Political Science

The doctoral program in political science at Washington University is one of the top political science programs in the country. Graduate students take classes and engage in research with a faculty recognized nationally and internationally as among the most expert, active, and productive in the country.

Our graduate program is relatively small. We admit around 8 to 10 students into the PhD program each year, and most of these students complete the doctorate in five to six years. There are approximately 40 graduate students currently in residence.

Washington University's PhD program in Political Science is designed to prepare students for academic careers in research and teaching at major institutions across the country. We stress the importance of political methodology (applied statistics) and formal theory (game theory and mathematical modeling), and our program is designed to teach all students in these methods, regardless of their mathematical background.

We have active research groups in American politics and institutions, comparative politics, international political economy, positive and normative theory, and political methodology. It is important to emphasize that we do not regard these subfields as separate entities. Many of our faculty have research and teaching interests that transcend political science subfields as well as traditional disciplinary boundaries. We have strong connections with other departments in Arts & Sciences at Washington University (including the departments of Economics and Anthropology), with the School of Law, and with various interdisciplinary research centers on campus.

Contact Info

Phone:314-935-5810
Email:polisci@wustl.edu
Website:https://polisci.wustl.edu/