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M.A. Degree Process

Our M.A. program has a great deal of flexibility, but there are some steps in the process that must happen in your path to graduation. The following four points lay out everything you need to know about each step. You are especially encouraged to read the information about theses and exams very carefully. 

Step 1 - Classified Graduate Standing

After being admitted to the program, everyone needs to obtain Classified Graduate Standing, if they do not have it already. If you were admitted conditionally, make sure you know the terms of the conditions and when they need to be met. Once you meet the conditions, it is your responsibility to notify the Graduate Advisor, who will submit paperwork to change your status.

Step 2 - Program of Study and Advancing to Candidacy

Everyone needs to have an accurate Program of Study on file with the Graduate Division. A Program of Study is a plan for how you intend to meet the requirements of the degree. It is what Graduate Studies will use when they evaluate your degree prior to graduation. It asks you to list the specific courses you will take to meet requirements and determine whether you will follow Plan A (Thesis) or Plan B (Exam). 

Students who entered the program in 2022 or later will have courses listed in our degree requirements automatically added to their Program of Study, as reflected in their online degree audit. Any electives not specifically listed in our degree requirements, courses from other departments, or approved substitutions need to be added to the Program of Study through a Petition for Adjustment of Academic Requirements (PAAR) form. It is a good idea to meet with the graduate adviser to work on that form together. Students who entered the program earlier than 2022 will need to use a PAAR form for all courses in their Program of Study. 

You are invited to use the Advising Checklist as a planning tool for registration every semester. When you have a complete plan, you should have it reviewed by the grad adviser and submitted to Graduate Studies, ideally by the end of your second semester or the beginning of your third semester. It is necessary to have it approved before you can advance to candidacy or form a thesis or exam committee.

After submitting your Program of Study, you must also complete a form to request to be “advanced to candidacy,” a status you will need in order to be eligible for your culminating experience. To advance, you need to have completed at least 12 units (including POL S 615) with a minimum 3.0 GPA and no grade lower than a 2.0 among your Program of Study courses. You may initiate the form to advance to candidacy yourself using the link on the E-forms website. 

Step 3 - Culminating Experience: Thesis or Comprehensive Exams

Students complete these degree requirements at varying paces, depending on the other demands on their time and their priorities. Students who maintain full time jobs while they are working on the MA degree by necessity spread the process out over more semesters. Regardless, students will need to start working on the requirements for the Thesis (Plan A) or Comprehensive Exam (Plan B) prior to their final semester in the program. 

For guidance to help you select which culminating experience to adopt, requirements, and advice, see Plan A and Plan B below. Students who would like to chart an efficient, 2-year path through the degree can use the "MA Process Overview" documents here as semester-by-semester planning guides.   

Download: Overview of Thesis Plan A Process

Thesis Process and Checklist
  1. Develop a thesis topic and question that engages your interest and that contributes something new to the field. 

  2. Over time, develop relationships with faculty with relevant interests who might serve on your committee. Engage them in conversation about your plans. You will eventually need three committee members: a Thesis Chair and a 2nd Reader from among Political Science faculty, and a 3rd Reader from an outside department. It is up to you to build relationships with faculty to get their buy-in for the project and as research mentors. Your chair may have suggestions for 2nd and 3rd readers, if you are not sure who would be appropriate.

  3. Write a thesis proposal that includes a research question, discussion of its significance or contributions, a literature review, a detailed description of methods, and a complete bibliography.

  4. Meet with your committee members to get feedback on your proposal prior to beginning any empirical portion of the study.

  5. Process paperwork to Advance to Candidacy at least the semester prior to registering for Pol S 799A (Thesis). To advance to candidacy, you should have completed at least 12 units including POL S 615, have at least a 3.0 GPA and no lower than a C in any course, and have an approved Program of Study on file. You can initiate the paperwork yourself as an E-Form, or ask the graduate adviser to submit the form on your behalf.

