At inception during the 1982-1983 Academic Session, the Department of Government and Public Administration was established to award two separate degrees: B.Sc. in Political Science and B.Sc. in Public Administration. The name of the Department was changed to Department of Political Science in 1992, with the consequential re-designation of the degree awarded as B.Sc. Political Science from the 1994-1995 Academic Session. At present, the Department runs, in addition to the first degree programme, academic post-graduate degree programmes that include: M.Sc. in Political Science; the PhD in Political Science that commenced in the 2005-2006 Academic Session and the MPhil/PhD in Political Science that starts in 2013-2014 Academic Session. In addition to these, the Department also runs Professional Master in Public Administration, MPA; Master in International Studies, MIS; and Postgraduate Diploma in International Affairs and Diplomacy, PGDIAD. These postgraduate programmes (Academics and Professionals) are directed at training high-level academic and non-academic manpower. The Department also runs a sub-degree programme, the Diploma in Administrative Management, DAM which took off during the 2001-2002 academic Session.

ACADEMIC PROGAMMES

Undergraduate Programmes

B.Sc. Political Science

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Admission by Entrance Examination – UTME

The Entrance Examination is conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) a Federal Government agency established with the mandate to manage entrance process into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. In addition to attaining the required standard in entrance examination, candidates must satisfy the general University as well as Faculty specific requirements. Candidates must obtain at least five (5) O’ level credit passes including English

Language, Mathematics, any two other social science subjects including Government and any other subject at not more than 2 sittings.

Admission by Direct Entry

Candidates must possess at least two A’ level passes in Government and any other social science subject. In addition, candidates must satisfy ‘O’ level requirements. A credit pass in English Language and Mathematics of the IJMB at the O’Level is acceptable as equivalent to SSCE/GCE O’Level or equivalent for admission purpose. The Department also accept its own Diploma in Administrative Management (Upper Merit) in addition to satisfaction of ‘O’ level requirements.

Admission through Inter-University Transfer

Students admitted through transfer are normally admitted to 100 level or 200 level depending on their academic transcripts and basic entry qualifications. More information on this can be obtained from the academic office of the University.

DURATION AND GRADUATION REQUIEREMENTS

The duration of the B.Sc. Political Science programme is a minimum period of four (4)years for students admitted through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and three (3) years for those admitted by Direct Entry (DE) or into 200 level, with an official extension period of two years in each case.Students are required to take and pass all compulsory and required courses and any number of elective courses of their choice from the Department as prescribed in the University’s academic programme.  To graduate, a student that is admitted to 100 level is expected to pass a total of 145 credits while a student that is admitted to 200 level is expected to pass a total of 110 credits including all compulsory and required courses in each case. Also, each student is expected to write a long essay in the final year of the programme under the supervision of an academic staff.

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

M.Sc. Political Science

Admission Requirements.

For a candidate to be eligible for admission into the M.Sc. degree programme in Political Science, he/she should hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from a recognized University with a minimuim of Second Class Honours Lower Division. Applicants shall be subjected to qualifying examination/interview to determine their suitability for recommendation for admission. Candidates must also have at least a credit in English Language at Secondary school level and meet all other requirements set by the Postgraduate School of the University of Ilorin.

Duration of the Programme

The duration for the M.Sc.in Political Science is a minimum of 18 calendar months and a maximum of 36 calendar months for Full Time students.

MPhil/Ph.D. Degree Programme in Political Science

Admission Requirements

Prospective applicants for the MPhil/Ph.D. programme in Political Science should hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from a recognized University with a minimuim of Second Class Honours Lower Division. In addition to this, applicants should also possess a M.Sc. Degree in Political Science with an aggregate score between the range of 55% to 59% or (3.5-3.99 CGPA) at the M.Sc. programme. Applicants shall be subjected to qualifying examination/interview to determine their suitability for recommendation for admission. Candidates must also have at least a credit in English Language at Secondary school level and meet all other requirements set by the Postgraduate School of the University of Ilorin.

Duration of the Programme

The MPhil/Ph.D. programme in Political Science is run on a full time basis and takes a minimuim of 24 months and a maximium of 36 calendar months.

Ph.D. Degree Programme in Political Science

Admission requirements

All candidates for the Ph.D. degree programme in Political Science are expected to have scored a minimum of 60% (4.0 CGPA) in their Master’s degree in Political Science and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science with at least a Second Class Honour Lower Division from the University of Ilorin or any other Universities recognized by the Senate of the University of Ilorin. Applicants shall be subjected to qualifying examination/interview to determine their suitability for recommendation for admission. Candidates must also have at least a credit in English Language at Secondary school level and meet all other requirements set by the Postgraduate School of the University of Ilorin.

Duration

The duration of the Ph.D. in Political Science programme is a minimum of 30 calendar months and a maximum of 42 calendar months for Full Time students and a minimum of 42 calendar months and a maximum of 54 calendar months for Part Time students. On expiration of the maximum duration, a candidate may apply for extension of not more than two periods of 12 calendar months after which the programme lapses.

Master in Public Administration (MPA)

(An Inter-Disciplinary Professional Degree Programme)

Admission Requirements

Candidates will be required to hold at least a Honours Degree in any field from the University of Ilorin or any other recognized University. Those with lower classes of degree will only admitted at the discretion of the department and post-graduate school subject to passing a qualifying examination administered by the department. All candidates shall appear for qualifying examination/interview.

Duration of the Programme

The duration of MPA programme for full-time students is 18 months while part-time students will spend a minimum of 30 calendar months.