General examination
Every graduate student must achieve a "Ph.D. pass" on the general examination and be recommended for continuation in the program before undertaking dissertation research. The purpose of the general examination is to ascertain a student's knowledge of political science and his or her preparedness for advanced research. The best preparation for the exam is extensive seminar work in the department, supplemented as necessary by independent reading and study.
The general examination consists of written examinations in three separate fields and an oral examination. Students may opt to take written examinations in two, rather than three, fields on the condition that they complete 14 (rather than the required 12) graded seminars, including a coherent 3-course 500-level sequence in a third field (but not including WWS 507b, 508b, or 508c). These courses must be chosen from outside the fields covered by the two written exams.
Normally, at least two of a student's general examination fields are selected from the seven regular examination fields listed in the next paragraph. A student may design a third, “substitute” field to replace the third regular examination field. Substitute fields should cohere with the student's educational and research interests, and must not substantially overlap with the student's other fields. A student may propose either a standard exam from another department (e.g., political economy from Economics), or, in unusual circumstances, a special examination. Students in the Political Philosophy Program may prepare a field in another participating department. Special examinations require the agreement of a sponsoring faculty member in another department and the director of graduate studies. Alternatively, the “substitute” third field may be completed under the 2-exam, 14-course option described above.
The politics faculty regularly gives examinations in the following seven fields: political theory, comparative politics, political systems and cultures, American politics, international relations, public law, and formal and quantitative analysis. Students who wish to be examined in political systems and cultures must specify in advance the major nation or group of nations in which they are specializing. The department currently offers examinations on Africa, China, Europe, India, Japan, Latin America, and Russia and the former Soviet Union. Tests on other parts of the world (e.g., the Near East and Southeast Asia) also have been offered.
All written examinations are four hours long, with an additional hour for preparation. Unless otherwise specified, they are closed-book examinations. The oral examination is conducted by a faculty panel, with one member from each field.
Students must stand for the general examination no later than the general exaination period immediately following the beginning of the fifth term of enrollment (normally October of the third year). They may opt to take the examination sooner. Students who have completed one or more years of graduate study elsewhere may take the exam as early as May of their first year, if they have completed at least seven graded seminars at Princeton and have been granted sufficient credit for courses taken elsewhere to satisfy the seminar requirement.