Four identifiable disciplinary goals can be discerned from the development of political science as a discipline. These goals indicate that political science students will (1) attain knowledge about political systems (national and international); (2) gain an understanding of how politics works; (3) develop critical thinking skills; and, (4) learn…

A study correlating graduate student fields of study, as defined by three Biglan dimensions for classifying departments, with certain student characteristics (age, citizenship, gender, Graduate Record Examination scores, level of degree pursued, and undergraduate grades) is reported. (MSE)