Doctor of Philosophy in Political Studies - Comparative Politics

The Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University has long been known for its graduate programs. We are small enough to provide our students with a highly personalized graduate experience, and our faculty are strong, diverse, and well recognized for their research so that we can provide a well-rounded education that gives our graduates a strong basis for a wide range of careers. The department is particularly well known for its strength in the study of ethnically divided and diverse societies. Our M.A. program will help you refine your crucial analytical skills, while our Ph.D. program will help you prepare for a rewarding career in university research and teaching as well as leadership roles in other sectors related to political studies. Most of our students are offered teaching assistantship positions. We encourage our students to present papers at academic conferences, and we provide partial support for conference travel. Many of our faculty offer Research Assistantship opportunities. We also encourage and support our students in their field research, and our faculty help students with networking in Canadian and global academic and policy fields.

Comparative Politics is our Department's largest sub-field. Eight of the Political Studies Department’s twenty-three full-time faculty list Comparative Politics as one of their research fields. Comparativists usually combine two foci. First, they are generally interested in a range of themes, concepts or issues. Second, they research these matters within a particular country or set of countries, or regions of the world; although some comparativists research their thematic interests wherever they are salient and not just in particular places. At Queen’s comparativists are concerned with broad questions that relate to some of the most important themes of our day. These include nationalism, ethnicity and multiculturalism; class and political economy; identity and culture; regime transitions and democratization; and political institutions including federalism, power-sharing (consociationalism), political parties, and elections. Some of us are interested in the nexus between Comparative Politics and International Relations, in such areas as international political economy, globalization, or the effects of evolving international norms on minority rights and human rights. Our area specialists work on a wide range of different regions, including North America, Latin America, Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Comparativists at Queen’s conduct research in the following areas: ethnic conflict; minority nationalism; federalism; power-sharing (consociationalism); diasporas; state-society relations, including relations between the security sector (police and army) and society; democratization in Latin America; democratization in eastern Europe; language politics; the welfare state, including the politics of employment equity; industrial relations; the politics of aging; the politics of prisons; political corruption; as well as the politics of the European Union, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Iraq, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Peru, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Ph.D.: M.A., political science, or an equivalent with a minimum A- average
For international students, if required, an IELTS score of 7.0 on the Academic module, or a TOEFL total score of at least 600 (paper-based) or TOEFL iBT minimum scores of: writing (24/30), speaking (22/30), reading (22/30), listening (20/30), for a total of 88/120. Applicants must have the minimum TOEFL score in each test as well as the minimum overall score. Two academic references , Photocopies of official transcripts can be uploaded to the online application as PDF files. If a transcript or transcripts cannot be successfully uploaded to the online application, you are responsible for ensuring that an official transcript or transcripts of all current and previous university-level studies are sent to the School of Graduate Studies by all universities previously attended. All applicants (MA and PhD) must submit a writing sample. It should be a recent essay approximately 15-20 pages in length. MA applicants should briefly outline their main research interests, approximately 200 words.