Security Studies Ph.D.

 

Overview

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The Security Studies PhD program at UCF is a fast-paced, focused program, for people who have already completed an MA in a related field. Students have the opportunity to complete coursework and write their dissertation in as little as three years, which makes it well-suited for advanced students, people with professional experience, and military officers who want to improve their skills in their field or make a career shift.  Our students have found academic and professional success.  In the past our PhD students have published in quality, peer-reviewed publications, both on their and with faculty.  Our students have been placed in research positions with respected organizations within the private sector and in government and nationally competitive fellowship.

 

Program Timeline

Catalog Handbook Comprehensive Degree Plan

First year students develop basic research skills and receive a grounding in the literature. By the end of the year, when they hold their first meeting with the Dissertation Committee, they should be making progress towards developing their dissertation topic.

Second year students complete their coursework and qualifying exams and start work on their dissertation proposal.  Ideally, students will complete the proposal by the end of the second year.

Third year students work on their dissertation.  Those who chose to do so also have opportunities to teach undergraduate courses in the department.  Depending on the student and their topic, some students will complete their dissertation by the end of the third year.  Others may need continue working on it beyond the third year.

 

Applying to the Security Studies PhD program

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Fall 2027 applications must be completed by November 1, 2026 for International Applicants and  December 1, 2026 for Domestic Applicants

Applicants to our PhD program must complete an earned Master’s Degree in Political Science, International Politics/Affairs/Relations, or a clearly related discipline before enrolling.

  • Students who expect to complete their degree before beginning the program may also apply.
  • Masters degrees from accredited Professional Military Education institutions (War Colleges, the Naval Post Graduate School, etc.) are usually sufficient to meet this requirement.

Students must apply online using UCF’s online graduate applications system, and should expect to submit:

  • One official transcript (in a sealed envelope) from each college/university attended.*
  • A 500 word personal statement that describes their preparation for PhD-level study, research interests, faculty they would like to work with, and post-degree career goals
  • A 2500-word writing sample that demonstrates their ability to conduct graduate-level research
  • An updated resume
  • Three letters of reference, at least one of which must be from a faculty member associated with their MA degree.
  • If a student is not a native English speaker, a TOEFL score of 90 or better on the internet-based test (iBT); or a score of 232 or better on the TOEFL computer-based test; or a score of 575 or better on the TOEFL paper-based test; or a score of 7.0 or better on the IELTS
  • Program statistics and admissions data can be found by visiting the College of Graduate Studies’ website.

*Applicants applying to this program who have attended a college/university outside the United States must obtain a course-by-course credential evaluation with GPA calculation for each of these degrees. The College of Graduate Studies reviews academic credentials and conducts internal credential evaluations and GPA calculations for all international applicants but, to expedite the verification and evaluation of their international credentials, applicants are strongly encouraged to have an official, course by course evaluation sent directly to UCF from one of the UCF approved evaluation companies. This can be extremely helpful if you are applying close to the application deadline. We accept external evaluations from World Education Services (WES), Josef Silny and Associates, Inc., or The Evaluation Company. Transcripts and certificates that are provided as part of the evaluation report by the credential evaluation agency will be accepted as official. Please contact gradevals@ucf.edu if you have any questions about how to approach credential evaluation.

Due to the length of time it takes for the UCF evaluators to complete evaluation requests, applicants who are relying on the internal UCF course by course credential evaluation service are advised to submit their international transcripts and complete their application as early as possible.

 

International Applicants:

In addition to meeting the minimum admission requirements outlined by the university, international applicants must also review and comply with the additional requirements outlined by UCF Global and The College of Graduate Studies. You can find more information on application requirements and considerations here: International Applicants – College of Graduate Studies

If admitted, you will have to work closely with UCF Global and their advisors to complete all necessary Pre-Arrival and Orientation steps. You can find more about this process here: Prospective and New Students – UCF Global

English Proficiency Exam Exemptions:

The following applicants are exempt from the TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test requirements:

  • Those who are from countries where English is the only official language.
  • Those who have earned a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree from a U.S. institution accredited by an accrediting body recognized by UCF.
  • Those who have earned a degree equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree from a country where English is the only official language.

OR

  • Those who have earned a degree equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree from a university where English is the only official language of instruction.
  • Those who have successfully completed UCF’s English Language Institute Level 8 or higher with a grade of “B” or better.
  • UCF Global Pearson Benchmark English Proficiency with minimum of 68 in all sub-scores.

All students who require English language proficiency scores are reviewed at application submission to determine exemption eligibility. Applicants who meet the criteria will have this requirement waived once an application fee has been received and their application has been processed. If you believe you meet the exemption requirements and do not see a waiver indicated on your application checklist, please contact us at gradevals@ucf.edu.

