UIC Connect - Political Science

Welcome to the Graduate Program in Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. With faculty and students engaged with the most vital intellectual issues facing Political Science today and inspired by the challenges of teaching in a large and diverse public university, UIC Political Science offers a truly unique opportunity for graduate study. We seek to provide a stimulating atmosphere for scholarly debates, research initiatives, and pedagogical investigations.

PROGRAM HOMEPAGES
Master's Program
Program Code: 20FS0343MA
Doctoral Program
PhD Program: 20FS0343PHD

ORIENTATION
Graduate student orientation is held the third week in August. While registration is not required, it is strongly recommend that you attend to familiarize yourself with the faculty, staff and campus of UIC. The exact date is announced annually in May to accepted students via their admission letter.

Click here to view our Graduate Student Handbook.

ADVISING
During your first year of study, you will be advised by the Director of Graduate Studies on academic matters and the Graduate Advisor on administrative matters. For more immediate advising, please contact the Graduate Advisor, James Nell at gradpols@uic.edu or call (312)996-8660.

REGISTRATION
After consulting the Graduate Student Handbook and noting the programs first semester requirements and the Graduate Advisor if necessary, you may register for classes.  Sometime after you receive your official admission letter from the Office of Admissions and Records you will receive, usually via email, instructions on when and how to register. 

Registration, including changes to any existing registration, begins a number of months before the term and continues through the first official ten days of the term (first official five days for summer session).  During the registration period, all registration activity is done by the student using Student Self-Service, which may be accessed from UIC Web For Student. When attempting to register, if you receive an error message directly pertaining to the class or section you are requesting, consult with the department offering the course and request an override. Once the override has been added you still have to register for the course in Student Self-Service.  If you receive an error message that you do not understand, consult the Registration Help Line at (312) 996-8600.

i-Card
The i-Card is the official identification card of the University for students, staff and faculty.  It is important to obtain the i-Card and carry it with you at all times. You need the i-Card to enter certain labs and buildings, for access to certain student-related events and services, and to check material out of the library. 

After you register, you should obtain your i-Card as soon as possible.  Bring a print-out of your registration and a driver’s license, state ID card, or passport to the i-Card Office.  Complete information, including locations, is available from the i-Card Office.

MEDICAL IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENT
Illinois state law requires proof of certain immunizations for students in most situations.  The policy and contact information are available at the Office of Medical Immunization Records.  It is important that you read this information carefully as registration for future terms is not allowed if you are not in compliance at that time.

TUITION AND FEES
Tuition and fees are set by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.  The tuition and fee schedule at UIC is fairly elaborate so it is important to understand what your charges will be, as well as your payment obligations.  This information is available from the Office of Admissions and Records website.

For information regarding assistantships and other funding opportunities in the Political Science Department, please contact the Graduate Advisor.

If you have been granted an assistantship there are a number of important steps that have to be undertaken to ensure timely processing and receipt of your first stipend check.

• You will receive a formal letter of offer from the unit (usually your academic program) that is attempting to hire you. 
• After you have accepted and returned the formal letter of offer for the assistantship, the unit that is hiring you will complete the necessary information in the university database.
• When the hiring unit completes the previous step, it will trigger an email to you with logon and other information for an online system called NESSIE. 
• In NESSIE, you will need to complete the HR Application and Payroll information (demographic, educational, and bank deposit information). 
• After that is completed in NESSIE, you will be instructed by your hiring unit to complete a Statement of a Drug-Free Workplace and I-9 forms, which you submit to the hiring unit.  The I-9 form is viewable in Nessie and includes a list of acceptable official identification you will need to bring in with the completed forms. 
• For international students on a visa, the hiring unit will send appropriate information to the Office of International Services to initiate an Employee Clearance form.
• The processing for international students on a visa allows less flexibility in regards to the start date, so it is important to complete the necessary steps in a timely fashion.

It is only after all these stages have been successfully completed that your appointment becomes official and allows you to begin your duties and receive the monthly stipend, which is paid on the 16th.  In addition, if the appointment comes with a tuition waiver (contact your unit to find out exactly which parts of the tuition and fees are waived and which are not), it is only at this stage that the waiver is available to be applied to your account, assuming you have also correctly registered for the total hours required to receive the waiver.  If the appointment for the assistantship is offered or processed late, or any of the steps outlined above are delayed, there is a possibility of missing your first monthly stipend check.  Although you will receive an adjusted payment a month later (assuming the beginning date is properly processed and assuming you worked for that period), not having the first check can cause financial issues you did not anticipate.  Therefore, if you do not receive timely responses you should always contact the hiring unit to ensure procedures have not been overlooked.  See the Graduate College website at http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000081 for additional assistantship information.

For any additional information, please contact James Nell, Graduate Advisor at jnell@uic.edu.