All students must complete at least 32 semester hours of graduate-level courses. At least 15 of those hours must be in graduate seminars in the Department of Politics and Government. Students may meet this seminar requirement by taking 15 hours of the following courses: POL 411, POL 417, POL 431, POL 432, POL 433, POL 441, POL 451, POL 461, POL 470, and POL 497. [Stevenson Center fellows can also count POL 477 and POL 478, see “Applied Community and Economic Development Sequence”]. Up to 9 hours of the 32 hour total may be taken in relevant courses in other departments with the prior approval of the Graduate Director. At least one seminar (either POL 461 or POL 497) must be taken to satisfy the Department’s methodology requirement. Generally, topics courses and POL 400, 490, 495, 498, and 499 do not count toward meeting seminar requirements. However, with the prior approval of the Graduate Director, a student may substitute one three-credit Independent Study (POL 400) or Readings (POL 490) course for a seminar when (1) the student is taking an independent study or readings course in the summer; and (2) the instructor certifies in writing that the material covered in the summer course adequately substitutes for the material covered in a regular seminar. With prior approval of the Graduate Director, 300-level courses can also be counted towards the 32 semester hours, if the course specifies special requirements for graduate students.
Of the 32 hours required in graduate-level courses, no more than twelve (12) hours may be credited from any combination of POL 400, 490, 491, 495, and 498. According to Graduate School policies, no more than 20% of a student’s credit hours in any degree program may be derived from public service internship hours. Also, there are some other limitations on non-classroom credit hours; consult the Graduate Catalog.
In addition to the course requirements listed above, a student must either complete a master’s thesis or pass a series of comprehensive exams. Applied Community Development students have the option of completing 39 hours of course work including a capstone paper to complete their requirements for graduation. Comprehensive exams are not a graduation option for Applied Community Development students.