In order to receive the M.A. degree with an emphasis in Public Policy Studies, students must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours, exclusive of hours earned in the Graduate Colloquium. Students with course deficiencies or those lacking a background in statistics or economics may have to take courses which cause them to exceed 36 hours. Under normal circumstances, Regular graduate students should be able to complete the M.A. in four semesters, provided they enter the program in the Fall Semester and have sufficient background in statistics, political science, and economics.
Students in the Ph.D. program normally complete a minimum of 81 credit hours, exclusive of the Graduate Colloquium. The 81 credit hours may include hours earned previously in a masters degree, provided the MA degree hours are relevant to the student's program in public policy studies or political science. This total consists of 57 hours of instruction and the dissertation which carries with it 24 hours of graduate credit.
Although 81 credit hours is the minimum for Ph.D. students, it is more important that the student take sufficient hours to become fully competent in the student's chosen fields of study. This may require substantially more than 81 hours and the Ph.D. student should be prepared for a long-term commitment to course work as well as independent reading and research. In most instances, doctoral students will take four years to complete all work for the Ph.D., including work completed for the masters degree.
Students completing an MA in the Department of Political Science, MPA in the Department of Public Administration, or MS in Economics at West Virginia University may move easily into the Ph.D. program in political science and public policy studies since these programs match well with the doctoral program in the Department of Political Science. Students with masters degrees in economics, public administration and political science from other colleges and universities also usually have very little difficulty in applying their previous course work to the Ph.D. program at WVU. In some instances, however, the highly structured nature of the program at WVU precludes transfer of some hours. Between six and fifteen hours is the usual amount accepted as transfer credit toward the degree.
The Department of Political Science offers a Masters in Political Science (with an emphasis on Public Policy), the PhD in Political Science (with an emphasis on Policy Studies), and the PhD in Political Science (General Political Science). The Public Policy MA degree provides two tracks: (1) American Public Policy and Politics, and (2) International and Comparative Public Policy and Politics. The PhD offers the Public Policy Analysis specialization and a General Political Science track with Public Policy as required core areas.
The Policy Studies Graduate Program in the Department of Political Science contains a set of courses especially designed for policy specialists. These courses provide the foundation for understanding the policy processes and the institutional dynamics of domestic and international agenda-setting, decision-making, policy implementation, and policy evaluation.
The common policy core is a set of courses required of all students in the M.A. and Ph.D. programs. These courses are designed to guarantee a common body of knowledge with respect to the field of policy studies and a demonstrated ability to conduct policy analysis. The common core consists of:
This course provides an introduction to the field of public policy studies, with attention directed at the role of the policy analyst in the policy process and the contribution of various disciplines to policy studies.
This individually planned course requires students to conduct an original piece of quantitative policy research. It is thus an applied problem report which replaces the formal thesis requirement. Designed for advanced students, the course is completed following the department's research methods sequence. Students frequently register for this course in the summer after their first year, and finish the requirements in the following spring. The student works closely with his or her advisor in this requirement. There are no formal classroom sessions. This course is not required of Ph.D. students since they must complete P.S. 497 Dissertation Research; however, MA students may apply PS 439 to their policy field if they continue on in the PhD program.
This course examines the confluence of social, economic, and political influences on the development of public problems and their placement on the policy agenda.
This seminar surveys the literature on various institutions and linkage mechanisms in U.S. politics and how they affect the public policy process.
This course examines how attitudes and behaviors of public officials and the organizational environment in which they function influences policy execution.
This course examines judicial influences on American public policy with emphasis on the political theory of American law, the agenda of disputes, the formulation of public policy by courts, and the effects of judicial policy on politics.
This course examines the politics and policy consequences of intergovernmental relations in the United States. Topics include: the development of intergovernmental relations, regulatory federalism, and intergovernmental fiscal relations.
This seminar examines the politics and policy processes of state and local governments in the U.S. Courses in International and Comparative Public Policy and Politics.
This course provides a bridge between the conventional study of international relations and the analysis of externally directed public policy. It introduces the graduate student to specific policy areas such as international trade, aid, resources, and security policy.
This course focuses on the political aspects of social, economic, and technological changes in third world and developing countries with special reference to development planning and administration.
This course examines public policy processes and outputs from a cross-nationalperspective, with particular emphasis on developed countries.
This course examines national security policy from both domestic and international perspectives. It examines a number of topics in the areas of defense appropriations, arms races, and strategic decisionmaking.
The Department of Political Science requires all students to develop competence in those research methods commonly employed in policy research. The core research methods courses are:
This course is an introduction to the research methods and techniques used in public policy analysis. Topics include epistemology, research designs, measurement, and survey and unobtrusive research.
This course provides training in the application of statistical analysis techniques to policy research. Topics include hypothesis testing, probability, measures of association, and an introduction to regression analysis.
This course provides an in-depth treatment of multiple regression analysis as the basis for much of policy analysis. Topics covered include basic least squares methods, selected applications in econometrics, an introduction to time series analysis, and causal modelling.
Doctoral students must take an advanced course in research methods that may include such topics as limited dependent variables, advanced time series analysis, LISREL, categorical models, simulation, and other selected topics.
Since both P.S. 400 and 401 assume a working knowledge of elementary statistics, entering students must either provide evidence of prior statistical training (i.e., completion, at a grade of C or better, of an undergraduate or graduate course in statistics) or take Stat. 311 Statistical Methods during their first year of study. Since Stat. 311 is a prerequisite to political science methods courses, it does not count towards fulfillment of degree requirements.
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