 

Funding

Catalog Handbook UCF Funding Guidance

The School of Politics, Security and International Affairs makes funding offers to most students admitted to the program. Usually these are GTA positions that are guaranteed for three years, conditional on satisfactory academic progress, good academic standing and satisfactory work performance as outlined in the Security Studies PhD Handbook.  Depending on budgetary constraints, students who are making good progress may be funded in their fourth year.  We nominate our best applicants for UCF’s university fellowships.  The Presidential and Trustees Fellowships fund students for four years of study; other fellowships may be shorter but will be combined with department GTA positions to support deserving students for at least 3 years of study.  We encourage applicants to apply for outside fellowships that they may also be eligible for.
 

Fellowships

The fellowships listed below require students to be nominated by their graduate program or college in order to be considered for the award. SPSIA can nominate one applicant per admissions cycle for the Trustees or Presidential Doctoral Fellowship and two applicants for the Graduate Dean’s Fellowship. The admissions committee decides which applicants receive these nominations.  The Summer Mentorship Fellowship is an applicant-initiated award that requires a student to identify a faculty nominator to support their application. The applicant would then need to commit to starting at UCF during the summer term and registering in research hours with their faculty nominator/advisor.

Trustees Doctoral Fellowship

UCF offers the Trustees Doctoral Fellowship to superior graduate students who are newly enrolling at UCF in one of its eligible doctoral programs. These awards provide multi-year support to the most qualified applicants to the institution. All new students entering standard research doctoral degrees as full-time students are eligible to be nominated by their program for this award. Awardees will receive a stipend of $25,000 per year for up to four years. UCF College of Graduate Studies pays the standard tuition for your required course hours during each year of the award. This does not include the payment of local fees (health fee, athletic fee, building fee, etc.) A UCF Student Health Insurance Policy will be provided for your individual coverage for the duration of the award. Stipend payments will begin in the Fall semester.

Fellowship Obligations:

    • Maintain good academic standing and acceptable progress to degree.
    • Participate in UCF graduate fellowship community activities.
    • Maintain full-time enrollment in a doctoral program (9 credit hours are required during the fall and spring terms). Summer enrollment is optional; fellowship recipients receive tuition support for 6 credit hours during the summer terms but do not receive a stipend.
Presidential Doctoral Fellowship

UCF offers the Presidential Doctoral Fellowship to superior graduate students who are newly enrolling at UCF in one of its eligible doctoral programs. These awards provide multi-year support to the most qualified applicants to the institution. All new students who are U.S. Citizens or permanent residents entering standard research doctoral degrees as full-time students are eligible to be nominated by their program for this award. Awardees will receive a stipend of $20,000 per year for up to four years. UCF College of Graduate Studies pays the standard tuition for your required course hours during each year of the award. This does not include the payment of local fees (health fee, athletic fee, building fee, etc.) A UCF Student Health Insurance Policy will be provided for your individual coverage for the duration of the award. Stipend payments will begin in the Fall semester.

Fellowship Obligations:

      • Maintain good academic standing and acceptable progress to degree.
      • Participate in UCF graduate fellowship community activities.
      • Maintain full-time enrollment in a doctoral program (9 credit hours are required during the fall and spring terms). Summer enrollment is optional; fellowship recipients receive tuition support for 6 credit hours during the summer terms but do not receive a stipend.
Graduate Dean's Fellowship

UCF offers the Graduate Dean’s Fellowship to superior graduate students who are newly enrolling in one of UCF’s eligible graduate programs. This award supplements a qualifying assistantship or external fellowship for one year. Every fall admissions cycle the SPSIA is able to nominate one promising new applicant for this award. Student’s being nominated for this award will also be offered a GTA position with SPSIA. This fellowship, if awarded, provides an additional $5,000  for one year ($2,500 Fall, $2,500 Spring). This will be in addition to the stipend and benefits received as part of the GTA position.

 

Criteria for Fellowship Selection:

      • Submission of a completed admission application and all test scores (including TOEFL for international students) by January 15 or earlier if required by your prospective program.
      • Admission to an eligible UCF master’s or doctoral program for the Summer of Fall 2025 term.
      • Qualifications that meet or exceed the average top 25 percent for the entering class based on data for the last four years.
      • Requires standard assistantship stipend (20 hours/week) and accompanying tuition remission (waiver or payment) paid for by the graduate program or its faculty for all terms of the fellowship award.
Summer Mentoring Fellowship

Qualified incoming students that are interested in doing research with a faculty mentor are encouraged to reach out to that faculty member or their graduate program director to request a nomination for the Summer Mentoring Fellowship. A nomination from the program is required after the student and faculty member have agreed upon a summer research project. If awarded, the student will receive a $4,500 stipend during the summer term. UCF College of Graduate Studies pays the standard tuition for your required research hours (6 credit hours) during the summer term. This does not include the payment of local fees (health fee, athletic fee, building fee, etc.). A UCF Student Health Insurance Policy will be provided for your individual coverage for the duration of the award.

