Political Science and Public Affairs, M.A.

Saint Louis University's Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Affairs program allows academically talented students to advance their knowledge and analytical skills by focusing on an interdisciplinary problem-oriented area of interest within political science.

SLU's M.A. in political science and public affairs is open to individuals who have previously earned a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in political science or a related social science discipline from an accredited university and demonstrate outstanding potential. 

Curriculum Overview

The M.A. in Political Science and Public Affairs requires 30 credits.

M.A. students on the St. Louis campus may choose one of three formal concentration areas—American politics, international affairs or public policy and administration. Alternatively, they may design an individual plan of study in consultation with a faculty mentor and the coordinator of graduate studies. All M.A. students on SLU's Madrid Campus complete a concentration in international relations and crisis.

Students enrolled on either the St. Louis or the Madrid campus may take elective courses on the other campus.

Graduate Handbook

American Politics Concentration

This concentration provides a substantive grounding in the academic study of American politics, strong methodological skills, and options to focus on particular areas of interest, such as public law. This concentration is appropriate for students with a variety of interests and goals, including additional graduate study in political science and related fields or law school.

International Affairs Concentration

This concentration provides theoretical and substantive grounding in international relations and comparative politics. Some of the topics covered are the process of democratization, international security, warfare, and economic development. 
 

International Relations and Crisis Concentration (Madrid Campus)

This concentration familiarizes students with the key theoretical, political, and social dimensions of the global governance of insecurity, and the emergence, management and consequences of crises today.

Public Policy and Administration Concentration

This concentration is designed for students interested in gaining a practical understanding of how political and social policies are developed and administered. Like a Master of Public Administration, it prepares students to work in local and national government, non-profits and the private sector.

Careers

An M.A. in political science and public affairs prepares students for careers in government, foreign service, national or international business, nonprofit organizations and NGOs, as well as future graduate study. Possible careers include campaign aide, diplomat, nonprofit manager and labor relations specialist. 

Admission Requirements

A B.A. or B.S. with at least 18 credits of undergraduate courses in political science or a related social science field is strongly encouraged.

Successful applicants usually possess a GPA of 3.40 (overall and in political science courses) and a sufficient TOEFL score (for international applicants).

Applicants are not required to submit GRE scores but may do so if they wish to have them considered as part of their application.

Application Requirements

  • Online application and fee. 
  • Two letters of recommendation written by people who can speak to your academic and/or professional skills. These letters should come from someone in a supervisory position, for example a professor, academic advisor or workplace supervisor.
  • Transcript(s). Provisional offers of acceptance can be made based on unofficial transcripts. Admitted students will need to submit an official transcript upon enrollment.
  • A statement of purpose in which you detail why you wish to pursue a Master’s degree, how your background prepares you for this academic program, and how you plan to use the skills or knowledge you learn in the program to achieve your future goals. Please also include a brief note if you wish to be considered for departmental need- or merit-based funding. The total statement of purpose should not exceed 4 double-spaced pages and may be shorter.
  • A writing sample that demonstrates your academic writing abilities. This may be a term paper you wrote for a course, an honors thesis or other independent research or a policy brief. If you do not have a suitable writing sample, please choose a policy area or research topic in which you are interested and write a research memo in which you introduce the topic, identify a compelling research question or questions, explain how you might go about conducting research on the topic and identify implications of studying this topic. Writing samples should be at least 5 double-spaced pages and may be longer. 
  • Curriculum vitae or résumé.

Requirements for International Students

All admission policies and requirements for domestic students apply to international students. International students must also meet the following additional requirements:

  • Demonstrate English Language Proficiency
  • Financial documents are required to complete an application for admission and be reviewed for admission and merit scholarships. 
  • Proof of financial support that must include:
    • A letter of financial support from the person(s) or sponsoring agency funding the student's time at Saint Louis University
    • A letter from the sponsor's bank verifying that the funds are available and will be so for the duration of the student's study at the University
  • Academic records, in English translation, of students who have undertaken postsecondary studies outside the United States must include:
    • Courses taken and/or lectures attended
    • Practical laboratory work
    • The maximum and minimum grades attainable
    • The grades earned or the results of all end-of-term examinations
    • Any honors or degrees received.

WES and ECE transcripts are accepted.

Assistantship Application Deadline

For full consideration for a University-wide fellowship or assistantship, applicants should submit their application by Jan. 10.  For consideration for a Department of Political Science graduate assistantship or tuition hours, applicants should submit their application by March 1 (for enrollment beginning in August).

Review Process

Applications are reviewed by a committee of political science department faculty members. Complete applications received by March 1 (for enrollment beginning in August) or November 1 (for enrollment beginning in January) will receive full consideration. We will continue reviewing applications after these deadlines if space allows. If applying after the priority deadline, you are welcome to contact the graduate program coordinator to see whether applications are still being considered.

