As Miami University continues to grapple with a budgetary crisis, the political science doctorate program joined a growing list of causalities made by recent cuts to graduate programs.
Abdoulaye Saine, associate professor of political science and interim chair for the political science department, said not all cuts were permanent.
"We still have a master's program, but the Ph.D. program was suspended for now, and may or may not come back," Saine said.
Saine, who began his tenure in August, said he believed the political science doctoral program was taken away not only because of resource allocations but also because of misconceptions about the program's strength.
"I think it had to do in part because the perception of the program, which was a wrong one," Saine said. "The Ph.D. program could have been stronger, but I believe it was strong."
Political science was not the only department at Miami to experience cuts in graduate education.
According to Bruce Cochrane, dean of Miami's graduate school, assistantships were lost in history and political science doctorate programs, in addition to master's programs in communication, Spanish, Portuguese, environmental science and art education.
Enlisted by the provost two years ago to help re-allocate assistantships in Miami's graduate programs, Cochrane said the process unintentionally became a matter of budget reduction.
"We had a situation where at Miami, the number of assistantships had remained static, with no rationale as to how those allocations were made," Cochrane said. "We had to bring those allotments in line with Miami's priorities and central mission."
Finalized by the president and provost in consultation with divisional deans, the cuts made to Miami's graduate programs were based upon an academic review by eight faculty members, including Cochrane. Cochrane said, however, some enhancements were made as well.
According to Cochrane, improvements were made to stipends for some master's programs including history and social gerontology, in addition to new doctoral programs in ecological evolutionary environmental biology, cellular, molecular and structural biology, as well as an international master's program in social gerontology.
Despite enhancements, graduate students had taken a large hit according to Patrick Hibbeler, president of the Graduate Student Association (GSA).
While Hibbeler, a graduate student in Miami's psychology department, was currently working with Cochrane to refine the process by which cuts are made, he said he believed graduate students felt targeted by the university.
"It is my belief that the graduate students here at Miami feel somewhat unappreciated … and I can't say that I blame them," Hibbeler said. "We (as a graduate program) took a pretty good hit last fall."
Hibbeler recognized the university's need to take action amidst the financial crises.
"At no point do I wish to see any of the graduate programs here at Miami cut," Hibbeler said, "but I do understand that such a review was overdue and was required by the university's economic situation at the time."
However, some students still hung in the balance in the wake of recent program cuts. Saine said while no new
applications were being accepted for the political science doctorate program, students currently enrolled in the program would continue to pursue their degrees.
Hoping to graduate all political science doctorate students in the next three or four years, Saine expressed concern about possible impacts on undergraduate education.
"(The cuts) are likely to impact undergraduate courses we offer," Saine said.
Taught by students earning their doctoral degrees, many undergraduate courses will suffer as a result of program cuts, according to Saine, who said they were a good learning experience for grads and undergrads alike.
Aside from losing courses taught by doctorate students, the political science department was also dealing with the resignation of its former chair Ryan Barilleaux. The position, which Saine said Barilleaux vacated in summer 2009, will be filled through a national search that is currently underway.
As Cochrane said, the political science department was given the option to either refocus its attention, or phase out.
Deciding it could not make appropriate changes, the department subsequently phased out and is now in a period of transition, Cochrane said.
"The department is clearly in a transitional period, and requires new leadership to move it forward," Cochrane said.
Despite all of the cuts and changes to Miami's graduate program, Cochrane said graduate education is alive and well at Miami.
"We face new challenges at Miami, but our mantra has always been, and will always be, selective excellence at the graduate level," Cochrane said.