  6. Start writing the portions you can (Literature Review, Methods, History, etc) in the months prior to enrolling in Pol S 799A. [A word of advice: if you start writing within the official thesis template, you’ll have less formatting to do later on.]

  7. Get your thesis committee approved by the graduate adviser and Graduate Studies prior to enrolling in 799A. To do that:
    • Fill out your portion of the Appointment of Thesis Committee form (including your tentative thesis title) and send it to [email protected].
    • Forward an email to [email protected] from each committee member confirming their willingness to serve. If you have any emails already on hand where they have communicated with you about their committee service, you could forward what you already have.
    • Give the graduate adviser confirmation that you will not have "human subject" contact in your thesis. OR, provide evidence that you've had the research approved by the IRB human subjects review folks. That process requires completing two training courses, then submitting a protocol and supplemental documents like consent form, recruitment script, and interview guide, if you'll be doing interviews. Leave several months for that approval process, since they often take a long time to do the review.
    • Give the graduate adviser confirmation that you are not using data or research materials belonging to your chair. OR, if you will share materials, confirm that you have had a conversation about publication rights for your thesis research.
    • If you have a 2nd or 3rd reader who is a lecturer instead of tenure-track/tenured, you need an additional form and materials, since service/mentorship is not part of their job description. The form requests a CV from the faculty member, a letter from the graduate adviser verifying their relevance to the thesis and expertise in the field, and a signature from the faculty member saying they are willing even though it is not part of their job contract.
  8. Register for Pol S 799A. This course has a special process for registration. After Graduate Studies has approved your thesis committee form (usually 7-10 days), contact them at [email protected] to request enrollment in 799A, and they will give you a schedule number and add code for registration. The 799A class shows up as 3 units on your transcript; however, it counts as full-time study for purposes of financial aid. You can find all forms and general rules on the Graduate E-Forms website.

  9. Revise drafts of your chapters as advised by your Chair, and later as advised by your other committee members.

  10. Collect a signature from each committee member on a formatted signature page once they are satisfied with your thesis and the revisions you have made. You can download the signature page template from the Montezuma Publishing website.

  11. Format the thesis according to the guidelines from Montezuma Publishing. You may also opt to pay someone do the formatting for you. The thesis template is available from the Montezuma Publishing site.

  12. Submit the formatted thesis to Montezuma Publishing to have the formatting approved.

  13. Once your thesis is approved, you will receive confirmation from the Graduate Division that you qualify for graduation if you have completed all other requirements.

 


Important notes on thesis deadlines, finances, and the timing of graduation

The most common error that graduate students make is underestimating the amount of time it takes for approval between the completion of a first draft and the submission of the final copy to the Graduate Division.

Please plan on at least two months for that process, and more if your draft needs a lot of work. Give your committee members several weeks to read and respond.

Consider that Montezuma Publishing also takes a substantial chunk of time to review most formatted theses, and for that reason, they typically list a submission deadline in March for a May graduation. If you work backwards from this date, then you would need to have a complete draft of your thesis done by early February in order to post a Spring graduation.

In other words, even though you may not be registered for Pol S 799A until your fourth semester, it would be necessary to complete much of the writing prior to that time if you want to graduate at the end of that semester.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about the thesis
It depends on how quickly you plan to move through the program. If you would like to finish in two years, it would be wise to start giving it some thought your first semester and to try on various options with your choices for class assignments in the first year.
Your committee should consist of two full-time faculty from the Political Science department, and one full-time faculty member from a different department. In exceptional cases, you can petition to have an adjunct or emeritus professor serve on your committee (see below). 

Generally speaking, your committee members should be people with whom you already have a working relationship (for instance, by having taken a seminar or independent study with them). This is especially true of the members within the department. Try to select people who have complementary areas of expertise related to your project; for instance, it helps to have someone who knows the theoretical literature you are speaking to as well as someone who knows something about your substantive topic. Ideally, someone should be able to mentor your research method, and someone should be familiar with your geography (particularly if you are doing a comparative study in another global region).

