Graduate Programs
PhD in Politics and International Affairs
The doctoral degree in politics and international affairs is an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare students to teach at the university and college levels and to conduct high-level research in the academic and nonacademic sectors. It combines a broad focus on international relations, comparative politics, American politics, and political theory with a critical understanding of institutions, rights, citizenship/identity, governance, global policy, and justice. Students work closely with faculty to frame their dissertation research and to advance their knowledge of their chosen fields of specialization. The program鈥檚 interdisciplinary approach to a variety of global issues provides a rich and open-ended opportunity to research current and past problems, movements, and transformations in politics.
Admissions
We welcome your interest in our doctoral program. The department's deadline for fall admission is January 5. The School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies only admits for the fall semester. Students must apply online through the Office of Graduate Admissions. For a listing of the admission requirements, students should consult the .
*Effective starting with the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, GRE test scores are no longer required for applications to our doctoral program in Politics and International Affairs*
*International students should review the Office of Admissions International Students website for additional information and requirements.
*International students are also encouraged to contact the Office of International Services for information on visas, international travel, etc.
Program Requirements
For the Doctoral Degree in Politics and International Affairs degree requirements, students should consult the Graduate Catalog. Students should adhere to the requirements within the Graduate Catalog under which they were admitted.
*Students can elect another catalog following the one they were admitted under. More information on this policy, and other policies, can be found in the .
*Students must request approval from the graduate director for any course not pre-approved and listed under the degree in the Graduate Catalog.
Research Fields
The Doctorate in Politics and International Affairs specializes in the following four fields of research:
International Relations
In the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, the International Relations (IR)
faculty focuses on four areas of study: international relations theory, global political
economy, international security, and human rights. We stress the importance of cutting-edge
scholarship in our teaching of the graduate seminars as well as bridging the many
emergent gaps in theory and practice in the various subfields that comprise International
Relations, including American foreign policy, international ethics, global governance,
and international law and organizations. One of our central aims is to advance innovative
applications of the central theoretical perspectives (and their variant strands) in
International Relations, namely, realism, liberalism, critical theory, constructivism,
Marxism, international political theory, and gender. These applications involve in-depth
theoretical and empirical analysis of key global issues, such as Asian security, moral
accountability, the enforcement of human rights, immigration, and political and economic
inequality. The International Relations faculty have published numerous books and
peer-reviewed articles on these issue areas. These include monographs on the political
tensions on the Korean Peninsula or North Korea鈥檚 nuclear arms buildup, the political
cosmopolitan character and shifting dynamics of the International Criminal Court (ICC),
hegemony and inequality in the global political economy, and China鈥檚 rapidly increasing
support of intervention in African states. Together our published research emphasizes
the production of critical theoretic knowledge, or the advanced methodological analysis
of the contradictions and tensions informing the substantive debates in International
Relations. This not only requires the particular mastery of concepts, methods, and
claims but also an open-ended and historical understanding of the changing social
forces shaping the behavior of states and the relations among global and local actors.
It is this scholarly approach that we adopt to train our graduate students specializing
in international relations, particularly as they advance their dissertation research
and empirical knowledge of the global and regional contexts of problems and issues.
One of the outcomes we strive for, then, is to encourage our doctoral students to
develop rigorous theoretical and contextual analysis from which they can devise solutions
and prescriptions to global issues.
Comparative Politics
Comparative Politics in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies is committed
to theory-driven, empirical research from an interdisciplinary perspective that is
situated in a political, historical, cultural, and economic context. The Comparative
Politics faculty employ a variety of methodological approaches from both the social
sciences and humanities, which utilize qualitative and quantitative research methods
to study the patterns of similarities and differences. In particular, we conduct comparative
and case study research to inquire into these patterns and to develop our theoretical
propositions. One of our aims is to produce knowledge about the changing social, political,
and legal conditions affecting the lives, development, cultural practices, and customs
of underrepresented peoples. In meeting this aim, our research focuses on several
themes of comparative politics, including social movements, democracy/democratization,
citizenship, decolonization, genocide, hegemony, race and identity, development, legal
systems and customary law, social justice, and indigenismo or the political ideology
focusing on the changing relations of state and local peoples. Much of our published
research draws creatively on social, critical, and political theory to advance knowledge
of the laws, changing social relations, and attitudes in several countries, which
includes Brazil, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, South
Sudan, Ethiopia, and Iran. Our research strengths lie in the areas of race and citizenship,
social movements theory, human security and law (or legal custom) in Eastern Africa,
indigenous rights in various Latin American countries, and security relations in the
Middle East. With these thematic foci, we encourage graduate students to create and
develop their own research by selecting a region of the world as their emphasis and
adopting theoretically informed research and comparative methods that allow them to
analyze the changing social and political conditions in the countries of this region.
American Politics
The study of American Politics in the doctorate program in politics and international
affairs provides a comprehensive overview as well as an in-depth analysis of American
politics. Our faculty focus on various aspects of American politics, including theoretical
foundations, federalism, institutions (Congress, the executive branch, the bureaucracy,
the judiciary), political behavior (political parties, the media, interest groups,
social movements, and elections), and public policy (foreign and domestic), and employ
a range of methodological approaches such as historical development, legal doctrine,
institutional rules, and quantitative analyses of the behavior of political actors
and the mass public, to advance the student's research skills. Our core class, Seminar
in American Politics, for instance, surveys the key foundations, institutions, and
behavior in American politics, introducing students to both qualitative and quantitative
methodological approaches for analyzing and testing the changing trends and outcomes
in American politics. Special topics courses provide opportunities to gain in-depth
knowledge on new research on a range of themes, including political development, the
social bases of politics, and the global impact of American politics. The faculty
in American politics have made important contributions in the areas of race and ethnicity,
the judiciary, the presidency, Florida government, civil liberties, health care, environmental
justice, economic inequality, and animal rights. Our strengths lie in economic inequality,
animal rights, the Presidency, Judicial Behavior, Race and Ethnicity, and State and
Local Government. In these specific areas, we have published several cutting-edge
books and articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, which examine the emergence
and implementation of nonhuman animals' regime of rights, the changing directions
of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and its impact on world politics, and alternative
strategies for natural disasters in the United States. Our scholarship is thus distinctive
for the ways in which it addresses American government and politics in a global context.
