Office of Graduate Studies Phone: 574- 631-9017
Graduate Programs
At Notre Dame, 80% of Political Science Ph.D. degree recipients obtain full-time academic employment within two years of market entry.
At Notre Dame, 80% of Political Science Ph.D. degree recipients obtain full-time academic employment within two years of market entry. The reasons are simple: talented faculty, strength across subfields, an engaged community, and generous financial support.
Faculty Mentoring
Political Science graduate students learn from 41 faculty members, many of whom are nationally and internationally recognized scholars. Faculty interests are diverse, making it possible for graduate students to explore almost any area of political science and any region of the world.
Strength in All Subfields
The Department of Political Science displays areas of exceptional strength in all four of the major subfields of Political Science.
- American Politics
Students study with experts in a wide range of areas, from the empirical study of mass behavior and institutions to democratic theory and American politics. - Comparative Politics
Recent years have seen considerable expansion in Comparative Politics at Notre Dame, a subfield long recognized for its coverage of Latin America. - International Relations
International Relations at Notre Dame combines a focus in peace and conflict studies with coverage across most subfields. - Political Theory
Notre Dame offers courses in the entire history of political thought- ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary.
Intellectual Community
Three institutes gather some of the world’s foremost scholars in International Studies, International Peace Studies, and European Studies as fellows and visiting faculty. They build intellectual community with their programming and provide funding for faculty and student research. The Program in American Democracy, established in 2001, holds workshops, gives research grants, and coordinates a number of conferences, lectures, and events.
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
- The Nanovic Institute for European Studies
- The Program in American Democracy
Generous Financial Support
Notre Dame generally provides full financial support for five years of doctoral work. In addition, Political Science graduate students find success in their applications for outside grants and for internal funding for research, travel, and conference presentations.