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Master of Arts Program (M.A.)

The Master of Arts degree has a dual purpose. Primarily, the M.A. is designed to provide students with the foundation to pursue the more advanced graduate study associated with the pursuit of the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Many individuals, however, find the M.A. degree useful in their careers in such diverse areas as journalism, the military, or education.

Degree Requirements

Students pursuing a terminal M.A. degree may follow one of the two options in completing the degree: Option I: 30 credit hours of course work, plus writing a M.A. thesis (6 credit hours maximum); Option II: 36 credit hours of course work, plus a written comprehensive examination.

The M.A. student should choose two of the following six broad areas to concentrate on: Traditional and Normative Theory, Empirical Theory and Research Methodology, American Government and Politics, Public Administration, Comparative Government and Politics, and International Relations. In one the student should develop real competence (primary area), in the other reasonable familiarity with the major aspects (secondary area). An approved field from outside of Political Science can be substituted for the second field. The student need not confine course work taken in the two areas chosen. Students enrolled in the M.A. degree program must successfully complete two of the following courses: 510-Scope and Methods in Political Science; 511-Research Design; and 512-Quantitative Political Analysis I. There is no foreign language competency required for the M.A. degree.

Admission Requirements

A person not enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who desires admission to the graduate program in Political Science should obtain a Graduate School Catalog and read carefully the full description of the admission procedure. Specific department admission requirements are as follows:

  1. An applicant must normally have earned at least a 3.0 overall GPA in all undergraduate work;
  2. An applicant must normally have earned at least a 3.2 GPA in all Political Science courses during the last two years of undergraduate study;
  3. An applicant must normally have earned at least a 3.5 overall GPA in all work taken for graduate credit;
  4. An applicant must normally have scored at least 1100 combined on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination.
  5. YOU MUST BE ACCEPTED BY THE GRADUATE SCHOOL AS WELL AS THE DEPARTMENT TO ENROLL.

International applicants must, in general, meet the requirements stipulated above. In addition, international students who either are not native English speakers or who do not have a degree from an accredited U.S. college or university must submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores totaling at least 550 to be considered for admission. Three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant’s potential for graduate study should be sent to the department of political science.