Faculty of Social Sciences
Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences: Philips J. Vermonte, Ph.D.
The UIII Political Science Program offers distinctive academic programs that combine a rich understanding of the political development of Muslim states and societies and rigorous training in social sciences and research methodology. The program is designed to provide academic training for students who are interested in studying the complexities of social and political dynamics in the Muslim world and world society. The program is intended to serve as an intellectual training for future scholars in international relations, and comparative politics with special attention given to Muslim states and societies. The UIII Political Science Program offers both Master of Arts (MA) and Philosophy of Doctor (Ph.D.) degrees in Political Science.
Research and teaching activities at the Political Science Program are designed to facilitate open and critical scholarly exchanges between scholars and communities of different religions, socioeconomic, and political backgrounds to address real-world questions, problems, challenges, and opportunities faced by our contemporary societies. Our mission is to be a center of excellence for the empirical study of Muslim politics and society by:
- Providing distinctive academic programs that combine a rich understanding of the political development of Muslim states and societies and rigorous training in political sciences and research methodology.
- Producing and disseminating cutting-edge research on political transformations of Muslim politics and societies.
- Building a vibrant intellectual community committed to exploring enduring questions of religion, politics, and governance in a complex, globalized world.
MA in Political Science
The MA in Political Science program is designed to equip students with excellent theoretical knowledge and expertise relevant to researchers, policymakers, community organizers, and religious leaders to deal with a variety of social and political problems in our contemporary era. Students will take several courses that constitute the core of their expertise in either Comparative Politics or International Relations. For those wishing to pursue further education, the MA in Political Science program will provide substantive and theoretical knowledge of key issues in the study of politics, and a strong methodological foundation to conduct further research in this field of study.
Expected Learning Outcomes/Competency of MA in Political Science
Upon the program completion, students are expected to:
- Have a broad knowledge of various approaches and theories in political science,
- Have an excellent understanding of political institutions and processes in the Muslim World and beyond,
- Demonstrate a good command of relevant research skills in political science, along with competence in conducting the research consistent with the norms and manners of the discipline,
- Show competence to apply their theoretical knowledge to explain the political dynamics of Muslim states and societies and beyond.
Degree Requirements
To qualify for the M.A degree, students must complete at least 39 credits. The credits include foundation and scope, core and elective courses, research method, academic writing, and a MA thesis submission. All the requirements must be completed within two years (four semesters).
Course Structure
The requirement will be satisfied with the following components:
| Foundation, Scope, and Method | 12 Credits |
| Core and Elective Courses | 21 Credits |
| MA Thesis | 6 Credits |
M.A. in Political Science students must develop substantive and theoretical knowledge in either Comparative Politics or International Relations by doing the core courses that fall under the category of each sub-field. Students must also pass the foundation, research method, and elective courses. In terms of research methods, students are expected to have completed both qualitative and quantitative research methods before writing their MA thesis.
Course Description
Ph.D. in Political Science
The Ph.D. in Political Science program is designed to produce scholars capable of conducting independent and original research about the political dynamics of Muslim states and societies. Graduates of the Ph.D. in Political Science program are expected to have excellent substantive and theoretical knowledge of political institutions and processes in the Muslim world and demonstrate an excellent command of research skills required to produce independent and original research in the subject areas of their scholarly interests.
Expected Learning Outcomes/Competency of Ph.D. in Political Science
- Have excellent knowledge of approaches and theories in Political Science, together with a proven ability to critically assess the strength and weaknesses of theseapproaches and theories.
- Have an excellent substantive and theoretical understanding of politicalinstitutions and processes in the Muslim World, together with the proven abilityto critically assess various theories and approaches to the study of the Muslimworld.
- Have a good understanding of various research methods in Political Science anddemonstrate an excellent command of specific research skills in the discipline,together with a proven ability to produce original and independent researchconsistent with the norms and manners of the discipline.
- Demonstrate competence to conduct independent and original research aboutthe political dynamics of Muslim states and societies.
Ph.D. Degree Requirement
A student seeking a Ph.D. degree in Political Science at IIIU must complete at least 42 credit hours beyond the MA degree that he/she has obtained. The credits include foundation and scope, dissertation coursework, research method, academic writing, and a Ph.D. dissertation submission.
Course Structure
The requirement will be satisfied with the following components:
| Foundation, Scope, and Method | 15 Credits |
| Core and Elective Courses | 15 Credits |
| Ph.D. Dissertation | 12 Credits |
Ph.D. in Political Science students must develop substantive and theoretical knowledge in either Comparative Politics or International Relations by taking the core courses that fall under the category of each sub-field for their dissertation coursework. Students must also pass the foundation, research method, and elective courses. In terms of research methods, students are expected to have completed both qualitative and quantitative research methods before conducting their dissertation research.
Career Path
The academic training at the M.A in Political Sciences program of the Faculty of Social Science at the UIII is intended to equip students with the theoretical and empirical foundation to help them advance their careers in academia, international organizations, civil society organizations/NGOs, diplomatic world and government sectors, journalism, and also private sectors that increasingly are in need of cultural, social, and political understanding of the environment in which they are operating especially countries that have a substantial proportion of Muslims population.
Political Science Program
To learn more about our program, click here.
List of Lecturers and Researchers
To see the list of lecturers from the Faculty of Social Sciences, click here.