Draft 02/25/09 - University of South Florida



August 2020

School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies

Doctoral Student Handbook

Table of Contents

|Application Requirements…………………………………………………………………………... |2 |

|Degree Information and Requirements……………………………………………………………. |3 |

|Faculty Advisor, Major Professor, Dissertation Committee…………………………………….... |5 |

|Foreign Language Requirement……………………………………………………………………. |5 |

|Comprehensive Examination……………………………………………………………………….. |5 |

|Admission to Candidacy…………………………………………………………………………….. |6 |

|Dissertation Committee Composition…………………………………………………………….... |7 |

|Dissertation Proposal………………………………………………………………………………... |7 |

|Dissertation Research……………………………………………………………………………….. |7 |

|Dissertation Oral Defense…………………………………………………………………………… |7 |

|Continuous Enrollment……………………………………………………………………………... |8 |

|Leave of Absence…………………………………………………………………………………….. |8 |

|Graduation Requirements…………………………………………………………………………... |8 |

|Regional Campus Courses…………………………………………………………………………... |8 |

|Transfer of Credit from Non-USF Regionally Accredited Institutions………………………….. |8 |

|Grading Policy……………………………………………………………………………………….. |9 |

|Teacher Training Program…………………………………………………………………………. |9 |

|Guidelines for Ethics in Research and Publishing………………………………………………… |10 |

|Financial Assistance…………………………………………………………………………………. |12 |

|Faculty and Expertise……………………………………………………………………………….. |14 |

Application Requirements

Degree offered: Ph.D. in Politics and International Affairs

Additional information on admission requirements:

1. The personal statement, which is not to exceed 1,000 words, should discuss the applicant’s academic goals, objectives, and interests, as well as indicate the faculty member(s) s/he wishes to study under.

2. Recommendation letters should address the potential of the applicant to undertake advanced academic research.

3. There is no required, minimum GRE score for admission, but the average scores of previously accepted applicants have been approximately 162 Verbal, 153 Analytical, 4.5 Writing.

4. The writing sample must not be more than 25 pages. This can either be a published article in a professional journal, a paper presented at a conference, a section of the applicant’s master’s thesis, or an academic research paper (for a graduate or upper-level undergraduate course).

5. Our department also requires a Curriculum Vitae/Resume.

Please submit the items outlined above directly to:

Ms. Marisa Laccone

Graduate Program Specialist

School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies

University of South Florida

4202 East Fowler Avenue, SOC 107

Tampa, FL 33620-5250

Or electronic submission to Office of Admissions at University of South Florida:

Doctoral degree requirements described in this handbook are established by the University of South Florida Graduate School and along with other university requirements are found in the USF Graduate Catalog for Academic Year 2020-2021:

The University guidelines include information related to:

1. Time limitations

2. Academic residency

3. Major Professor and the doctoral advisory committee

4. Comprehensive exam

5. Admission to candidacy

6. Written dissertation

7. Dissertation defense

Additional guidelines and policies specific to the Doctoral Program in Politics and International Affairs are included below, along with other pertinent information about the degree.

Degree Information and Requirements

The Ph.D. in Politics and International Affairs is an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare students to teach at the university and college levels and to conduct high-level `research in the academic and nonacademic sectors. It combines a broad focus on international relations, comparative politics, American politics, and political theory with a critical understanding of institutions, rights, citizenship/identity, governance, global policy, and justice. Students work closely with faculty to frame their dissertation research and to advance their knowledge of their chosen fields of specialization. The program’s interdisciplinary approach to a variety of global issues provides a rich and open-ended opportunity to research current and past problems, movements, and transformations in politics.

Faculty members of the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies (SIGS) conduct innovative research that contributes to important intellectual and policy debates in and outside the disciplines of political science and international studies, and that advances theoretical, methodological, and practical understandings of the contemporary political environment. SIGS Faculty is dedicated to student success and providing high-quality graduate instruction that equips students with the creative, critical, analytical, and research skills needed to obtain employment in the public and private sectors and to teach at the college and university level. SIGS is also strongly committed to serving the College of Arts and Sciences and the University of South Florida, and to extending its expertise to the local, state, national, and international community.

