Master of Science in Political Science

The Department of Politics and Government offers a master's degree in Political Science in order to promote human knowledge and skills in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and service in and about the political dimensions of social life. The Department of Politics and Government graduate program serves several types of students with a multi-track program. The department offers courses and program options both to students who are planning to pursue further graduate education and to students who, for reasons of career enhancement or of specialized training for employment, are seeking a master's degree as their ultimate goal.

A student applying to a master's program must:have earned a four-year bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college or university that is accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association, or do so within one academic yearpresent unofficial transcripts from each college or university other than Illinois State at which graduate, undergraduate, or non-degree credit was earned. A student applying to this program must:have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for either the last 60 hours of your undergraduate coursework or any previous work in a master's programupload a two-page statement of purpose. This should indicate how the program fits your academic and professional plans.submit a writing samplesubmit names and email addresses of three references for letters of recommendation within the online application The GRE is not required for the fall 2021 application cycle. In addition to the overall university requirements above, international students must also:•present a TOEFL score of no less that 79 on the internet-based test (iBT) or 550 on the paper-based test; or present an overall band score of no less than 6