The PhD Program in Political Science is a four-year graduate program. Students are expected to take eight courses, including four required and four tutorial courses, in a maximum of four semesters. Upon successful completion of coursework of total 24 credits, the students are entitled to take the proficiency exam administered in two parts as written and oral in any two of the following fields: Political Thought, International Politics and Political Science. Successful candidates are subsequently required to prepare and defend a dissertation proposal before they proceed to the dissertation-writing stage.