Academic Program

The PhD Interfield degree program in Political Science-Economics combines courses from both departments in the School of Politics and Economics for an interdisciplinary political economy degree. Students must be accepted into the PhD interfield by both the Department of Politics and Policy and the Department of Economics. The PhD interfield also has a modified qualifying exam structure based on the requirements in both departments. The Department of Economics qualifying exam requirements combine testing on ECON 302  or ECON 313  and a field of application.  The qualifying exam in the Department of Politics and Policy is a field of application.   [Note: Diplomas for graduates of the PhD interfield program will be printed to show the primary department the student is registered under first.  i.e., PhD interfield Political Science-Economics or PhD Interfield Economics-Political Science].

Program Requirements

This program requires a minimum of 80 units composed of a core, a methods minor field, a political science major field, and an economics major field. One of the Interfield major fields listed below will count toward one of these areas.

Students in the Interfield PhD interfield degree program must pass qualifying examinations in both major fields of study, defend a dissertation proposal and dissertation that meets rigorous methodological standards and draws from both major fields.

FINAL PAPER PORTFOLIO
As for all Master’s degree programs in SPE, during their last semester in the program, students must provide the program office a copy of a paper that they wrote their first semester in the degree program they are pursuing along with a paper they wrote later that they consider an example of their best work in their respective degree program. (These papers will be used by CGU’s accrediting agency.)
[see SPE Student Handbook for detailed requirements]