Department of Government

Frequently Asked Questions – PhD programs

Q: What are the demographics of your PhD students?
A: Our PhD students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have diverse academic and personal interests.  We have included below some statstics about our students.
*Total Number of Students: 154 PhD students (18 AG, 50 CG, 57 IR, and 29 PT)
*Gender: 92 men and 62 women (12:6 AG, 26:24 CG, 37:20 IR, 17:12 PT)
*Average Age: early 30s 
*Funding: (This information is being updated for the 2007-2008 academic year.)

Q: Who are the Department’s faculty members? Who would be part of my Dissertation Committee?
A: You can find a list of the Department's faculty members on our website, as well as links to their profiles and webpages.  A good resource for finding professors at Georgetown with specific interests or research is the Faculty Experts search.  Dissertation committees consist of a mentor and two other committee members.  The Department of Government requires that the Dissertation mentor be a tenure-track or tenured member of our faculty.  Of the other two members of the committee, one must be a faculty member at Georgetown (ideally another member of the Department's faculty) and the other can be a professor at any institution. 

Q: How long does it normally take to complete a Ph.D.?
A: Our students usually complete their PhDs in less than seven years. However, there are a number of factors that influence the length of time it will take a student to complete his or her PhD, including transfer credit and how long each student takes to research and write his/her dissertation. We estimate that it takes 2 years to complete coursework (as a full time student with no transfer credit) and one semester to prepare for and pass both major and minor comprehensive exams as well as any language exams. Students will then take an average of a year and a half to defend their dissertation proposal and complete their research. Finally, students spend approximately 1-3 years writing and defending their dissertation.

Q: Are PhD students allowed to attend part-time?
A: Yes, however, our program is not set up to fully accommodate part time students. This means that a number of required classes are held during the work day (either in the mornings or afternoons). We have also found that our most successful students are those students that can dedicate themselves to their PhD work full time. Finally, funding (both scholarships and stipends for Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant work) is not generally made available to our part time students.

Q: I have an MA degree. How will this affect my PhD program requirements?
A: Students entering our PhD programs with an MA degree may request to transfer up to half of the courses necessary for the PhD degree (i.e. 8 out of 16 classes or 24 out of 48 credits). Typically, this is done during First Year Appraisals in the spring semester of your first year in the PhD program.

Q: What are my chances of getting a full fellowship?
A: The competition for fellowships is quite competitive. The Department of Government offers anywhere between 6 to 10 full fellowships (stipend and tuition scholarship for up to five years contingent upon satisfactory academic performance) to incoming students.  Our stipends are approximately $18,500 per academic year.

Q: Are fellowships awarded to foreign students?
A: Yes. Fellowships are awarded to the strongest applicants, regardless of origin.

Q: Are fellowships awarded to students based on need?
A: No. Fellowships are awarded on academic merit.

Q: If I do not enter the program as a fellow, is there any chance of receiving funding later on or working as a teaching and/or research assistant for a professor in the department?
A: Depending on the Department's financial aid budgets, twice a year students who are not fellows but are interested in being considered for funding will be asked to submit letters of interest to the Chair of the Admissions & Fellowships Committee along with their Georgetown transcript and letters of recommendation from Department faculty. A few students who are not fellows are awarded full or partial fellowships every year. In terms of working as a teaching or research assistant, these opportunities are only open to students receiving a fellowship.  

Q: What kind of jobs are students interested in getting after completing their Ph.D.?
A: The majority of students are interested in getting teaching positions after completing their Ph.D. However, if they are unable to land a teaching position right after defending, then most students will either work at a think tank/research institute or do a post-doctoral fellowship while still looking for a teaching position.