PhD in Political Science and International Studies

Rationale

The launching of the doctoral program in Political Science and International Studies is viewed as highly desirable for several reasons. First of all, as an integral part of the increasingly globalized world and one of the key actors in north east Africa and the continent at large, Ethiopia is currently facing wide-ranging political and economic challenges expressed in lack of good governance, rising corruption, increasingly simmering economic inequality, terrorism and human trafficking and regional insecurity etc.

Though the country has earnestly been embarked on a path of rapid economic transformation and socio-political change, it has also been grappling with serious challenges that need a closer scrutiny, investigation and rapid response. Hence, one core justification for the launching of this PhD program is the need to produce highly qualified professionals who perceptively understand and proactively manage local, regional and international challenges that could have rather negative bearing on the transformational efforts that are underway in the country.

Second, the program also responds to the ongoing grand objective of enhancing doctoral training schemes by leaps and bounds. The program expedites the host University’s objective of diversifying its graduate programs by enrolling its staffs who would acquire advanced knowledge and on-the-job professional development skills thereby facilitating efficient utilization of scarce resources.

Before launching the PhD program, the department has also undertaken a survey regarding the need for the program in which several government and non-government organizations were surveyed. The results had showed that the demand for Political Science and International Studies professionals in the country is currently high. It was evidenced that in the coming five years different Universities and government and non-governmental organizations will need substantial numbers of PhD graduates in the field of Political Science and International Studies. Particularly, the assessments made in Universities offering undergraduate degree programs in Political science such as Wellega, Diredawa and Jijiga Universities, have demonstrated a strong desire for an interdisciplinary PhD training in Political science and International Studies. This encouraging feedback, coupled with other rationales above, has inspired the department to take the initiative and launch the program.

Objectives

The general objective of the PhD programme is to produce qualified and high-level professionals in the field of Political Science and International Studies who are equipped with sound theoretical knowledge and proven best practices regarding entrenchment of good governance, security, and smooth state-society relations.

More specifically, the PhD program aims to:

      Produce highly qualified specialists/experts who could meet the manpower needs of the country in territory education and research.;

Initiate, promote and foster theoretical and applied research that could contribute to policy formulation on some of the key governance  and  peace and security challenges;

Contribute to efforts aimed at regional and international collaboration through conducting basic and empirical research on some of the major issues that have bearing on the workings of global, regional and national systems;

Provide an additional and more vibrant and innovative doctoral program for the study of political science and international affairs by bridging gaps that underlie similar schemes like the one that exists at Addis Ababa University (AAU);

Cater for the needs of Bahr Dar University’s staff members for further education and specialization while they are still discharging their regular assignments;

Facilitate the realization of vision 2025 through cross-national collaborative teaching, research, and teaching.                            

               Course Breakdown 

            PhD Dissertation