Ph.D. students are expected to specialize their research. Examples of specializations include but are not limited to:

|Human security |Social movements |

|Civil and social justice |War and violence |

|Global political economy |Human Rights |

|International security |Identity politics |

|Gender |Critical theory |

|Race and ethnicity | |

|Genocide | |

|Global governance | |

Students will choose 18 hours of courses in two primary fields of specialization (9 hours in each field) as well as elective hours in a combination of Political Science and other disciplines to establish expertise in their area of research. Students will be encouraged to take courses in other disciplines to cultivate their interdisciplinary understanding of societal and political structures and processes.

Figure 1 below illustrates the program’s curriculum.

A Model of the Ph.D. in Politics and International Affairs

Total hours required: 72

Faculty Advisor, Major Professor, Dissertation Committee

The Graduate Committee will assign students an advisor at the beginning of their first year. Between the end of their first year and the beginning of the second year and in consultation with the Graduate Director, students will select a major professor. Note that the student must have a doctoral committee formed before being admitted to candidacy.

Foreign Language Requirement

All Ph.D. students must fulfill a foreign language requirement, as specified in the USF Graduate Catalog. This rule requires you to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language prior to graduating. And it cannot be waived under normal circumstances. Obtaining proficiency typically involves 4 semesters of language instruction. If you do not know a foreign language at this point, you should make arrangements to take language courses offered by USF World Languages (), or to participate in a study abroad program with a language component (). Certification can thus be obtained from the USF World Language Department. In addition, you can also acquire a foreign language outside of USF by taking and passing courses at an established university in a foreign country where the language is native/spoken. Keep in mind that if you receive a Teaching Assistantship, you cannot use it towards earning undergraduate (language) credits. Undergraduate (language) credits will also not count towards your graduate degree requirements.

The World Language Department will administer a test and certify the results. Students should contact the SIGS Graduate Program Specialist who will work with the World Language Department Office Manager to schedule the exam with the appropriate faculty member depending on the language. The World Language Department will conduct the testing. Passing the translation test (usually, the student will be asked to translate 1-2 pages or 400-600 words with the help of a dictionary) will be the equivalent of the B2 level of the European Common framework (upper intermediate); but only the reading skills, not the verbal skills, will count towards the requirement.

Students may request a waiver of the requirement by emailing the Graduate Director. The Graduate Committee will review the request and the Graduate Director will notify the student of its decision within two weeks of receipt of the request during the fall and spring terms. (Requests may take longer to act on during the summer months – mid-May through mid-August).   The request should be supported by the student’s major professor.

Comprehensive Examinations

Doctoral students will take comprehensive examinations during the fourth week of the fall term of her/his third year. They will take in-class examinations in two core fields and their chosen subfield. The examinations will be developed by a standing committee of faculty with expertise in the chosen fields of specialization and subfield. They will be based on the following sources: material covered in the pertinent four core and related courses, reading lists created by the field committees, and syllabi from prior offerings of relevant courses. The examination process will be coordinated by the Graduate Director and a member of the standing committee designated by the Graduate Director.

Field exams will be administered on designated, nonconsecutive days and be limited to eight hours for each field of specialization and four hours for the subfield. An oral exam, administered by an ad hoc committee consisting of one member from each appropriate standing committee and a faculty member with experience in the tested subfield, will be held approximately three weeks after the written exams have been completed. It will be administered to all students with the exception of those whose written answers fail to meet minimal standards. Those students whose answers fail to meet these minimal standards will have the option of retaking the exam in the following academic semester at a date and time to be announced by the Graduate Director in consultation with the standing committee(s).

The exams will be based on the following grading scale: Pass (with distinction), Pass, or Fail. A passing grade will demonstrate both breadth and depth of knowledge in the student’s chosen fields of specialization and evidence a critical ability to connect, synthesize, and apply the various theories and debates in the fields and subfield. A Pass (with distinction) will reflect the student’s exceptional command of the knowledge in the areas of specialization and subfield and demonstrate an ability to move beyond the problems and limits of the literature in the tested areas.

Note that reading lists for each of the four fields of specialization are posted on the SIGS website. Students should consult these lists when they begin the program and use these lists as guidelines in preparing for the examination that he or she will take at the beginning of their third year in the program. Students entering the program with an M.A. may take the examination at the beginning of their second year in the program with prior approval from the Graduate Committee.