This is how we seek to train our doctoral students on the rapidly changing, nuanced
linkages between local, state, federal and global institutional politics.
Political Theory
Political Theory introduces students to the core normative issues in the study of
political science. These normative issues provide the bedrock assumptions on which
much of the study of political science depends. For example, while nearly everyone
agrees that democracy is the best form of government, why do we place such faith in
it? In addition, the long tradition of political thought offers multiple versions
of democracy, each with its own strengths and limitations. How are we to identify
the best version for our needs? Similarly, while we might extol non-violence in politics,
is it always the best path for political movements? How are we to justify its alternatives?
Clarifying our moral commitments, sharpening our conceptual tools, and outlining pathways
for transforming theoretical knowledge into action requires philosophical, historical,
and conceptual capabilities. The political theory faculty at the School of Interdisciplinary
Global Studies trains students to develop these capabilities. To that end, political
theory classes not only familiarize students with many of the canonical texts that
were read by generations of prominent political thinkers (from Aristotle to Martin
Luther King Jr), they also teach students to read these texts critically and with
an eye towards contemporary political developments. As such, training in political
theory is a critical supplement to graduate work at School of Interdisciplinary Global
Studies. The faculty鈥檚 expertise in feminist theory, postcolonial theory, the role
of emotions in politics, environmental political thought, and Indian political thought
complements the terminal degrees offered in American Politics, Comparative Politics,
and International Relations.
Financial Assistance
Most of our successful applicants qualify for funding offered by the department or the Office of Graduate Studies. Funded doctoral students will receive a graduate assistantship that includes:
- a stipend for the academic year (9 months)
- a tuition waiver (not including school fees)
- the option of health insurance mostly paid by the department (the student only pays a small amount towards insurance).
All applicants for the doctoral degree are considered for a graduate assistantship - they do not need to complete a separate form.
The graduate assistantship is guaranteed for four years but is based on maintaining satisfactory annual academic progress. It requires each student to work 20 hours per week, in which case the student would be first assisting professors of the department with their teaching and class preparations and later, after having passed the doctoral comprehensive exams and completed teacher training seminars, teach a class at the University of South Florida.
Please visit the graduate assistantships page for further information. The department also provides funding for conference travel or the presentation of research at conferences upon approval.
Information on eligibility for graduate assistantships can be found on the Graduate Assistantships Resource Center website.
We also strive to fund our students in the fifth year, though this funding is not guaranteed. Depending on additional funds that become available, students may have the opportunity to extend their graduate assistantship to one, possibly two academic semesters. Students in the fifth year are also encouraged to seek external funding. For more information on this, please consult our Graduate Resources Page.
Outstanding candidates may also be nominated by the school鈥檚 director and/or graduate committee for prestigious and highly competitive university fellowships, including the Presidential Doctoral Fellowship, the Dorothy Auzenne Fellowship, and the University Graduate Fellowship. There is also the opportunity for minority students to be awarded a McKnight Fellowship, which provides annual tuition up to $5,000 for each of three academic years, plus an annual stipend of $12,000. The program also offers travel grants and other forms of financial support. For additional information on this fellowship opportunity, please visit the informational page.
Forms
- Politics and International Affairs Doctoral Handbook 2022 - 2023
- School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies Graduate Resources
- Independent Study / Directed Research Contract
- Office of Graduate Studies Forms
- Graduate Student Supervisory Committee Appointment Form
- Comprehensive Exam Reading Lists
- Research Conference Travel Award Request
- Dissertation Defense Announcment
Recent Placements
Name | Graduation Year | Placement |
---|---|---|
Kal Demerew | 2023 | Assistant Professor of Political Science at West Texas A&M University |
Camara Silver | 2022 | Term Assistant Professor of Political Science, Barnard College-Columbia University |
Ben Luongo | 2022 | Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of South Florida |
Andrew Sparks | 2021 | Instructor, Pasco-Hernando State College |
Camara Silver | 2021 | Visiting Assistant Professor, West Point |
James Fry | 2020 | Analyst (Public Policy), Florida Digital Service |
Michael Spencer | 2020 | Instructor, University of South Florida |
Kenneth Brown | 2020 | Senior Naval Warfare Analyst, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) |
Nathan Barrick | 2019 | Deputy Chief of Strategy & Analysis, US Special Operations Command |
Maria Gonzalez Malabet |
2019 | Assistant Professor, Universidad del Norte, Colombia |
Sommer Mitchell | 2018 | Assistant Teaching Professor, Pennsylvania State University-University Park |
Raheleh Dayerizadeh | 2018 | Director of the Global Citizen's Project, University of South Florida |
Nicole Ford | 2017 | Adjunct Professor, University of Tampa |
Alexis Mootoo | 2017 | Associate Director Regional Planning, University of South Florida |
Mark Grzegorzewski | 2015 | Resident Senior Fellow, Joint Special Operations Command |
Bledar Prifti | 2014 | Associate Professor, St Petersburg College |
For further information or questions about the PhD in Politics and International Affairs, please fill out this .