Students will gain knowledge and skills that are associated with advanced degrees in political science.

Upon completion of the MA in Political Science program, students will be able to:

1. Explain the key features of methodology.
2. Evaluate political theories and discuss the significant research in one of the program's subject areas: American government, public administration, comparative politics, or international relations.

We utilize written comprehensive exams as a tool for measuring graduate students' knowledge and skills. Prior to graduation, students complete two written comprehensive exams in areas relevant to their coursework. Exam questions are written by faculty with expertise in the students' areas of study and the questions are based on the comprehensive exam reading lists and the content of the overview courses (see department level goal of revise written comprehensive exam process for more information on the reading lists and overview courses). Students' exams are graded by at least two faculty members (more when possible) who have expertise in the areas of study pursued by students. Exams are assigned one of the following scores: high pass, pass, and no pass. If the two faculty members issue conflicting scores (e.g., pass and no pass), a third faculty member will be asked to score the exams and issue a final ruling.

We expect that at least 80% of our students will pass their exams on the first attempt and that 100% of the students who have to take the exam a second time will pass. Efforts noted in our 2008-2009 actions will be implemented; specifically, we require students to attend a comprehensive exam study skills session conducted by the graduate director and graduate faculty members. Utilizing a rubric developed in the spring of 2010, graduate faculty will determine low pass, pass, and high pass. We believe that this will produce at least 2 high passes for this year's cohort.

Five students took written comprehensive exams in 2012-2013 in the areas of institutions and behavior. Three passed the exam the first time with high marks.  Two students failed the first time, but passed on the second attempt with a mark of passed.  Thus, our results are mixed in relation to our stated goals.  We missed the 80% mark for passing on the the first attempt since only 3 of 5 (60%) passed initially.  However, we met our mark of 100% passing on the second attempt.  We also met our goal of having at least two high passes.

The faculty will emphasize improving students' comprehension of research design, data, and methods in each MA graduate course. We believe this will enhance student understanding of the core knowledge in each subfield and help improve the rate of passing on the first attempt.

Due to the addition of new faculty members that will teach both MA and MPA courses, the graduate faculty will meet to discuss new expectations regarding student performance.