Modality
On Campus
Program URL
https://cges.georgetown.edu/academics/mages/degree-options/mages-phd-government/
At the conclusion of the two-year Master of Arts in European Studies (MAES) program, students will have acquired broad knowledge of European affairs, drawing on a range of disciplinary perspectives and their methodologies. They will have an appreciation and mastery of interdisciplinary analysis of European affairs, which entails among other things a capacity to interpret and apply theory within and across disciplines and to draw conclusions among discrete elements of a problem.
MAES graduates will have the ability to integrate academic and practical knowledge, and to demonstrate expertise in a self-designed area of European affairs. Students will acquire valuable skills in oral communication, critical writing, and original (including collaborative) research, and improve their mastery of two European languages. Taken together, their newly acquired proficiencies enable them to be informed participants in the transatlantic dialogue.
CGES and the Department of Government offer a dual course of study leading to a MAES/Ph.D. in Government. Within the Ph.D. program, students can choose from one of two tracks: Comparative Government or International Relations.
Academic Policies
Students in the European Studies and the Government joint program are expected to comply with the polices outlined in the Graduate Bulletin and Government Department handbook.
Program Requirements
The curriculum includes a total of three years (66 credits) of course work drawn from the MAES program and the Department of Government.
Candidates complete all requirements for both the Ph.D. in Government and the MAES degree requirements with the following variations:
- MAES free elective course work must be comprised of required courses from the Department of Government.
- Students must pass the MAS second foreign language examination prior to taking departmental comprehensive examinations.
European Studies
Students must complete 42 credits of coursework, including the six core courses (18 credits) and 24 credits of free electives with a minimum grade point average of 3.000. Additionally, students are required to demonstrate oral proficiency in one European language other than English, pass an oral comprehensive exam, and complete a Capstone project to be presented at the MAGES Colloquium.
Government
Major Field Requirements (12 credits)
- Four 8000-level GOVT classes (12 credits) in major field
- Pass a Comprehensive Exam in the major field, typically within the spring semesterof the second year of study.
Distribution Requirements (9 credits)
- GOVT 8800: Fundamentals of Political Theory (3 credits) in the first semester of study
- Two additional 8000-level GOVT classes in oneor more substantive fields other than the major field of study.
Methods Requirements (6 credits)
- GOVT 8001: Quantitative Methods I (3 credits) or an approved equivalentquantitative methods class.
- One additional methods class (3 credits)
Electives (21 credits)
- 7 graduate-level courses in any field. At least one elective must be in a field that is neither the student’s major field nor methods.
Required Examinations
European Studies
Students are required to pass an oral language proficiency exam in one European language, as well as an oral comprehensive exam at the conclusion of the program.
Comparative Government
The Comparative Government Comprehensive Exam is offered over eight hours in one day. Part I of the exam addresses political methodology. Students select one question and provide a written response. Part II covers topics in Comparative Government, and students select three questions to answer.
International Relations
The International Relations Comprehensive Exam is offered over two days. On Day 1, students are given four questions related to the International Relations Field. They must provide written responses to two questions of their choosing within four hours. On Day Two, students select two questions from two different topic areas in International Relations.
Thesis Requirements
European Studies
While students do not write a traditional thesis, they are required to complete a research project during the Capstone course taken at the end of the program.
Government
Once students have completed the comprehensive exams, they must form a Dissertation Committee who have special competence in the area or topic and who collectively can help with the theoretical, methodological, and empirical dimensions of the student’s research.
Once the dissertation prospectus is written and students have received approval from their committee members, students will present their prospectus at a 90-minute colloquium that is open to Government Department faculty and students.
Students will spend at least two years researching and writing the dissertation. Results of the research will be presented at a public dissertation defense where anyone in attendance may ask the candidate questions. At the conclusion of the defense, the committee will vote in private to determine whether the student may proceed with submitting the dissertation to the Graduate School and ultimately graduating.
