Academic Community

With a strong focus on providing high quality graduate education, we mentor our graduate students in their professional development, through research collaboration, workshops, and colloquia.

Our faculty and students work hard to build community and improve scholarship in a supportive setting by holding regular workshops in specific areas of expertise, including the Comparative Canadian Politics Workshop, the Political Theory Workshop, and the International Relations Workshop.

Throughout the year, we host a Distinguished Speakers Series that brings leading Political Scientists from across North America to our Department to speak about their research and to meet with our graduate students in small discussion groups. This opportunity for conversation is a highlight for many graduate students, and these face to face meetings with prominent scholars provides insight and inspiration, and often helps to refine students’ research questions.

Many of our graduate students are able to obtain Research Assistantships and most students will have the opportunity to serve as Teaching Assistants, which provides a sustained and comprehensive experience to learn about teaching at the university level while being mentored by a course instructor. The Teaching Assistantships are paid positions and require students to work an average of 12 hours per week over the academic term.


Political Science Graduate Student Association

The Political Science Graduate Students Association (PSGSA) is an important institution in the Department of Political Science.

Through it, Political Science Graduate Students are able to coordinate their efforts and effectively present their concerns to the faculty and the university’s administration.

Association representatives at the faculty meetings are full voting members of the Department, and student representatives are accorded full privileges on all committees.

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