EIU Master of Arts in Political Science

Welcome to the Graduate Program in Political Science at EIU

Thank you for your interest in our graduate program in Political Science.

Our program provides coursework in American government and politics, comparative politics, international relations, public administration and public policy, political theory, and public law. We will help you create a study plan that suits your research and professional interests.

You will be able to study with dedicated and distinguished faculty. We offer small class sizes, most of which are taught in a seminar environment. You will have close contact with faculty, who have published in our field’s leading journals and presses, and have also won several teaching awards.

We have an excellent record of helping students attend professional academic conferences. We have also had a number of students publish and co-author research in professional research journals. Our students are regularly recognized with thesis awards. These accomplishments are quite unique for M.A. programs and first-year graduate students; we think we compete quite well compared to our peers on this measure.  Our success here is one of the reasons why we were awarded a “First Choice” distinction from EIU’s Graduate School, which is one indicator of our ability to teach and mentor graduate students well.

Our students have gone on to distinguished careers in academia, government, public advocacy, nonprofits, lobbying, teaching, and the private sector. We are especially pleased that many of our students are able to gain admission and assistantship offers at Ph.D. granting institutions after their academic training with us.

We have a number of competitive graduate assistantships and scholarships that will help you finance your graduate education, which will provide you with opportunities to work alongside our faculty. We understand that finances are a concern, and will work our best to help you find financial assistance to help offset the cost of education.

Thank you for your interest in our M.A. program. I hope to hear from you with any questions you may have.

Ryan Burge, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator of Political Science
rpburge@eiu.edu
217-581-5162