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University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 Tel: 803.777.3109 Fax: 803.777.8255 Email: poli@sc.edu
Application and Admission Applications for the Ph.D. program are for fall admission ONLY. Applicants for the MA program in International Studies may apply for either fall or spring admission. Students with either an MS or a BA/BS degree who are interested in pursuing a more academically oriented program and who plan to eventually obtain a Ph.D. should apply directly to the Ph.D. program in Political Science. Students who have earned at least a BA/BS degree who are interested in a more professionally oriented program with an international focus should apply to the MA program in International Studies. Students with at least a BA/BS degree who are interested in a more professionally oriented program leading to employment in US state, local, or national government should apply for the Master's of Public Administration (MPA) program. Students who are interested only in a terminal MA degree in Political Science are generally not considered for admission. Admission to each graduate program is based on an evaluation of the applicant's potential for successful graduate work. It is expected that applicants to the political science doctoral program will demonstrate a strong potential for advanced scholarly study. Admission will be based on a holistic evaluation of the candidate's complete academic background including grades, test scores, past research accomplishments, and the evaluations contained in letters of recommendation. The admission decision depends in part on the qualifications of the total pool of applicants. There are no formal minimum requirements since strength in one area may offset relative weakness in some other area. However, the admissions committee uses the following indicators as rough benchmarks of the probability of success in our graduate programs: combined verbal and quantitative scores of at least 1200 on the GRE (verbal + math), 4.5 on the GRE analytical section, an undergraduate grade point average of 3.50 or above, and a TOEFL score of 620 (260 computer-based score) for international students for whom English is not a native language. Students may be admitted to the MA program with moderately lower grades and test scores. Students applying for the MA or Ph.D. programs should be aware of the following deadlines for applications for the coming academic year. January 15, for students applying for fall admission and who want to be assured of full consideration for departmental assistantships and fellowships. Students applying after January 15 will be considered for funding only if funds are still available. June 1, for students applying for fall admission who do not seek financial assistance from the department. In order to be considered for admission, a completed application package is required. A formal application consists of:
Applications should be mailed to the Graduate School of the University of South Carolina as directed. Please send a copy of application materials to the Department of Political Science's Graduate Director. The copy of the application materials may include unofficial transcripts, GRE scores, etc. Sending copies directly to the Graduate Director will be especially helpful to speed up the processing of applications that are mailed near the deadlines. Always keep a copy for your personal records and be sure that your transcripts and letters of recommendation are mailed in a timely fashion. Official applications may be submitted electronically via the University's Graduate School Homepage. Checking Application Status Online Applicants for admission to the Graduate School at the University of South Carolina can check the Graduate School web site for the status of ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS ONLY. One can see what has been processed by the Graduate School and sent to the Department of Political Science. The information available via this web site is updated by the Graduate School staff as additional credentials are received by the Graduate School. Once all the materials listed above are processed by the Graduate School and received by the Department of Political Science, members of the Department's Graduate Committee closely examine each application before arriving at a decision. For more information regarding admissions, please contact:
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| Last updated 4/22/2006 Julie Loggins | © 2006 University of South Carolina Board of Trustees |