Prior to preparing for the Comprehensive examination, the student should consult with the SIGS Graduate Program Specialist regarding the following: (1) preparation of the Admission to Doctoral Candidacy form; and (2) a completed Plan of Study and Graduate Student Supervisory Committee Form to make sure the student has no Incompletes or missing grades on his or her transcript. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of two credit hours in the term in which they take their comprehensive examinations. Students must also be enrolled in a minimum of two credit hours in the term in which they take their comprehensive examinations.

Admission to Candidacy

In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy students must meet the following requirements as well as the requirements listed in the catalog.

• Students with approved candidacy are eligible to enroll in dissertation proposal hours (POS 7910) in the semester that immediately follows the last business day of the approval window.

• Students admitted to candidacy will be eligible to be sole instructor for classes in their fields of specialization

Please consult the graduate catalog admission to candidacy section for complete information.

Dissertation Committee Composition

The Doctoral Committee will consist of at least four members, three of whom must come from the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies and one from another department or college at USF or higher education institution.

Dissertation Proposal

Students enroll in the Capstone Seminar (POS 6917) with colleagues in Political Science and Sociology in order to develop a dissertation proposal. The proposal must be approved by the student’s doctoral committee. The Capstone Seminar is not repeatable. A grade of “S” should be assigned at the end of the semester to indicate that the student has completed a proposal that is ready to be submitted to the committee or meets satisfactory progress as determined by the major professor. Should a student not complete an accepted proposal or meet these two above conditions by the end of the semester in which she/he is registered or made satisfactory progress, the professor teaching the Capstone Seminar will assign an “IU” grade. The grade will be changed to “S” at the end of the next semester if the student’s committee has approved the proposal.

Dissertation Research

When the student’s dissertation committee has approved the student’s proposal, the major professor will attach a copy of the proposal to the dissertation proposal approval form found on the department website and file the form and proposal with the Graduate Program Specialist.

The student will conduct the dissertation research under the guidance of the major professor and committee while maintaining continuous enrollment in dissertation hours (POS 7980).

During the meeting at which the student’s proposal is accepted, the committee and the student will clarify how the student is to interact with the major professor and committee during the dissertation research and writing prior to the oral defense.

Dissertation Oral Defense

A public oral defense of the dissertation is held after the approval of the written dissertation by the major professor and the doctoral committee. The defense will be chaired by a faculty member outside the department. This outside faculty member can also serve as a member of the student’s doctoral committee.

Continuous Enrollment

Students admitted to candidacy must take a minimum of two dissertation credits each semester. If the dissertation has not been completed by the time the 15 dissertation credit hours (or the total number required) have been accrued, the student must enroll continuously, including the summer term, for a minimum of two dissertation hours per semester until graduation. This includes the semester during which the dissertation is defended and the semester in which final submission of the dissertation is made.

Leave of Absence

Occasionally, students have personal reasons for temporarily withdrawing, and not registering for courses. However, in order for the leave of absence to be approved, the student must have a compelling reason (e.g., medical issues). This request is made using a form available from the Graduate Program Specialist and must be approved by the advisor, the Graduate Director, and the Director of SIGS. Funded students on leave will not be funded during the leave of absence. Students should consult with the Graduate Director concerning the status of their funding prior to applying for a leave of absence.

Graduation Requirements

• A minimum cumulative graduate GPA at USF of 3.00

• Passing the comprehensive exam

• Successful completion of the doctoral dissertation

• Demonstration of proficiency in a foreign language, as determined by the Graduate Committee.

Regional Campus Courses

As of Fall 2020 USF has consolidated all of its campuses making it possible for you to take courses at any of the campuses (Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota) without having to transfer the credits. However, students are still required to contact the Graduate Director for prior approval for all courses taken outside of the SIGS department.

Transfer of Credits from Non-USF Regionally Accredited Institutions

Students may, with the approval of their graduate program, transfer in credits taken at Non-USF Regionally Accredited Institutions and apply them to their degree program requirements. The majority of credits needed for a degree must be earned through instruction offered by the institution (USF) granting the degree. No more than 49% of the required credit hours for the degree may be accepted as transfer credits from another institution.