It is rare to find a single person who has expertise in all the theoretical and empirical aspects of your study. For the member outside the department, consider including someone who offers whatever the committee members from the department cannot provide you (e.g. expertise on your geography, method, or literature) – you might confer with your chair about what department(s) or person(s) might be appropriate.

No. The chair of your committee will play a critical role, and you will probably work most closely with this faculty member. Typically, the chair is the one who reads and edits your chapter drafts, and other committee members give feedback once there is a complete, viable draft in place. In local parlance, the Chair is the First Reader, the other member of the Political Science dept is the Second Reader, and the member from an outside department is the Third Reader. 

Yes. We have recently incorporated this practice as an official requirement. You will be asked to write a research design for Pol S 615, and it is advised to try to propose something that might be your thesis. Before asking your committee members to “sign on” to your thesis, you should develop a thesis proposal that includes: a research question, discussion of its significance or contributions, a literature review, a detailed description of methods, and a complete bibliography. If you do not develop a proposal to your liking in Pol S 615, you might consider doing an independent study with the person you would like to have chair your committee in which you work to review the relevant literatures, develop a research plan, and compose the proposal. This process should take place the semester prior to when you plan to collect your data and begin to write.

It is also highly recommended that you arrange a meeting with all three committee members to discuss your thesis proposal and give you feedback before you do all the empirical work. If there are any problems with your plan or any disagreements among your committee members, you will want to get them cleared up sooner rather than later. You certainly do not want to have any committee member read your completed thesis and then refuse to approve it because they thought you should have done something else. Again, while the meeting with all committee members is not formally required, it would be a very good idea for your own protection. Such meetings also tend to have an open, brainstorming mode that can be incredibly useful to you for developing your plans. Consider recording the conversation so you can refer back to it later.

You must be registered in the semester you submit your complete and approved thesis. If your thesis process is not complete before the end of the semester in which you enrolled in 799A, you can enroll in Pol S 799B (Thesis Extension) in the summer or academic semester in which you actually submit your completed thesis to Montezuma Publishing.

Pol S 799B can count as part-time or full-time study for financial aid purposes, and you may need a letter from your chair attesting that you are working on your thesis full-time if you need that designation. Pol S 799B can be taken through Global Campus instead of through regular registration, and the cost is then less than regular fees. They may also permit a later registration, if you are not certain whether you will finish in a given semester, check with their website regarding their deadlines. 

One caveat about Global Campus registration:  it does not keep you matriculated with graduate student standing if you register for 799B more than once. Since Global Campus is a separate entity from SDSU, you need to request a leave of absence in order to maintain your graduate student standing.

Happily, the answer is NO! If you have your signed, formatted thesis submitted to Montezuma Publishing by 3:45pm on the last day of the semester [confirm the actual deadline!], you do not need to re-register. You will need to reapply to graduate the following semester (or summer, if you’ve registered for 799A in the spring), but you are done paying tuition. 

The lowest risk strategy financially would be NOT to enroll in 799A yet and instead request a semester’s leave of absence. During that time, you could work to complete your thesis just as you would have if you were enrolled, and you would be mentored by your committee. You just would not be paying tuition. When the thesis is done, or very close to done, then you could enroll in 799A and only pay for thesis registration once. 

Some students need to stay enrolled to maintain financial aid benefits or a student visa, and this strategy would not be an option in those cases. 

Some students do not prefer this option because they feel that the pressure to complete the thesis on a deadline will help them keep on task. The decision is an individual one. 

Download: Overview of Exam Plan B Process

Exam Committee and Content

Students electing to pursue Plan B in their program of study rather than writing a thesis should begin the process by forming a comprehensive examination committee consisting of two faculty members representing any two areas of study within political science. All members of the committee must be on the faculty of the Political Science department. Visiting or Part-time faculty may serve as appropriate and as approved by the Graduate Advisor.

