PhD in International Relations/ Political Science
Programme Description
The PhD programme is designed to prepare students for a career involving the conduct of independent research in International Relations and Political Science. Students admitted to the programme must have a solid master's level grounding in International Relations, Political Science or cognate disciplines.
The first year of the PhD programme is divided between advanced core courses and specialized electives. The third semester is dedicated to developing a dissertation prospectus that will be the basis of the student’s research for the next few years. The coursework and dissertation prospectus, combined with specialised doctoral seminars, participation in colloquia and doctoral retreats, where students get individualised feedback from all the professors, and close work with an adviser, gives students the range of skills needed to develop and carry out independent research projects. They show this in their PhD dissertations that can take the form of a monograph or a collection of 3 articles.
Students work closely with their advisors, other faculty and peers. They have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the interdisciplinary research environment of the IHEID and with the wide array of research centres based at the Graduate Institute. Students are also given the opportunity to take part in international research networks and present their research at national and major international meetings.
Each year, approximately 12 students are admitted to the PhD programme. Admission is highly competitive. Some of our students apply through the fast-track master or stay on after their Master at the Institute. Most are applicants from outside the IHEID. The Graduate Institute offers competitively awarded funding for PhD students through scholarships and teaching assistant positions. Find more information here. In addition, a number of our students work as research assistants for research projects run at the institute (such positions are announced here) or have been successful in obtaining individual funding for their studies through external grants, such as the Swiss government’s Doc.CH grants.”