Grades from transfer credit from non-USF institutions are not calculated in the GPA, but are noted on the transcript by a “T”. Grades transferred from USF Regionally accredited institutions that are not calculated in the GPA will be noted on the transcript with an N/A. The graduate program/department will be responsible for evaluating, approving, and initiating the transfer as soon as possible following admission.

Transferring from an unfinished Doctoral Program: Up to 40% of the USF doctoral program requirement for total course hours (excluding dissertation hours).

Note that the majority of credits earned toward a USF granted degree must be from courses taken while at USF.

Grading Policy

To be considered a student in good standing, graduate students must:

• Maintain an overall minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in all courses taken as a graduate student. Note that a “B” grade equates to a 3.0 GPA and a B- equates to a 2.67 GPA.

• No grade of C- or below will be accepted toward a graduate degree.

• Students must meet the requirements to be in good standing to graduate.

• Consult the Graduate Studies Catalog for further details.

Teacher Training Program

All funded doctoral students admitted in fall 2019 and thereafter will complete the following teacher training program

|Year |Term |Description |

|1 |Fall |Each student will be assigned a faculty mentor for whom they will provide instructional support for 20 hours per week |

| |Spring |Each student will continue to work with the faculty mentor for 20 hours a week. |

|2 |Fall and |Each student will be assigned to a large (e.g. 200+) section of a core undergraduate course (e.g., INR 3011 – |

| |Spring |Globalization; INR 3038 – Wealth and Power; POS 2041 Introduction to American Government, others) taught by a tenured or |

| | |tenure earning member of the SIGS faculty. The student will attend the two 50-minute lectures and then be responsible for |

| | |two discussion sections meeting one day a week for 50 minutes. The student will work in collaboration with the faculty |

| | |member, design a syllabus for the discussion section and be responsible for testing students on the content of the lectures|

| | |and the material covered in the discussions. |

|3 |Fall |Each student will enroll in a 3-credit hour teacher training program and will be given an “S” grade (assuming satisfactory |

| | |work) for the teacher training programs completed in Years 1 and 2 |

| |Fall and Spring |Each student will be assigned as sole instructor of an undergraduate introductory course offered for majors in Political |

| | |Science or International Studies. The student will consult with the major professor to receive advice and assessment for |

| | |her/his teaching. Instructional work in the course will be evaluated by the Graduate Committee. |

|4 |Fall and |Each student will be assigned as sole instructor of an undergraduate introductory course offered for majors in Political |

| |Spring |Science or International Studies. The student will consult with the major professor to receive advice and assessment for |

| | |her/his teaching. Instructional work in the course will be evaluated by the Graduate Committee |

| |Summer |Each student will establish a final teaching portfolio that reflects the entire teaching profile developed over the |

| | |four-year period. |

Guidelines for Ethics in Research and Publishing

Research conduct, presentations, and publishing are important components of doctoral training. During their doctoral training, students should seek the advice of their faculty mentors and major professors on the codes of conduct in political science and related social science disciplines concerning conducting, presenting and publishing research.

Please consult and abide by relevant sections in A Guide to Ethical Behavior in Political Science (2008, revised) published by the American Political Science Association. These sections address:

• “Freedom and Integrity of Research by Academic Political Scientists (section III:A) and

• “Ethics in the Publication Process (section III: E)

The Guide can be found at:

Conducting Research

IRB Approval

Students who are working with human participants must complete a USF Institutional Review Board (IRB) on-line application, naming the Major Professor as co-PI. In most cases, an expedited review is appropriate. However, students should plan appropriately as the review process takes several weeks and revisions are often requested before approval is granted. Researchers may not begin their research involving human subjects until the IRB application is approved.

Visit for guidelines and instructions.

Students are responsible for submitting the IRB application and responding promptly to required revisions. Students must provide their major professor with a copy of the application form.

An approved dissertation proposal must accompany the IRB application. In order to allow the student to begin the research promptly, the major professor should assist the student in moving as quickly as possible through the committee formation/proposal approval/IRB application.

