Welcome to Arkansas State University!

The Department of Political Sciences offers an accelerated M.A. and M.P.A. track for undergraduate political science majors. This program allows our majors to graduate in five years with both an undergraduate and M.A. or M.P.A. degree in five years. This cuts a full year off of the standard two year path to an M.A. or M.P.A. degree.

The 4+1 program, assuming the student completes a full course load each semester, allows the student to complete the accelerated degree by combining some of the coursework during your senior year with coursework towards the M.A. or M.P.A. degree.

Undergraduates in the program enroll in graduate courses and receive simultaneous credit for the undergraduate equivalent of those courses. In the final year, students have completed B.A, requirements and work exclusively on completing the graduate degree. During this final year, students in the program can also apply for graduate assistantships.

Admissions are selective, and admissions applications must be submitted to the Graduate School https://www.astate.edu/dotAdmin/#/edit-page/content?url=%2Findex.dot 

Additional materials needed for admissions:

  • Statement of Interest 
  • Resume
  • Academic Writing Sample
  • Three letters of recommendation 

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and admitted students can begin the program during the Spring or Fall semester.