Political Science PhD

The PhD program at Rochester remains unique. It is the most rigorous, technical, and mathematical training program available within a department of political science anywhere in the world. Unlike the traditional program, which is organized as a smorgasbord of offerings, the core of the Rochester program is a focused course of training that covers all of the technical tools of contemporary political science. Each student specializes in one or more substantive areas, such as American or comparative politics, international relations, or political philosophy, but every one of them attains a degree of sophistication in formal theory and statistical methods that is rarely achieved by graduates of more traditional programs.