The content and format of the exam will depend upon a contractual agreement that the student develops with the two committee members. In each case, the student should work to put together an appropriate bibliography for which she or he will be responsible in that field of study and have this content amended as necessary and approved by the committee member grading that portion of the exam. It is expected that the content for each area of study covered by the examination will reflect material substantially beyond what has been covered in any one course. In general, the field of study should be less general than a whole subfield of the discipline (e.g. more narrow than “Comparative Politics”) but broad enough to have a substantial literature (e.g. “Mexican Politics” or “EU Citizenship”).

This bibliographic work must be completed:

  • prior to gaining committee members’ signatures on the exam form, and
  • prior to the semester in which the student plans to take the exam.

Exam Format

The configuration of the exam will depend in part upon the agreement the student makes with each faculty committee member. However, each exam should comprise either: 1) Two written exams, one per subject area as defined with each of the two examiners; or 2) One written exam and one analytical essay. In addition, once the written portion is completed, the student has to meet with both committee members for a mandatory Oral defense.


Written Exams

Written exams can either take place at home with an open-book format, or take place on campus in a closed-book format, as per the agreement with each examining committee member. Open-book exams should each be completed within one day and may be spread out over the course of a week. Closed-book exams will be completed in a shorter time-frame, and in a location agreed upon with the concerned committee member. To receive a “pass,” the written part of the examination must include a comprehensive review of appropriate literature and a cogent discussion of the topic.


Analytical Essay

The analytical essay should be approximately 25-30 pages. While it may take various forms (e.g. focused research paper, literature synthesis), it must be analytical in content, including a comprehensive review of appropriate literature and a cogent discussion of the topic; a purely descriptive account or narrative would be insufficient. The student may confer with the supervising committee member about the essay content or structure during the time s/he is writing prior to the week of exams. The essay will be due in the department office on the first day of the written exams. Failure to complete the essay by that date constitutes failure for the essay segment of the comprehensive exam.


Oral Defense

An oral defense is mandatory. Both committee members must attend. Students are responsible for arranging in advance the date and time of the oral defense. The written exam materials will be provided to both committee members prior to the oral. Examiners take primary responsibility for evaluating student performance on the exam segment associated with their subject area, but may raise substantive questions from either of the two segments during the oral exam.


Grades

There are three possible results of the Comprehensive Exam: Pass with distinction; Pass; Fail
The first (Pass with distinction) applies to the exam as a whole, and will have to be arrived at jointly by both committee members. The decision to “Pass” or “Fail” a student could apply to just one of the two exams, and as such can be arrived at by the individual committee members.

Students who acquire a “Pass with distinction” will be officially notified in writing by the Graduate Advisor, in addition to being verbally informed by their committee members immediately after the Oral defense. Their accomplishment will also be highlighted at the Graduation ceremony


Repeat Exams

Students who fail in one or more subject area may re-take that segment in a subsequent semester. Only one re-take will be permitted. There is no oral defense on repeat exams. Students who fail twice on any portion of the exam will not be awarded the MA by Plan B, though they may elect to write a thesis (Plan A).

No comprehensive examinations will be offered during the summer semester.


