University of California, Merced Political Science PhD Program (Faculty Post)

[ucmercedpolisci]

Hi prospective Political Science Ph.D. students! We thought we’d create a post to share some information our (somewhat little-known) Ph.D. program. Feel free to ask questions and we’ll reply, or please feel free to email Dan de Kadt (Assistant Professor) or Courtenay Conrad (Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies). We’d love to talk to you more about our program.

The mission of the Ph.D. program in Political Science at UC Merced is to push forward the boundaries of the discipline and train graduate students to produce sophisticated modern empirical and theoretical research. The rigorous methodological graduate training that students receive at UC Merced places them at the leading edge of the social sciences. We use a unique approach to graduate training, focused on Political Institutions & Political Economy (PIPE) and Political Cognition & Behavior (CAB), guaranteeing that students will have a comprehensive and creative understanding of politics. A recent study of political science in the University of California system found that UC Merced's political science faculty have the highest average rate of research productivity in the entire UC system. Our faculty regularly publish their cutting-edge research in the very best journals and book presses in the discipline. You’ll also note that our faculty collaborate with graduate students, meaning that many of our graduate students are already well published when they enter the market.

As a relatively new Ph.D. program we have had eight students complete our program to date. We have had great success in placing our students in jobs both inside and outside academia. Over just the last three market cycles (17/18 – 19/20), our graduates have been invited to interview by phone or on campus for 33 tenure-track academic positions at R1 and R2 research universities (19 interviews), at teaching universities (12), and at community colleges (2). Of our eight graduates, four accepted tenure-track academic jobs, two of them are working as social science analysts in private industry, and two are currently on the academic job market, both with tenure-track interviews lined up this fall.

UC Merced is a campus committed to the success and support of our graduate students. Ninety-seven percent of Ph.D. students at UC Merced receive full financial support, which includes five years of tuition, a generous stipend, and health insurance. We also offer competitive graduate student grants to support research during the winter and summer breaks. Our city, which is 90 minutes from Yosemite, two hours from San Francisco, three hours from Lake Tahoe, and five hours from Los Angeles, has the lowest cost of living across the UC system. That means funding stretches further at UC Merced, allowing our students to focus on research and a timely completion of degree.

More details about our program, faculty, and requirements can be found on our website: http://polisci.ucmerced.edu/. You can also learn more about our program by viewing this flier and informational video. Reply here or email us if you’d like to learn more.

Edited November 12, 2019 by ucmercedpolisci