Global Governance and Human Security PhD 

We aim to provide courses and experiences for building a solid theoretical foundation in the concepts of global governance and human security, and in the range of actors, systems, and patterns that comprise the increasingly dynamic global system. You will develop the ability to identify, assess, and address current and emerging human security issues in their geopolitical and governance contexts and gain advanced academic skills in interdisciplinary research methods and design and develop intellectual leadership as academics, researchers, or practitioners. 

Here we have gathered university policies, academic requirements, student life, resources and support available for you, and more. Please familiarize yourself with the content of this handbook and continue to use this guide as reference during your studies. Our community will also work to ensure that you receive the guidance and resources you need. Faculty members and staff will assist you with further questions that might not be answered in this document.  

Graduate Program Director,

Global Governance and Human Security PhD

Student Profiles

Alumni Profiles 

GGHS PhD students automatically earn a Master's degree in GGHS upon reaching the appropriate number of credits (usually at the end of the second year of full time coursework).  You must take action and apply to graduate at that point.  Contact the GGHS PhD program director for more information.

Alternatively, you can earn a Master's degree in Conflict Resolution.  This option requires some additional coursework and careful planning to make sure you meet the requirements as you will need to select specific courses to comply. Students must also be advised by the Conflict Resolution program director. Learn more: Conflict Resolution En Passant Master's Degree here memo and tracking worksheet.

GGHS Doctoral students can only pursue one of these options as an en passant Masters degree.

First-year courses are required and taken with your cohort. You can find courses and register yourself through WISER. See the Department Course Schedule grid on the resource tab here for numbers. 

 In the Fall semester register for:  

• Global Governance 

• Human Security 

• Theories of International Relations 

• Doctoral Colloquium 

In the spring semester register for: 

• Conflict Resolution Theory 

• International Organization 

• Elective 

• Doctoral Colloquium 

If you are a Graduate Assistant, you will work with (usually) two faculty as a Research Assistant. The Graduate Program Director will address questions or concerns that arise in navigating your first year in the GGHS Program (of course, you should also feel free to talk to any of the Program faculty). By the end of the first year, you will select a faculty to serve as your Dissertation Committee Chair. Your Committee Chair will become your primary academic advisor. We recommend you schedule a meeting with any of the faculty whose research is of interest during the first semester. 

Your Assistantship Supervisor is the person to whom you report in your capacity as a Graduate Assistant. This is not an advisory relationship per se, although your supervisor can also be your Committee Chair, and will be your primary advisor in that capacity. See the Graduate Assistant section below for more details. 

 Advanced Standing 

“Advanced Standing” is the credit you can receive toward the requirements of the PhD program if you have a Master’s degree in a cognate field.  With advanced standing you can have up to 12 credits of the required 68 waived.  This does not waive any required courses – you still need to take the core, focus areas, and methods courses.  In practice, this means that you do not need to take the 4 courses of non-focus areas electives listed in the graduation criteria. Students have to have a grade of B or above for a course to be counted toward Advanced Standing.

You can apply for advanced standing by filling out this form. 

Taking the Qualifying Exam 

The purpose of the exam is to assess: 1) your grasp of some of the core concepts, themes, theories, and critical issues associated with Global Governance and Human Security, and 2) your ability to apply them to issues of the day and to make a coherent and cogent argument. The exam takes place over 5 days and is take-home and open-book.  

Your goal in this examination is to demonstrate a thorough, critical understanding of the fields covered in the core courses in the Global Governance and Human Security doctoral program. Both a thorough understanding (the ability to discuss research and theorizing relevant to a particular question) and a critical understanding (the ability to identify and weigh the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and of specific research studies) are essential. Demonstrating only one or the other – for example, by providing only an extensive, accurate, but uncritical bibliographic essay or by providing only an insightful commentary on some of the main arguments in the field without relating them to the work of specific authors or to the details of actual research – is insufficient. 

Please see Qualifying Exam Guidance Document for instructions and assessment rubric.  

Please note: Students must have submitted GGHS Dissertation Tracking Form A (Dissertation Committee Form) listing committee chair prior to writing the examination.   

In your second year, you will take a mix of required and elective courses. You are expected to register for courses yourself and should contact staff only for courses that require registration permission, or if particular obstacles to registration arise. Of the five electives you are expected to take over the course of the year one is a methods course and four are focus areas courses (see below). The required Doctoral Research Groups and Doctoral Research Design are oriented toward designing your dissertation research project and drafting your dissertation proposal. 

You are responsible for finding elective courses on your own. These courses should be designed to develop the knowledge and skills you will need for your dissertation proposal and writing. For example, if you are interested in conducting onsite interviews but have no experience doing so, you should consider taking a class in field research methods; if you are hoping to have an environmental scientist on your dissertation committee, the second year is the time to take courses in the School of Environmental Science. Some courses students have taken in the past can be found here. 

If you would like to take a course at another university, please contact the Graduate Program Director the semester prior to the course start. The course must provide unique content NOT available through UMass Boston coursework and be approved in advance. The Graduate Program Director will provide guidance on the process. Note that courses taken outside of UMass Boston are not covered by Graduate Assistantship tuition and fee waivers. 