Eligibility:

      • Available to incoming graduate students who have been accepted to an eligible graduate degree program for the Summer or Fall 2025 semester. Fall admits who participate in the program will have their admission term changed to Summer.
      • U.S. Citizen or permanent resident.
      • Must have earned bachelor’s degree before start of the summer term.
      • Application deadline is March 15

Fellowship Requirements:

      • Complete Summer Mentoring Research Agreement with a faculty mentor and adhere to the research agreement (May through early August).
      • Perform research related activities for 20 hours per week during the full summer term.
      • Maintain enrollment in 6 graduate credit hours of Directed Research or Independent Study.
      • Participate in a series of graduate workshops.
      • Give a final research presentation in person at the end of the summer term.
      • Maintain satisfactory academic standing and acceptable progress to degree.

 

Assistantships

The Security Studies PhD program offers funding to its most qualified applicants in the form of a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Assistantship. We do our best to offer funding to all those offered admission. If you require funding and were not offered funding with admission, you will be placed on a waiting list and notified of your place on that waitlist. We advise admitted students to make sure they have secured internal or external funding before committing to join the program. In exchange for up to 20 hours a week of GTA work (assisting faculty members with their undergraduate courses), you will receive a tuition waiver, non-residency waiver, health insurance, and a stipend of $22,000 a year (Fall $8,500, Spring $8,500, Summer $5,000). Student fees are the responsibility of the student and average around $1,000 during fall and spring semesters and $600 during the summer semesters. This funding, if offered with admission, is awarded for three years / 9 semesters (fall 1, spring 1, summer 1, fall 2, spring 2, summer 2, fall 3, spring 3, summer 3) assuming satisfactory academic progress and good academic standing. Funding beyond the third year is competitive and subject to availability.

Note: Housing, meals plans, transportation, and supplies are not included in the assistantship and should be factored into your “total cost of attendance” when budgeting.

Faculty

Our faculty includes world-class researchers and teachers who have published in well renown topic and interdisciplinary journals and have been awarded grants by both public and private foundations.  We have a strong record of collaborating with students and guiding them as they develop their research. Our objective is to mentor and guide our students so that they can become the expert of tomorrow’s security problems both globally and nationwide.

Faculty Directory

 

Student Highlights

Our PhD students have published in high quality journals, both on their own and in collaboration with faculty members.

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Graduate Student News

UCF Class Spotlight: Political Psychology

BY JENNA MARINA LEE Class Name POS 4206 – Political Psychology Description The psychological analysis of political behavior, with emphasis on the individual rather than the…
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Awards

Students’ Papers Sweep Competition

The UCF Political Science Department is proud to announce that Jennifer L. Hudson, a graduate student in the Political Science master’s program, won the FPSA…
View More Student Highlights

 

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the program start?
A new cohort is admitted every fall semester. New students are required to attend the Security Studies PhD Orientation led by the Graduate Program Coordinator, the College of Graduate Studies New Student Orientation, the pre-Fall Methodology Workshop, and, if offered a graduate teaching assistantship (GTA), they are also required to attend the GTA Orientation hosted by SPSIA. All Orientations and the Workshop are normally held over a two-week period leading up to the first day of classes (beginning of August). Students are expected to arrive in Orlando prior to the first orientation in order to give themselves time to settle into their lodging and be prepared to actively participate in the workshops. Information regarding time and place of the Orientations and Workshops will be sent to students after acceptance into the program.
Can the program be completed remotely?
Unfortunately, we do not have a fully online option available to students. All the core courses for the program are only offered face-to-face and require residence in or around Orlando in order to attend these courses and actively participate in the program.
Does the School fund PhD students in the summer?
Yes, PhD students who are enrolled during the summer are funded through GTA positions. During the summer, students may enroll in our online graduate courses or do independent work with individual faculty.
Do students typically secure funding in their fourth year, if they take more than a year to finish their dissertation?
The department makes every effort to support students in their fourth year. However, the department cannot guarantee 4th year funding and depending on budgetary constraints that vary year by year, may not be able to fund some or all students in their fourth year.
Do I need to be in Orlando during the summers?
No. The School offers online graduate courses in the summer to allow students to continue their studies while completing approved fieldwork and training. We encourage students to use the summertime to pursue additional training through summer graduate workshops (ICPSR, IQRM, SWAMOS, SIPP, EITM, etc.), do field research work, or engage in professional opportunities with government agencies, research institutes, or the private sector. Note: If you plan to be actively employed by UCF during the summer, there may be additional rules and considerations related to your travel.
How important is quantitative (i.e., statistical) training for your program?
All students in our program receive basic quantitative training and basic qualitative training. Students can pursue further training in our School, through other UCF departments, and other training programs like ICPSR. While some experience with statistical methods is useful, we do not require students to have well developed methodological skills on entry.