The Major Professor and student must complete mandatory investigator education for human subject protection before an IRB application will be approved. There are two types of requirements – a one-time completion of the foundation requirement, and annual completion of an IRB-approved continuing education course. Students and major professors should consult the Office of Research, Division of Research Integrity and Compliance website at



Presenting Research

Conference Participation

Students should seek ways to present academic papers and posters at regional, national, and international conferences. They should coordinate these efforts with the major professors and seek their support and cooperation in these efforts.

Students should consider volunteering to be discussants on panels appropriate to their fields of expertise and interest.

Originality and Plagiarism

From A Guide to Professional Ethics in Political Science (2nd edition 2008:10):

7.1 Plagiarism, the deliberate appropriation of the work of others represented as one’s own, not only may constitute a violation of the civil law but represents a serious breach of professional ethics.

72. Departments of political science should make it clear to both faculty and students that such misconduct will lead to disciplinary action and, in the case of serious offenses, may result in dismissal. Institutional rules and expected standards of conduct should be published in advance and distributed through such means as faculty and student handbooks.

The process for addressing plagiarism at the University of South Florida is outlined on the Graduate Studies website:

Publishing

Section III: E (pp. 13-14) in A Guide to Professional Ethics in Political Science (2nd edition 2008) describes ethics in the publication process. Please note the following:

• Students should seek advice from their faculty mentors and major professors concerning the appropriate time and process for offering to review books.

• Co-authoring is “the intellectual product of the authors collectively, not individually,…”(2008:13)

• “Authors who submit manuscripts to more than one professional journal at the same time are obligated to inform each editor of the fact.” (2008:13)

• Students are encouraged to publish their dissertations in whole or in part. See (2008:14:21) for the rules to following in doing so.

• For specific guidelines for Student and Faculty Collaborative work on research and publication, please consult the USF Department of Anthropology Graduate Program Manual, Appendix I:

Financial Assistance

Graduate Assistants

The department awards graduate teaching assistantships annually. Doctoral students

will receive a graduate assistantship that includes a stipend for the academic year (9 months), a tuition waiver (not including school fees), and the option of health insurance mostly paid by the department. The graduate assistantship is guaranteed for four years but is based on maintaining satisfactory annual academic progress. It requires each student to work 20 hours per week, in which case the student would be first assisting professors of the department with their teaching and class preparations and later, after having passed the Ph.D. comprehensive exams and completed teacher training seminars, teach a class at the University of South Florida. The department also provides funding for conference travel or the presentation of research at conferences upon approval.

Graduate assistants are under the direct supervision of the Director of SIGS and the Director of Graduate Studies, who assign the specific duties to students. 

The nine-month contract runs from early August to mid-May and graduate students are legally and contractually required to be on campus during that period.

SIGS strives to fund its students in the fifth year, though this funding is not guaranteed. Depending on additional funds that become available, students may have the opportunity to extend their graduate assistantship to one, possibly two academic semesters. Students in the fifth year are also encouraged to seek external funding.

Research (Project) Assistants

Research assistants are students who are hired to assist faculty with grant-funded projects.  Students hired as Project Assistants may carry out a number of responsibilities including but not limited to managing survey projects, collecting secondary data, conducting literature reviews, creating data bases, performing computer analyses, and preparing graphics. Students may be hired on salary or on an hourly basis.  The rate of pay varies from project to project. Students are selected for these positions based upon the skills needed for individual projects. These positions may, or may not, provide tuition waivers.

Fellowships

Outstanding candidates may also be nominated by the School’s Director and/or Graduate Committee for prestigious and highly competitive university fellowships, including Presidential Doctoral Fellowship, the Dorothy Auzenne Fellowship, and university graduate fellowship. There is also the opportunity for minority students to be awarded a McKnight Fellowship, which provides annual tuition up to $5,000 for each of three academic years, plus an annual stipend of $12,000. The program also offers travel grants and other forms of financial support.