Examination Schedule
  • Spring 2023: Decide which faculty members you might like to have sit on your exam committee and which subfields/topics you would like to focus on. Hold preliminary conversations with the prospective exam committee and do literature searches/reviews of the subfields. Prepare bibliographies with prospective exam members. Begin to read and review these materials.
  • May 26, 2023: Last day to confirm the composition of the exam committee and define the content and format of the exam. The signed exam committee form is due to the Graduate Adviser on this date, along with complete and final bibliographies that have been approved by each exam committee member. Any student failing to meet this deadline will not be eligible to take exams the following semester, except by special petition and the consent of both committee members.
  • Summer and Fall 2023: Finish preparing for exams.
  • September 22, 2023: Last day to confirm written and oral exam dates, submitting them to Graduate Adviser.
  • November 8-17, 2023: Written Exams. The first exam day is also the final due date for an analytical essay.
  • November 20-December 1, 2023: Oral Exams.
  • First week of December 2023: Last day for the department to report successful completion of Comprehensive Exams to the Graduate Division for a Fall graduation. (See the university’s academic calendar for exact date).
  • Summer and Fall 2023: Decide which faculty members you might like to have sit on your exam committee and which subfields/topics you would like to focus on. Hold preliminary conversations with the prospective exam committee and do literature searches/reviews of the subfields. Prepare bibliographies with prospective exam members. Begin to read and review these materials.
  • December 1, 2023: Last day to confirm the composition of the exam committee and define the content and format of the exam. The signed exam committee form is due to the Graduate Adviser on this date, along with complete and final bibliographies that have been approved by each exam committee member. Any student failing to meet this deadline will not be eligible to take exams the following semester, except by special petition and the consent of both committee members.
  • Spring 2024: Finish preparing for exams.
  • February 16, 2024: Last day to confirm written and oral exam dates from the spans below, submitting the dates to the Graduate Adviser. Please plan these dates with your committee members.
  • April 3-12, 2024: Written Exams. The first exam day is also the final due date for an analytical essay.
  • April 15-26, 2024: Oral Exams.
  • First week of May, 2024: Last day for the department to report successful completion of Comprehensive Exams to the Graduate Division for a Spring graduation. (See the university’s academic calendar for exact date).
  • Spring 2024: Decide which faculty members you might like to have sit on your exam committee and which subfields/topics you would like to focus on. Hold preliminary conversations with the prospective exam committee and do literature searches/reviews of the subfields. Prepare bibliographies with prospective exam members. Begin to read and review these materials.
  • May 24, 2024: Last day to confirm the composition of the exam committee and define the content and format of the exam. The signed exam committee form is due to the Graduate Adviser on this date, along with complete and final bibliographies that have been approved by each exam committee member. Any student failing to meet this deadline will not be eligible to take exams the following semester, except by special petition and the consent of both committee members.
  • Summer and Fall 2024: Finish preparing for exams.
  • September 20, 2024: Last day to confirm written and oral exam dates from the spans below, submitting the dates to the Graduate Adviser. Please plan these dates with your committee members.
  • November 6-15, 2024: Written Exams. The first exam day is also the final due date for an analytical essay.
  • November 18-29, 2024: Oral Exams.
  • First week of December 2024: Last day for the department to report successful completion of Comprehensive Exams to the Graduate Division for a Fall graduation. (See the university’s academic calendar for exact date).
  • Summer and Fall 2024: Decide which faculty members you might like to have sit on your exam committee and which subfields/topics you would like to focus on. Hold preliminary conversations with the prospective exam committee and do literature searches/reviews of the subfields. Prepare bibliographies with prospective exam members. Begin to read and review these materials.
  • December 6, 2024: Last day to confirm the composition of the exam committee and define the content and format of the exam. The signed exam committee form is due to the Graduate Adviser on this date, along with complete and final bibliographies that have been approved by each exam committee member. Any student failing to meet this deadline will not be eligible to take exams the following semester, except by special petition and the consent of both committee members.
  • Spring 2025: Finish preparing for exams.
  • February 14, 2025: Last day to confirm written and oral exam dates from the spans below, submitting the dates to the Graduate Adviser. Please plan these dates with your committee members.
  • April 2-11, 2025: Written Exams. The first exam day is also the final due date for an analytical essay.
  • April 14-25, 2025: Oral Exams.
  • First week of May, 2025: Last day for the department to report successful completion of Comprehensive Exams to the Graduate Division for a Spring graduation. (See the university’s academic calendar for exact date).
  • Spring 2025: Decide which faculty members you might like to have sit on your exam committee and which subfields/topics you would like to focus on. Hold preliminary conversations with the prospective exam committee and do literature searches/reviews of the subfields. Prepare bibliographies with prospective exam members. Begin to read and review these materials.
  • May 23, 2025: Last day to confirm the composition of the exam committee and define the content and format of the exam. The signed exam committee form is due to the Graduate Adviser on this date, along with complete and final bibliographies that have been approved by each exam committee member. Any student failing to meet this deadline will not be eligible to take exams the following semester, except by special petition and the consent of both committee members.
  • Summer and Fall 2025: Finish preparing for exams.
  • September 19, 2025: Last day to confirm written and oral exam dates from the spans below, submitting the dates to the Graduate Adviser. Please plan these dates with your committee members.
  • November 5-14, 2025: Written Exams. The first exam day is also the final due date for an analytical essay.
  • November 17-28, 2025: Oral Exams.
  • First week of December 2025: Last day for the department to report successful completion of Comprehensive Exams to the Graduate Division for a Fall graduation. (See the university’s academic calendar for exact date).
  • Summer and Fall 2025: Decide which faculty members you might like to have sit on your exam committee and which subfields/topics you would like to focus on. Hold preliminary conversations with the prospective exam committee and do literature searches/reviews of the subfields. Prepare bibliographies with prospective exam members. Begin to read and review these materials.
  • December 2, 2025: Last day to confirm the composition of the exam committee and define the content and format of the exam. The signed exam committee form is due to the Graduate Adviser on this date, along with complete and final bibliographies that have been approved by each exam committee member. Any student failing to meet this deadline will not be eligible to take exams the following semester, except by special petition and the consent of both committee members.
  • Spring 2026: Finish preparing for exams.
  • February 13, 2026: Last day to confirm written and oral exam dates from the spans below, submitting the dates to the Graduate Adviser. Please plan these dates with your committee members.
  • April 8-17, 2026: Written Exams. The first exam day is also the final due date for an analytical essay.
  • April 20-May 1, 2026: Oral Exams.
  • First week of May, 2026: Last day for the department to report successful completion of Comprehensive Exams to the Graduate Division for a Spring graduation. (See the university’s academic calendar for exact date).


