Master of Arts in Political Science –Constitutional
Law Studies
Faculty
Professors: Thomas Brunell, Anthony M. Champagne, Harold D. Clarke,
James Marquart, Marianne C. Stewart, John Worrall
Associate Professors: Denise Boots, Patrick Brandt, Linda
Camp Keith
Assistant Professors: Banks Miller
Mission Statement
The mission of the Master of Arts in
Political Science - Constitutional Law Studies degree is to provide students
with the reasoning and analytic skills necessary to understand the technical
rules of law, legal practices and policies, and law more generally as a social
phenomenon. It serves the interests and needs of students who want an
intellectually rigorous legal education as preparation for law school, for more
advanced graduate learning, or for law-related careers in teaching, journalism,
government, policy-making, or the private sector.
Objectives
Students in the Master of Arts in
Political Science - Constitutional Law Studies program will:
•
Acquire detailed knowledge of the
role of the judicial system in the evolution of public policy in the United
States.
Acquire
detailed knowledge of the roles played by practicing attorneys in the
development and application of public law in the United States.
•
Demonstrate basic skills in legal research
and writing.
•
Develop competency in the
application of theories of the evolution of constitutional law to United States
Supreme Court decisions
•
Demonstrate the ability to conduct
original research on law and courts using skills in legal research and writing,
quantitative research or field research.
Facilities
Students
have access to the computing facilities in the School of Economic, Political
and Policy Sciences and the University’s Computing Center. The School has two
computing laboratories that have over 30 computers that are network linked and
equipped with major social science software packages, including E-Views, R.
Rats, SPSS, and STATA. A computerized geographic information system, the Lexis Nexis database and Westlaw are also
available for student use. The University’s Computing Center provides personal
computers and UNIX Workstations. Many important data and reference materials
are available online from professional associations or at UTD via the Library's
and School's memberships in the American Political Science Association, the
European Consortium for Political Research, the Inter University Consortium for
Political and Social Research, the Roper Center, and the University Consortium
for Geographic Information Systems, and other organizations.
The
Center for American and International Law, an internationally known
organization that provides professional development to lawyers, judges, and law
enforcement officers, helps to administer the Capstone Seminar in Constitutional
Law Studies in which leading lawyers and judges provide lectures on law and the
legal process.
Admissions
Requirement
The
University’s general admission requirements are discussed here.
The Master of Arts in Political
Science seeks applications from students with a baccalaureate degree from an
accredited university or college. Although applications will be reviewed
holistically, in general, entering students have earned a 3.0 undergraduate
grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), and a combined verbal and quantitative
score of at least 1100 on the Graduate Records Examination (GRE). Standardized
test scores are only one of the factors taken into account in determining
admission. Applicants should also submit all transcripts, three letters of
recommendation (preferably from individuals who can evaluate the applicant’s
potential for graduate study), and a one-page essay outlining the applicant’s
background, education, and professional objectives. Applications are reviewed
by the Political Science Program Committee in the School of Economic, Political
and Policy Sciences.
Undergraduate
students who are interested in completing their undergraduate degrees while
simultaneously taking graduate courses in the M.A. in Political Science -
Constitutional Law Studies program are expected to meet the School’s
“fast-tracking” requirements.
Prerequisites
While there are no specific course
prerequisites, entering students will benefit from exposure to undergraduate
courses in the Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, statistics, and
research design. In cases where undergraduate preparation is not adequate,
students may be required to take additional course work before starting the
master's program.
Transfer Policies
Students who have previous graduate
work pertinent to the requirements of a master’s program may be given up to 6
hours of transfer credit, and the hours of coursework required for the degree
will be reduced accordingly. Students desiring to transfer graduate courses
thought to be equivalent to core courses may be required to demonstrate
competency through examination. The award of such transfer credit must be
consistent with the University’s “Transfer of Credit” policy.
Degree Requirements
The University’s general degree requirements are discussed here.
Students
seeking a Master of Arts in Political Science - Constitutional Law Studies must
complete at least 30 semester credit hours of work in the program, must receive
a grade of B- or better in all required courses, and must maintain at least a
3.0 grade point average to graduate.
The
curriculum has two components:
(1) Eighteen semester hours of required coursework
(2) Twelve semester hours of prescribed electives
Required Courses (18 hours)
All students should complete the
core courses as soon as possible.
One of the following:
EPPS 6313 Introduction to Quantitative Methods
PSCI 6350
Logic, Scope and Methodology of Political Science
All of the following:
PSCI 5306 The American Legal
System and the Practice of Law
PSCI 5307
Legal Reasoning and Writing
PSCI
6301 Constitutional Law
PSCI 6305
Workshop in Constitutional Law Studies
PSCI 6343
Law and the Policy Process
Prescribed Electives (12 hours)
Four of the following:
CRIM 6305 Law and Social Control
CRIM 6311 Criminal Justice Policy
CRIM 6317 The Courts
CRIM 6348 Drugs and Crime
EPPS 6316 Applied Regression
PA 6319 Topics: Administrative Law
PSCI 5308 Immigration Law
PSCI 6306 Human Rights and International Law
PSCI 6311 Proseminar in Law and Courts
PSCI 6312 Comparative Constitutions and Courts
PSCI 6331 Executives, Legislatures, and Public Policy
PSCI 6339 Election Law and Electoral Systems
PSCI 7320 International Negotiations
Other
courses as approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.