Faculty and Expertise

|Name |Title |Area of Expertise |

|Alexopoulos, Golfo |Professor |Russia and the Soviet Union, Stalinism and Dictatorship, Medicine/Health and Society, and Political Violence |

| | |and Human Rights |

|Augsburger, Aaron |Assistant Professor |Latin America, Social Change and State Transformation, Globalization and Development |

|Benton, J. Edwin |Professor |State, Local, and Urban Government and Politics, Intergovernmental Relations, Florida Politics |

|Caruson, Kiki |Associate Professor |Homeland Security, U.S. Presidency, International Agreement-Making, Diplomacy |

|Conteh-Morgan, Earl |Professor |Africa, Peace & Conflict Analysis, American Foreign Policy, Democratization |

|Dinnin, Alec |Visiting Professor |Political Theory and Thought, Politics of Dystopia, Neoliberalism, and Transatlantic Political Thought |

|Dunn, Holly |Assistant Professor |Post-Conflict Justice, Rule of Law, Legal Pluralism, Gender Justice, Qualitative Methods |

|Funke, Peter |Associate Professor |Social Movements, Capitalism and Class, New Media and Society |

|Hall, Cheryl |Associate Professor |Environmental/ Feminist/ Democratic Political Theory, Passion and Politics |

|Hechiche, Hiba |Professor |Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Arab-Israeli Relations, Self-Determination |

|Jimenez-Bacardi, Arturo |Assistant Professor |International Relations and Law, Global Governance, and Foreign Policy, Security, and Human Rights |

|Jolaosho, Omotayo |Assistant Professor |Political Aesthetics, Social Movements, Public Memory |

|Kissi, Edward |Associate Professor |Genocide, Human Rights, Historiography |

|Kulakevich, Tatsiana |Instructor I |International Relations, Comparative Politics, Quantitative Methods, and Eastern European Politics |

|Lahey, Laurie |Instructor II and SIGS |American History, Race and Racism, 20th Century Social Movements |

| |Undergraduate Director | |

|Mantilla, Luis Felipe |Associate Professor |Comparative Political Party Development, Religion and Politics, and Natural Resource Politics specifically |

| | |focusing on Latin American and the Middle East |

|McBrien, Jody |Professor |Refugee Resettlement, Families Affected by War, Comparative and International Education, and Human Rights |

|Merrick, Janna |Professor |Public Policy, Health Policy, Reproductive Health Policy |

|Milani, Mohsen |Professor |Modern Iran, Comparative Revolutionary Movements, Persian Gulf, The Middle East |

|Parayil, Govindan |Professor |Global Sustainability, Globalization and Political Economy, Technology and Social Change |

|Peng, Dajin |Associate Professor |China, Japan, East Asia, Political Economy, Regional Integration, Business Networks |

|Pieri, Zacharias |Assistant Professor |International Relations and Security Studies; Conflict in the World, Islam in the Modern World, Extremism, |

| | |Social and Religious Movements, Qualitative Methodologies, Globalization, and Migration and Citizenship |

|Ponton, David |Assistant Professor |African American History, Gender and Security, and The Sociology of Race |

|Rodriguez, Cheryl |Associate Professor |African-American Anthropology, Communal Ethnography |

|Roach, Steven |Professor and SIGS Graduate |Human Rights, Global Ethics, Critical International Theory, East African Politics, and International Criminal |

| |Director |Justice |

|Samnotra, Manu |Assistant Professor |Political Theory, Post-Colonial Thought, Dignity |

|Simeon-Jones, Kersuze |Associate Professor |Intellectual History and Politics of African Diaspora |

|Scourfield McLauchlan, |Associate Professor |American Government and Public Law |

|Judithanne | | |

|Solomon, M. Scott |Associate Professor and SIGS |International Political Economy, Globalization, Migration |

| |Director | |

|Smith, Thomas |Professor |Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Turkish Politics and Foreign Policy |

|Tauber, Steven |Professor |Judicial Politics, Interest Groups, Animal Rights |

|Thompson, Nicolas |Assistant Professor |American Politics, International Political Economy |

|Woo, Jongseok |Associate Professor |Security Studies, Military Politics, and East Asia |

-----------------------

Level 5:

Capstone (POS 7910 – 3 hours) Dissertation (POS 7980 - 15 hours)

Level 4:

Methods Courses including Teacher training course (12 hours)

Level 3:

Primary Fields (18 hours)

Elective Courses (9 hours)

Level 2:

Four Core Seminars: American Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, Comparative Politics (9 hours)

Level 1:

Pro-Seminar and Foundations of Political Inquiry (6 hours)

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