Tuition

Tuition Cost Per Credit
Graduate Tuition $1,310

Additional charges may apply. Other resources are listed below:

Net Price Calculator

Information on Tuition and Fees

Miscellaneous Fees

Information on Summer Tuition

Scholarships, Assistantships and Financial Aid

The Department of Political Science has two sources of funding available for graduate students, tuition hours and graduate assistantships. Tuition hours provide recipients with free tuition for one or more courses in the semester they are awarded. Graduate assistantships provide tuition for full-time study, a stipend to cover living expenses and health insurance. In return, graduate assistants work up to 20 hours per week within the department on tasks like faculty research. 
 
The department awards tuition hours and graduate assistantships based on merit and/or need. New applicants to the program who wish to be considered for these funding sources should submit their application for admission by the listed priority deadline and mention in their Professional Goals Statement that they wish to be considered for funding. There is no separate process for applying for funding. Funding decisions will be made at the same time as admissions decisions, and it is not possible to guarantee funding before an offer of admission has been made. 
 
The university has additional sources of funding for graduate students. Information on these sources as well as instructions for applying can be found here: https://www.slu.edu/academics/graduate/graduate-scholarships-fellowships-assistantships-awards.php
 
Information on need-based financial aid is available here: https://www.slu.edu/financial-aid/ 
 
Students wishing to request a waiver of the university's application fee should submit their request to graduate@slu.edu, as application fees are not charged by individual departments. 
  1. Graduates will be able to explain how political systems operate within the context of their chosen M.A. concentrations.
  2. Graduates will be able to critique competing theoretical explanations and produce a comprehensive review of the scholarly literature in their chosen field of study.
  3. Graduates will be able to design original research and seminar projects that investigate political processes with appropriate methodologies and contribute to ongoing scholarly debates.
  4. Graduates will be able to explain the results of their research in public forums and justify their methodological choices.
  5. Graduates will be able to analyze the values that inform political institutions, behavior and policies.
  6. Graduates will be able to demonstrate honest and ethical research practices.

Students on SLU's St. Louis campus will choose one of the three formal concentrations, or they may choose a general M.A. designed around an individualized plan of study. All students on SLU's Madrid campus complete the concentration in international relations and crisis.

All students will complete a total of 30 credits for the M.A. degree. All students are required to pass a field exam on their formal concentration or individual topic of interest administered at the beginning of the student’s final semester of coursework.

No more than 12 credits of the M.A. may be taken outside political science, and no more than 6 credits may be independent study classes or internships. Some classes have prerequisites. Depending on their undergraduate preparation, students may be required to take specific undergraduate classes prior to enrolling in post-baccalaureate classes. Exceptions will be allowed only with the approval of the coordinator of graduate studies for the department.

Individualized Concentration in Political Science and Public Affairs 

Students are encouraged to explore courses outside the department related to their field of study, for example, courses in Women's and Gender Studies, Geographic Information Systems, and regional studies courses offered by the Department of Languages, Literatures

and Culture.

All students are required to select a concentration. If a student wishes to pursue a topic that is not covered by one of the formal concentrations, they may propose an individualized course of study that can be formalized through a "contract" concentration. All contract concentrations must be approved in advance by the student's advisor and the graduate program coordinator. Students wishing to consider a contract concentration should work with their advisor and/or the program coordinator as early as possible. All contract concentrations cover 30 credit hours and must include the following components:
 

  1. A foundational course or courses on the content of the student’s topic of interest
  2. A foundational course on methods of inquiry with the Graduate Methods attribute
  3. A course with the Graduate Thought Foundations attribute 
  4. A range of elective courses constituted as a coherent domain of study

American Politics Concentration 

Core Courses
POLS 5100Seminar in American Politics3
POLS 5750American Political Thought: Meanings of Citizenship3
Research Methods
POLS 5020Advanced Topics in Research Methods3
Other Required Courses9
Three more American or Policy Foundation courses
Political Science Elective Courses12
Six credits may be an internship or MA thesis
Total Credits30

International Affairs Concentration

Comparative Politics Classes6
International Relations Classes6
Choose an additional course in either Comparative Politics or International Relations 3
Research Methods
POLS 5020Advanced Topics in Research Methods3
Political Thought Foundation3
Political Science Electives9
Six credits may be an internship or M.A. thesis
Total Credits30

POLS 5840 can count as a Comparative Politics course or an International Relations course, but it cannot count as both.

