Office of Graduate Studies Phone: 574- 631-9017

Admission & Financial Support

The Graduate School

Application and Deadline

The Graduate School administers the application process for the Department of Political Science.  Follow the link below to apply:
http://graduateschool.nd.edu/html/admissions/application_gateway.html

JANUARY 10TH : PREFERRED DEADLINE FOR DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
University Deadline: February 1

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Requirements

Graduate Record Exam

Given the diversity of our applicants' strengths, GRE scores are standardized, important components of your complete application to our program. 

Our admissions process favors higher scores.  We do not have minimum necessary scores because we consider the full picture presented by all of the information in your application. 

Median GRE Scores

The median GRE scores for the 2007 cohort of graduate students (the average scores were similar):

  • Verbal 700
  • Quantitative 720
  • Analytical 690 or Analytical Writing 6.0
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)

The Graduate School at the University advises applicants that a successful TOEFL score is at least 600 on the paper-based exam and 25 on the computer-based exam

Writing Sample

A writing sample is not required, but many applicants submit them. 

Writing samples that demonstrate an applicant's ability to analyze politics insightfully and employ the English language well improve the chances of admission, while those that lack insight or are poorly written can be quite damaging. 

Rate of Admission

The Department of Political Science attracts many highly qualified applicants for its graduate program.  Each year approximately 300 prospective students apply, from the U.S. and around the world. We usually grant admission to about 20 of these, and 10-14 enter our program. Our student body is diverse in terms of national origins, cultural backgrounds, and intellectual interests.

Financial Support

Tuition and Fellowship Stipend: Guaranteed Support

Political Science offers generous financial aid packages to its Ph.D. students and is committed to maintaining comfortable and productive assistance for entering colleagues.

Our guaranteed support, tuition plus fellowship, lasts for four full years to Ph.D. students who are making satisfactory progress toward the degree. 

At present our resources allow us to go beyond that to provide full tuition scholarships and fellowships through the first semester of the sixth year of study (typically one year less for Ph.D. students who enter the program with an M.A.).

University Fellowships and Endowed Awards

Political Science applicants have been unusually successful in winning Notre Dame's Presidential and minority fellowships.

Several prestigious Notre Dame endowments also support graduate students, including s following named funds: 

  • Downes
  • Fisher
  • Gaia
  • Kellogg/Coca-Cola
  • Laughlin
  • McCullough
  • Moore
  • Zahm. 

Please note: Regular application materials are used to nominate accepted applicants for these and other awards.

Attraction Awards for Latin American Students

The Attraction Award is $5,000/year for five years and is administered by the Kellogg Institute with generous funding from Coca-Cola.  Latin American students should indicate in the Statement of Intent their willingness to be considered for this award. 

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Outside Fellowships

Students in the department have also fared well in winning major outside fellowships and prizes for dissertation research. In the past 4 years, our students have won funding from:

  • the Social Science Research Council
  • Inter-American Foundation
  • Fulbright
  • IREX
  • ICPSR
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Canada's SHRCC
  • Germany's DAAD
  • World Society Foundation
  • Irving L. Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy
  • Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies
  • Institute for the Study of World Affairs
  • Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford

Job Placement

More than 80 percent of our Ph.D. degree recipients have obtained full-time academic jobs within a couple years of market entry.

College of Arts & Letters