Graduate Studies and Global Engagement in Political Science
Graduate student diversity: global and domestic
Want to be part of an internationally and domestically diverse graduate student body? One of the benefits of studying graduate political science at WMU is the diversity of its student body. Students come from all over the US and the world to study in one of our three graduate programs. In the last decade, students have come from over thirty countries including Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Burma (Myanmar), China, Colombia, Congo, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ethiopia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine and Zambia. Classes typically have a mix of international and domestic students鈥搃ncluding minorities鈥搈aking for lively discussion and diverse perspectives.
A specialized professional program for development experts
The Department of Political Science offers an interdisciplinary Masters in International Development Administration (MIDA). For future development professionals, course courses in political science are combined with study in other departments including public administration, economics, social work, geography, communications, evaluation and measurement, and educational leadership.
International field research
Ph.D. students specializing in comparative politics often engage in field research in the target countries or regions of their study. Examples since 2000: Russia, Poland, Armenia, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, UAE, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kenya, Senegal, Bolivia, Germany, India, Pakistan and South Korea.
International internships
International development students have participated in internships with NGOs in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as with development agencies in Washington, D.C. and New York.
Grants and fellowships
Students have been successful in obtaining external grants to support field research from agencies such as Fulbright, IREX, and the US Institute of Peace. Funding from the Graduate College is available for research and travel; for international destinations, the allowable amounts are higher. The department has scholarships to support research in Africa (Wolpe) and Eastern Europe (Klein). Modest departmental assistance is available for other destinations.
Ph.D. dissertations and M.A. theses with international scope
See the complete list of dissertations and theses in the department.