 
 

International Relations and Crisis Concentration (Madrid Campus)

Required Courses
POLS 5590Crisis of Leadership 3
POLS 5610International Relations: Theory & Practice 3
POLS 5630The European Union: Politics and Political Economy 3
POLS 5662International Contemporary Challenges 3
POLS 5663Key Contemporary Crises 3
POLS 5910Graduate Internship *3
Students must complete a 3 credit graduate internship with a national or international, governmental or non-governmental body.
Research Methods
POLS 5020Advanced Topics in Research Methods *3
Political Science Electives9
Select 9 credits
Seminar in American Politics *
Environmental Politics and Policy-Making *
Democratization
Political Change
Authoritarian Politics: Rigging Elections and Clinging to Power
Politics of Economic Development *
War, Peace, and Politics
Shifting Trends in Regional and Interregional Politics
International Political Economy in Times of Crisis
Historical Perspectives on Crisis: The 30 Years' European Crisis
Theories of World Politics
Contemporary Political Ideologies *
Global Health Politics & Policy
Thesis Research *
For students conducting a Thesis, 6 credits are required.
Total Credits30

Madrid campus only

St. Louis campus only

*

Offered on both St. Louis and Madrid campuses

Public Policy and Administration Concentration

Core Courses
POLS 5100Seminar in American Politics3
Policy Foundation course3
Research Methods
POLS 5020Advanced Topics in Research Methods3
Political Thought Foundation course3
Other Required Courses6
Select six credits of the following:
Economics for Managers
Issues in U.S. Public Administration
Public Sector Budgeting
Issues in Public Policy
Urban Economic Development
Policy Evaluation and Assessment
Policy Process
Organization Theory & Behavior
Public Finance Theory
Political Science Electives12
Six credits may be an internship or M.A. thesis
Total Credits30

Non-Course Requirements

  • Students may complete an internship for up to six credits as part of the M.A. in political science and public affairs. Students will work under the direction of a preceptor at the internship location and a faculty member in the department. The internship should involve 200 hours of work central to the organization students are working with, and students will also need to write a paper related to the work.
  • Students who choose to write master's theses will work closely with a faculty director and a committee of two other faculty members chosen with the director's guidance. The M.A. thesis is a two-semester project. Students will complete a thesis proposal in the first semester and the thesis itself during the second semester. Students who are not able to defend their proposal successfully during the first semester will not be allowed to continue to the second semester of thesis work. 
  • All students in the political science M.A. program must take and pass a field exam during their last semester of coursework. All students must pass the written portion of the exam. An additional oral exam will be required at the discretion of the exam committee.

Continuation Standards

Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in all graduate/professional courses.

Political Science - American (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5140Political Parties3
POLS 5150Gender and American Politics3
POLS 5170Electoral Politics3
POLS 5171Law, Policy, Society3
POLS 5310Issues in U.S. Public Administration3
POLS 5840Global Health Politics & Policy3-6

Political Science - Comparative Politics (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5500Russian Political Culture3
POLS 5510Democratization3
POLS 5520Political Change3
POLS 5530Authoritarian Politics: Rigging Elections and Clinging to Power3
POLS 5550Politics of Economic Development3
POLS 5590Crisis of Leadership3
POLS 5840Global Health Politics & Policy3-6

Political Science - International Relations (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5610International Relations: Theory & Practice3
POLS 5630The European Union: Politics and Political Economy3
POLS 5650War, Peace, and Politics3
POLS 5661Shifting Trends in Regional and Interregional Politics3
POLS 5662International Contemporary Challenges3
POLS 5663Key Contemporary Crises3
POLS 5664International Political Economy in Times of Crisis3
POLS 5665Historical Perspectives on Crisis: The 30 Years' European Crisis3
POLS 5670Politics of International Trade and Finance3
POLS 5690Theories of World Politics3
POLS 5840Global Health Politics & Policy3-6

Political Science - Methods (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5020Advanced Topics in Research Methods3

Political Science - Policy Elective (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5300Law and Regulatory Policy3
POLS 5310Issues in U.S. Public Administration3
POLS 5320Environmental Politics and Policy-Making3
POLS 5325Public Sector Budgeting3
POLS 5330Public Sector Economics3
POLS 5350Issues in Public Policy3
POLS 5360Urban Economic Development3
POLS 5850Policy Evaluation and Assessment3
POLS 6310Policy Process3
POLS 6320Organization Theory & Behavior3
POLS 6330Public Finance Theory3
SOC 5010Organizational Theory and Administration3

Political Science - Policy Foundation (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5310Issues in U.S. Public Administration3
POLS 5350Issues in Public Policy3
POLS 6310Policy Process3

Political Science - Thought Foundations (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5730Contemporary Political Ideologies3
POLS 5740Marx's Capital3
POLS 5750American Political Thought: Meanings of Citizenship3
POLS 5760Feminist Theories3
POLS 5760XFeminist Theories3
POLS 5770Feminist Epistemologies3

