Revision, October 2012. Start of revision.

The graduate Admissions Committee only considers applications from those who already have an undergraduate academic degree in political science or a closely related field (e.g., international studies, sociology, philosophy for prospective political theorists, etc.). Those without this required background occasionally enrol as Special Students in the undergraduate program and take upper-level undergraduate courses in order to build the academic record necessary to apply to the graduate program.

Master's

Students holding a B.A. degree may be eligible for admission to the M.A. program. Preparation equivalent to a McGill Honours program in Political Science is desirable.

Ph.D.

Students holding a master’s degree in political science may be eligible for admission to the Ph.D. program. In some instances, outstanding students with a B.A. in political science may be admitted directly into the Ph.D. program without having completed an M.A. degree. They will be considered Ph.D. 1 and some previous political science coursework could be applied to the requirements of the program, provided that it did not count toward any other degree.

Reference Letters

All applicants, including those who have done their undergraduate work at McGill, must submit two letters of reference. It is recommended that you contact your referees at least a month in advance of the deadline. Applications that do not have references by January 15 will not be considered.

GRE and TOEFL Exams

GRE results are required for applications to the doctoral program. Use codes McGill 0935 – Political Science 1999. The test should be written well in advance of the application deadline. See www.ets.org/gre for more information on registering for the test. GRE results are not required for students applying to the master's program.

Applicants to graduate studies whose mother tongue is not English, and who have not completed an undergraduate or graduate degree from a recognized foreign institution where English is the language of instruction or from a recognized Canadian/American institution (anglophone or francophone), must submit TOEFL scores. A minimum score of 600 on the paper-based test (or 100 on the Internet-based test, with each component score not less than 20) is required for admission. Please use the codes McGill 0935 – Political Science 89 when writing the TOEFL exam. See www.ets.org/toefl for more information on registering for the test. The IELTS (International English Language Testing Systems) with a minimum overall band of 6.5 is also acceptable. Files will not be considered unless TOEFL/IELTS scores are received before the Dates for Guaranteed Consideration (January 15 for admission in the Fall).

For more information, consult the following websites: www.ets.org/gre and www.ets.org/toefl.

McGill’s online application form for graduate program candidates is available at www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply.

See Application Procedures (for All Admissions Starting Summer 2013) for detailed application procedures.

Completed applications (including all supporting documentation listed above) for all graduate programs in Political Science must be received by January 15. For detailed information, please see the Graduate Applicant Checklist at: www.mcgill.ca/politicalscience/grad/gradformsdocs.

Revision, October 2012. End of revision.