Download: Committee Form -- to be submitted to the Grad Advisor along with complete bibliographies by the dates indicated above in order to qualify for taking exams.

Download: Evaluation Form -- to be brought to the oral exam by the student, signed by the committee, and submitted to the Grad Advisor by the committee chair afterwards.

Theses and Exams are equally challenging, but they require different kinds of enterprise. You should make your decision based on your own strengths and educational goals. Theses require you to take on an entrepreneurial, creative role in finding a research question and method that contributes something original to the existing literature. Some students find this process very welcome and empowering after spending a lot of time learning what other scholars have to say. Writing a thesis is also a very good idea if you are considering going on for a PhD or getting a job that will require research or written analysis. It develops a wide range of skills and is a good place to test your own aptitude for research and discover whether you enjoy it.

The Exam option demands less in the way of original and independent analysis, but it requires you to demonstrate greater mastery of a wider range of academic literatures. Exams ask you to become very proficient in the literatures of two separate subfields/topics, such that you can write a paper or answer an exam question about it in a short period of time. Preparation for exams can require more reading than theses, and exams ask you to perform under pressure. If you do not pass both fields of your exam the first time, you are permitted one opportunity to retake the failed field(s) the following semester. Students may choose the exam option if they:

  1. do not feel an interest in or aptitude for independent writing and research; or
  2. prefer the more predictable schedule of exams, which may be easier to plan one’s life around. 


Sept 4 - Application for Graduation

File an Application for Graduation with the Graduate Division the semester in which you intend to graduate. If you do not complete your degree requirements in time, you must reapply for graduation the following semester.

See Graduation Information website.

How to Apply

Graduate Advisor

Professor Kristen Maher
Office: Nasatir Hall (NH) 121
Email: [email protected]

Advising Hours (Spring 2024)

In-person office hours (NH 121): TH 2:30-4 p.m.
Please email to to make zoom appointments on other days/times.

Important Links