Value: $20,000 - $35,000. (The top-ranked winners are awarded “Canada Graduate Scholarships,” worth $35,000 per year, for three years; the regular doctoral fellowships are worth $20,000 per year, for up to four years).
Page Title: PhD - Concordia University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Page URL:http://politicalscience.concordia.ca/graduate/phd/index.php ...index.php
Date Printed: Thu May 17, 2012
