The M.A. Program in Political Science
This degree is most often sought by those who wish to teach Political Science/Government in community colleges, who want to go on for the PhD (the Department's record of sending students on for PhD work is quite good), and by those who want to work in the real world of politics.

The MA in Political Science program of the Department of Political Science at Cal State L.A. was established in the 1950s. It has a long tradition of graduating students who have gone on for the Ph.D. and teaching/research careers. The program requires all students to take:

• A core of six courses (24 units, 6 courses);
• A concentration, chosen from political theory, American politics, or Global Politics (16 units, 4 courses)
• Either a comprehensive examination OR a thesis:
  • The comprehensive examination requirement consists of the examination along with 5 units of graduate research directed by a faculty member OR 5 units for a practicum where the student interns in a political office, non-profit organization, campaign management firm, survey research center, or a comparable placement. Both the directed study and practicum options require students to complete a major paper.
  • The thesis requirement involves five units of thesis credit (POLS 599) and the production of a thesis involving an original case study, analysis of data, or theoretical treatment of a topic approved by a faculty committee, the MA Director, and the Department chair.

For the exact requirements, see the University Catalog, Graduate and Post-baccalaureate Study, Department of Political Science.

A comprehensive guide to the M.A. program can be found on Prof. Lim's website and is also available as a PDF document.

Political theory reading list for the comprehensive exam is here, along with sample questions.

Frequently Asked Questions
About Advisement

The MA program is designed to accommodate students with full or part-time jobs (the seminars are all offered in the evenings). Most students in the program fall into one of three categories:

• Students intending to go on for the Ph.D. in Political Science. We strongly recommend that students in this category take POLS 281 and 580 or methodology courses from other social science disciplines. Most Ph.D. programs in the U.S. require students to have firm foundation in quantitative methodology.
• Students who are currently teaching high school social studies or intend to teach high school social studies. Students in this category will find any one of the three concentrations useful (Theory, Global, and American Politics) but may want to consider doing additional course work in American history.
• Students who are currently teaching or intending to teach in community or junior colleges. We strongly encourage students in this category to concentrate in American politics and to do additional course work in American history.

What do graduates of this program do? Most are either teaching or studying at the Ph.D. level, or teaching at the community college or high school levels. Other students have gone into public service, to law school, and have run for public office. Many of our international students have returned to prominent positions in their home countries.

Admission to the M.A. Program
Admission to the University does not constitute admission to the Department of Political Science's MA program. Students must apply separately to the Department, which has higher standards for admission than the University.

The University Admissions Office site has information on applications, graduate admissions standards, etc.

MA Political Science Department (not University) Application Package.

The Department's requirements include:

• A major in Political Science and a GPA of 3.0 or better. Political Science majors with GPAs below 3.0 may be admitted at the discretion of the Department's graduate admissions committee after completing a qualifying program
• Students who have the 3.0 GPA but who were not Political Science majors may be accepted on a conditional basis after completing a qualifying program. Students do not receive graduate credit for courses taken on a qualifying program.
• Two letters of recommendation. At least one letter must come from a professor or an individual capable of evaluating the applicant's intellectual and academic qualifications. If this is not possible, the applicant must provide a satisfactory explanation.
• A strong statement of purpose. A letter stating the applicant's purpose in applying for graduate study, the particular area of specialization or interest (American politics, global politics, or political theory), any special research interests, plans for future occupation or profession and any additional information that may aid the selection committee in evaluating the applicant's preparation and aptitude for graduate study at CSULA. The essay should be specific, well organized, and well thought out. The statement of purpose is considered an integral element of the application.

Consult the Graduate Secretary/Coordinator for a set of graduate applications to the university and the department. Applications are accepted Fall and Spring only. Call 323-343-2232 for more information.

Faculty and Staff
The Department's faculty have won several national and local awards attesting to the quality of their instructional performance, scholarship and professional activities and university and community service. One current faculty member has received CSULA's "Outstanding Professor Award" and the University's President's Distinguished Professor Award (Professor J. T. Anagnoson). Three former faculty have received the award over the years: Edward S. Malecki, Edward M. Goldberg, and Thomas McEnroe. Several faculty have received Fulbright awards, the most recent being Professor Timothy C. Lim, who was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholar's grant for teaching and research in South Korea.

All of the full-time faculty and all the part-time faculty except public administration practitioners have PhDs in Political Science.

The MA in Political Science graduate advisor is Dr. Timothy Lim, who can be reached at tclim@calstatela.edu.

Ph.D Programs
Often MA students want to go on for a Ph.D. in Political Science. There are Ph.D. programs in Political Science offered locally at UCLA, USC, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Caltech, and Claremont Graduate School. Other programs in California include those at UC San Diego, Stanford, UC Berkeley and UC Davis. You should definitely think about the strongest program you can possibly be admitted to if you intend to teach at the University level. Our Department has particularly close relations with UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara.

If you are interested in a Ph.D., please ask the Graduate Advisor for the APSA pamphlet entitled "Earning a Ph.D. in Political Science." We also periodically purchase some copies of "Careers and the Study of Political Science," published by the American Political Science Association (APSA), and distribute them free to majors and potential majors.

Research and Data
The library has electronic access to over 15,000 journals and hard copy for several hundred journals of relevance to the discipline. The book collection is relatively strong in Political Science. The Political Science librarian is Ms. Catherine Haras. In addition, students and faculty in the Department have access to the social science data archive for the CSU (www.ssric.org), which has data available (data can be downloaded to computers on campus) from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan, the Field Poll of Californians, and the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut. These archives contain data from many national surveys of public opinion, including those of national news organizations like the television networks, the New York Times, the various networks, the Washington Post, and the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center.

Scholarships
The Department, through the University Student Financial Services Office, recommends the award each year of several Hector Elizalde and Ake Sandler Scholarships to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. You apply for the scholarships each fall through the financial aid office. There are also the John Houk and William Lloyd Scholarships for graduate students in history or political science. Again, you apply through the financial aid office.

Current information about special scholarships and internships is here.

The University's Office of Graduate Studies and Research has forms, financial aid information, thesis policies, policies regarding travel support for students attending conferences, and other information specifically for prospective and current graduate students.

Department Employment
Graduate students can be employed as graders for the large lecture American Politics section. Interested graduate students should talk with the chair about forthcoming opportunities.