Graduate Program
At UT, graduate students become an integral part of a vibrant intellectual community. The Government Department is home to an innovative and dedicated faculty with interests and methodological approaches spanning the breadth of political science. Incoming graduate students quickly find mentorship, collaboration, and support to ease their entry into academic life.
Students engage with faculty and peers through informal groups focused on topics such as democratic and authoritarian institutions, Latin American politics, comparative constitutional law, public policy, political behavior, and classical works of political theory. These groups host regular workshops and discussions, fostering a collaborative culture where students and faculty frequently co-author publications in leading journals and presses.
Graduate students are central to departmental life. Public Law students have organized national conferences; Public Policy students contribute to the Policy Agendas Project; Latin Americanists participate in faculty-student research series; and international relations students collaborate on major faculty-led projects. The Comparative Politics colloquium brings together scholars for in-depth engagement with work in process. Political Theory students join small, intensive reading groups with faculty.
The intellectual pursuits of our graduate students are both stimulated and supported by a diverse array of graduate seminars, a robust schedule of guest lectures, and a vast network of supportive institutions across campus. The Department maintains strong ties with the Law School. The Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice offer additional opportunities for interdisciplinary research and funding. Area studies centers at UT cover most of the globe-from Latin America to the Middle East, Europe, and South Asia- and stand atop the national rankings in their respective areas. These campus institutions offer funding for graduate student research and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration through a deep pool of faculty covering the entire globe.
Students also gain hands-on experience through faculty-led research funded by major agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Ford Foundation, Google Inc., and the Department of Defense. These projects offer opportunities for independent research, collaboration, and project management. Many graduate students secure their own grants from NSF, SSRC, Fullbright, Boren, FLAS, and other prestigious sources.
Our work in the graduate program, and in the Government Department at large, is marked by shared commitments to welcoming and supporting students of all backgrounds; the creation of a thriving intellectual space free from harassment and discrimination; academic freedom and freedom of speech; research excellence; and the highest standards of instruction and training.
Political Science is a global conversation about the most pressing issues of our time. At UT, our graduate students become active contributors to that dialogue and well-prepared to join the faculty of leading institutions around the world.