EXCELLENT FACULTY

The faculty of the Department of Political Science are among the most productive in the nation and the world.  The UNT Political Science Department has recieved official recognition for its research productivity compared to other political science departments in the United States and the world.  In an article from the September, 2001 issue of Political Science, our department was ranked #6 in affiliation rankings. This ranking is based on research output in the top journals in the profession of political science. In the same article, the UNT Political Science Department was ranked #3 in terms of the research productivity of its graduate students.

These rankings place our department well ahead of other programs that may be more widely known, including the University of Texas, Yale, Harvard, every Big Ten and every PAC 10 school. In another worldwide survey of the research productivity of Political Science departments, UNT Political Science ranked #53 in the world.

The department is currently the home of the International Studies Quarterly, perhaps the premier journal of international studies in the world. This reflects the Department's academic strength, and also creates research and internship possibilities for graduate students.

We pride ourselves on being not only strong researchers, but fine teachers. The Department's teaching evaluations have been historically very high, and our faculty have won many campus-wide and even state-wide teaching awards. Faculty bring graduate students into their research, and frequently co-author conference papers and journal articles with them.

AFFORDABLE EDUCATION and FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 

Tuition and fees at the University of North Texas are very competitive. For current rates, go to http://essc.unt.edu/saucs/tuition.htm

The Department of Political Science offers several forms of financial assitance. Teaching fellowships and assistantships, at approximately $11,000 per academic year (9 months), are awarded competitively. The application deadline is January 31 each year. Students receiving these awards can normally expect to pay in-state tuition rates. Research assistantships are available for students to work with faculty holding research grants.

University wide competitive scholarships also are available. Many of these are listed on the web pages of UNT's Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. UNT's Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarships assists graduate and undergraduate students in identifying and pursuing externally funded research and study.

UNT graduate students may also apply for traditional financial aid in the form of state and federal grants, as well as for work-study jobs and loans.  Most funds are awarded based on financial need, although some loans are not.  To be considered for these funds, complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on paper or online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.  For more information, contact the UNT financial aid office at (940) 565-2302.
 
LOCATION and LIVING EXPENSES

The university is located in Denton, a pleasant town of 75,000 in the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex," an area with a population of some 5 million and the country's eighth most populous metropolitan area. Living expenses in Denton and the Dallas-Fort Worth area generally are reasonable. Some graduate students live on campus, but most reside in off-campus housing.  Ample housing is available within walking distance of the UNT campus.

For more information on Denton, go to http://discoverdenton.com
For information on events and entertainment in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, go to http://guidelive.com

LIBRARY SYSTEM

UNT's library system, the largest in the region, has been designated a major research library by the U.S. Department of Education.  The University Libraries house a collection of more than 2 million catalogued items, in a variety of formats, in four separate facilities.  The library system is a member of the national Center for Research Libraries (CRL), enabling UNT graduate students to access more than 3.5 million volumes and 1.1 million microforms for indefinite loan periods.

UNT's libraries are open more than 100 hours per week during the regular academic year and are served by 112 full-time staff, including 38 librarians.  Special services include an online catalog with dial-up access, an online circulation system, a 24-hour computer lab and reciprocal agreements with 26 academic libraries in the region to provide graduate students with journals, books, papers, and other materials.  The library system's database searching services have access to more than 750 databases in nearly all academic areas.
 

COMPUTER SYSTEMS

The UNT campus is highly wired. Graduate students on financial aid have a (shared) office, with computers. Political science faculty and graduate students have access to computer networks that provide connections to a wide variety of general-purpose and specialized computing equipment.  The central computing resources include an IBM mainframe computer and several UNIX systems.  Access campuswide is through a fiber-optic network, with off-campus access provided through dial-up lines that support standard asynchronous and PPP protocols, with telephone service points in the Denton, Dallas, and Fort Worth areas that are free of long-distance charges.  General access microcomputer labortories provide access to both IBM-compatible and Macintosh personal computers, as well as draft- and laser-quality printing.  The university supports many general purpose and specialized statistical analysis programs including SPSS, Stata, Rats, S-plus and SAS.
 

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The Department of Political Science offers programs of study leading to master of arts, master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees.  Degrees in political science prepare students for a wide range of careers.  In addition to teaching and research positions in academic setting, political science degree holders have excellent preparation for careers at all levels of government, and in journalism, international business, international risk analysis and political campaign organization.  Students in our program also may develop special expertise in survey research and statistical analysis.  These skills are in high demand in both the public and private sectors.
 

ACADEMIC PLACEMENT

The department has an excellent record of placing graduates in academic and non-academic positions.  Academic placements have include graduates who have joined the faculties of  SUNY-Stony Brook, Southern Methodist University, Washington State University, Louisiana State University, University of Central Florida, University of Evansville, West Virginia University, California State University at Bakersfield, University of Texas at Dallas, and Rochester Institute of Technology.  Non-academic placements of our graduates include federal government agencies like U.S. State Department and private foundations like the Liberty Fund.
 

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

The Department of Political Science has an exceptionally active graduate faculty.  Faculty members publish regularly in journals such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and the Journal of Peace Research.  In recent years, the department has had more publications, per person, in the top five political science journals than any other department in the nation. 

Graduate students participate in much of our grant-funded research as paid assistants and frequently collaborate with the faculty on publications.
 

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Much more information about the University of North Texas Department of Political Science can be found at the UNT Political Science Home Page