Relevant University Policy

According to the University's Graduate Division Manual of August 1994 (p. 33):

Currently enrolled candidates completing masters degrees at the end of a semester should submit the following to the Graduate Record Office:

a. Doctoral petition form with signature of graduate chair, within established admission deadlines.
b. Biographical Information Form.
c. International students on J-1 or F-1 visas: Supplementary Information form for non-U.S. citizens.
d. EWC grantees must submit to Graduate Division the EWC "Request for Action" form and then complete Graduate Division's petition form.

Department of Political Science Policy and Procedure

Students who have been admitted to candidacy for the M.A. degree in political science are not automatically advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D.  They must compete with others who are applying for entry into the Ph.D. program.  Students who are currently enrolled in the Master's program already have been admitted to the university's Graduate Division, and they already have files in the Department, so they do not have to go through the full application procedure.

For our purposes, the doctoral petition form referred to in the Graduate Division Manual is the one entitled Application for Admission to the Ph.D./DrPH Program.  Current M.A. candidates interested in entering the Ph.D. program in political science should request this form from the Records office of the Graduate Division, in Spalding 352.

As explained near its top, this form is to be used only by classified graduate students in the final semester of their Master's work, or in the semester immediately following graduation.  According to university policy, Master's students who are not yet in their final semester would have to obtain and use a different "Doctoral petition form" from the Graduate Division.  However, the Department's policy is that it will normally not accept applications from current M.A. students who are not yet in the final semester of their M.A. programs.

The Application for Admission to the Ph.D./DrPH Program form should be accompanied by another form, labeled Graduate Division, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Doctoral.  This is the Biographical Information Form referred to in the Graduate Division Manual.  This form can be obtained from the Records office of the Graduate Division at the same time the Application for Admission is obtained.

Both of these forms should be completed by the applicant and turned in to the Department of Political Science.  The Application for Admission to the Ph.D./DrPH Program should be filled out only down to the "Signature of Student" and "Date."  The rest will be filled out later by the Department and the Graduate Division.

The deadline dates on the Application for Admission should be ignored;  they reflect university policy, not departmental policy.  Since current M.A. students must be evaluated in competition with new applicants not presently at the university, they must apply within the same deadline.  The application must be submitted by February 1 for consideration for entry into the Ph.D. program in the Fall of the same year.

For most students, the filing of these two forms meets the requirements of the university.  (International students and East-West Center grantees must supply additional information, as indicated in the Graduate Division Manual.)  The Department, however, requires additional information to be used in the evaluation undertaken by the Department's Admissions Committee.  Apart from the two forms required by the university, the Department requires the following:

The Statement of Intent is a brief essay, of not more than two pages, describing the applicant's purposes in pursuing a Ph.D. in political science.  It should address questions such as:

The writing sample should be a term paper or other piece of work that displays the applicant's capacity for clear and cogent analysis.

Since these letters are to be sent by the recommenders directly to the Department, the applicant is asked to submit a list of the names and addresses of the three recommenders.

In summary, M.A. students wishing to be considered for the Ph.D. program in political science should submit the following, all at once, to the Department of Political Science:

1. Statement of Intent
2. A writing sample
3. List of three recommenders
4. Application for Admission to the Ph.D./DrPH Program
5. Graduate Division, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Doctoral (Biographical Information Form).

These are the required materials.  Applicants may add other materials as they wish.

Upon receiving these materials, a new file for the applicant will be formed, for use by the Department's Admissions Committee.  Before forwarding the application file to the committee, the secretary will add two items, taken from the file the student has already established in the Department.  These items are:

6. Transcripts
7. Graduate Record Examination scores

It is the applicant's responsibility to review the file with the Graduate Secretary to be sure it is complete.

The Admissions Committee may use the established file for the student in the Department as well as the newly-assembled application file.  After the Admissions Committee has evaluated the information and made its recommendation, the two forms required by the university will be signed by the Graduate Chair and forwarded to the Graduate Division.  Copies will be retained for the student's file.  A letter reporting the decision will be sent to the applicant by the Graduate Chair.

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