Political Science - Elective (Graduate) attributed courses

POLS 5010Cultural Methods: Gender, Politics, and Power3
POLS 5020Advanced Topics in Research Methods3
POLS 5100Seminar in American Politics3
POLS 5130Race, Class, and Punishment3
POLS 5131Race, Class, and Punishment3
POLS 5140Political Parties3
POLS 5150Gender and American Politics3
POLS 5170Electoral Politics3
POLS 5171Law, Policy, Society3
POLS 5300Law and Regulatory Policy3
POLS 5310Issues in U.S. Public Administration3
POLS 5320Environmental Politics and Policy-Making3
POLS 5325Public Sector Budgeting3
POLS 5330Public Sector Economics3
POLS 5350Issues in Public Policy3
POLS 5360Urban Economic Development3
POLS 5500Russian Political Culture3
POLS 5510Democratization3
POLS 5520Political Change3
POLS 5530Authoritarian Politics: Rigging Elections and Clinging to Power3
POLS 5550Politics of Economic Development3
POLS 5590Crisis of Leadership3
POLS 5610International Relations: Theory & Practice3
POLS 5630The European Union: Politics and Political Economy3
POLS 5650War, Peace, and Politics3
POLS 5661Shifting Trends in Regional and Interregional Politics3
POLS 5662International Contemporary Challenges3
POLS 5663Key Contemporary Crises3
POLS 5664International Political Economy in Times of Crisis3
POLS 5665Historical Perspectives on Crisis: The 30 Years' European Crisis3
POLS 5670Politics of International Trade and Finance3
POLS 5690Theories of World Politics3
POLS 5700Historical Western Political Thought3
POLS 5710Citizenship and Social Difference3
POLS 5730Contemporary Political Ideologies3
POLS 5740Marx's Capital3
POLS 5750American Political Thought: Meanings of Citizenship3
POLS 5760Feminist Theories3
POLS 5760XFeminist Theories3
POLS 5770Feminist Epistemologies3
POLS 5840Global Health Politics & Policy3-6
POLS 5850Policy Evaluation and Assessment3
POLS 5910Graduate Internship1-6
POLS 5911Graduate Capstone Internship3-6
POLS 5913Field Service1-6
POLS 5930Special Topics3
POLS 5960MPA Capstone0-3
POLS 5970Research Topics1-3
POLS 5980Graduate Independent Study1-3
POLS 5990Thesis Research3
POLS 6310Policy Process3
POLS 6320Organization Theory & Behavior3
POLS 6330Public Finance Theory3
POLS 6930Special Topics0
POLS 6980Independent Study1,3
SOC 5010Organizational Theory and Administration3
SOC 5060Qualitative Research Methodology3
SOC 5600Research Methodology3
SOC 5850Policy Evaluation and Assessment3
SOC 6100Regression Analysis & Non-linear Models3
WGST 5010Feminist Theories3
WGST 5020Feminist Epistemologies3
WGST 5050Program Evaluation3

International Affairs Concentration

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
FallCredits
POLS 5690 Theories of World Politics 1 3
POLS 5020 Advanced Topics in Research Methods 2 3
POLS 5550 Politics of Economic Development 3 3
 Credits9
Spring
POLS 5510 Democratization 1 3
POLS 5730 Contemporary Political Ideologies 4 3
POLS 5840 Global Health Politics & Policy 3 3
 Credits9
Summer
POLS 5910 Graduate Internship 5 3
 Credits3
Year Two
Fall
IA Concentration Field Exam 6 0
POLS 5650 War, Peace, and Politics 3 3
POLS 5350 Issues in Public Policy 3 3
POLS 5530 Authoritarian Politics: Rigging Elections and Clinging to Power 3 3
 Credits9
 Total Credits30
1

International affairs concentration core requirement; students choose two core courses from a list of comparative politics courses and two courses from a list of international relations courses. 

2

IA concentration required research methods course.

3

 Elective.

4

IA concentration political theory requirement; students choose one course from a list.

5

Elective. (As an alternative, these three elective credits may be taken in a fourth semester.)

6

Students take the field exam for their concentration at the beginning of their final semester in the program.

Program Notes

The Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Affairs offers a number of concentrations, including international affairs, public policy and administration and American politics. Each concentration combines core requirements and electives.

The roadmap above is for the international affairs concentration. Core courses (in boldface in the shaded areas above) can be taken in a different order, but students should plan to complete core requirements during the first two semesters in the 30-hour M.A.

For additional information, please contact:

Matthew Nanes, Ph.D.
Coordinator of Graduate Studies
pols-admin@slu.edu
314-977-3035

SLU-Madrid offers an M.A. in political science and public affairs, with a concentration in international relations and crisis. 

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