Required Courses 

• Doctoral Research Group (both semesters) 

• Gender and Human Security (usually in the Fall semester)

• Doctoral Research Design (only in Fall) 

• Elective class from one of the focus areas 

 GGHS Focus Areas 

The degree is designed around focus areas our scholars can choose or create to support their academic and professional objectives. You should consult with your Dissertation Chair about the appropriate mix of courses within one of the following areas: 

• Conflict Resolution 

• Environment 

• Gender, Human Rights, and Human Development 

• Global Political Economy 

• Global Health 

• Self-designed focus areas 

Choosing a Dissertation Committee 

Dissertation committees normally consist of a Chair and three additional members (a fifth member may be added if there is a specific need for the extra member). All members of the committee must hold terminal degrees (normally a PhD) and must be active researchers in a field relevant to the dissertation topic. All additions and changes to committees must be accompanied by a new or adjusted Dissertation Tracking Form A, and kept on file in the CRHSGG Department office. “Form A” should be filled out as soon as you have chosen a chair, even if you have not chosen any other members of your committee.  

Students should choose a dissertation committee chair in their second semester in the program and must have chosen one prior to taking the first qualifying exam.  The committee chair is the person you will be working most closely with in preparing your dissertation and should be a person who can provide substantive and methodological assistance to your dissertation project, and one with whom you work well. 

Of the other members of the committee, at least one must be affiliated with the GGHS program, and at least one must be from outside UMass Boston.  For members of the committee from outside UMass Boston, a current CV must be included with Form A.  In all cases prospective committee members must explicitly indicate their willingness to serve, either by signing Form A or by sending an email in lieu of signing. 

Taking Your Second Qualifying Exam with Dissertation Committee 

A student’s committee for the second qualifying examination shall consist of the Chair and at least two other members of the Dissertation Committee as identified on GGHS Dissertation Tracking Form A. If possible, all four members should be included. 

The examination will normally take place no earlier than the student’s fourth semester in the program and no later than the fifth.  Students prepare a dissertation proposal, of no more than 8,000 words, not including abstract, references, and appendices.  The proposal should discuss the substantive focus and analytical approach of the dissertation, and review the relevant existing literature.

The oral examination takes place over two hours and includes the student, the committee members, and any other observers agreed to by both the student and the committee chair. The student and the committee chair will work together with the department staff (Kelly Ward-Mason or administrative assistant) to schedule the defense including room assignment or online modality and invitation, if applicable. 

Only committee members shall have a vote. During the oral examination, the Committee may examine the student on both the content of the proposal specifically, and on the relationship between the proposed research and the fields of global governance and human security more generally. All members of the examination committee must tentatively approve the proposal before the oral examination is scheduled and agree that it is time for this examination to be held. 

All members of the Committee must approve the proposal for the student to pass the examination and proceed to candidacy. The concerns of committee members who vote “Approve with reservations” must be addressed prior to the student proceeding to candidacy. One or more votes “do not approve” constitute a failure of the second qualifying examination. Students may retake the examination once, after substantially revising the proposal. Students who fail the exam a second time may not continue in the GGHS program. 

You can register for a maximum of 12 credits each semester.  Course overload requires approval from program director.

See the Resources tab of this site for Department Schedule Grid 

This resource is a list of possible trainings/workshops/classes related to different methodological approaches:

Methodology resources for CRHSGG students

PhD Students: 

PhD students are normally funded through a full (1.0) Graduate Assistantship (GA) for three consecutive years, subject to satisfactory progress toward the PhD degree. You may be assigned as a Research Assistant (RA) or a Teaching Assistant (TA) or both.  *Full (1.0) GA's include waivers of tuition up to a maximum of 12 credits per semester and most (but not all) fees, partial credit towards health insurance plus a cash stipend paid over a nine-month period beginning in September; GA's do not pay *stipends over the winter or summer break. 

Each semester you will be assigned an assistantship supervisor; this may or may not be the same as your dissertation committee chair.  GA's require 18 hours of work per week during the semester as assigned.

GA's will normally be assigned as:

• First year: as an RA

• Second year:  half as a TA and half as an RA. TA assignments will generally be for undergraduate courses in cognate fields to GGHS, such as political science, women’s and gender studies, communication, etc., and orientation will be provided before TA duties begin. 

• Third year: , GA' will normally be assigned as RAs unless you specifically request an assignment as a TA (adding to your teaching portfolio), subject to Department and University needs.  GA's are expected to remain in residence in the Boston area for at least one semester of their third year and performing RA duties when not in residence the other semester (subject to agreement by the RA supervisor and TAs, of course, need to be in residence in the Boston area). 

PhD students in their third year of assistantship funding who seek to be non-resident of Boston for more than half of the academic year should have defended their dissertation research proposal and must obtain advanced approval from their dissertation advisor, the GGHS graduate program director and the CRHSGG department chair.  

*See current academic year (AY) Stipend guide for stipend and fees.  You are responsible for fees ranging from $1000 - $2000 per AY.  You can elect to have these fees deducted from your stipend payroll; this can be down through your wiser finance account and please pay close attention to notices from graduate studies and the university about deadlines. 

More about being a graduate student at UMass Boston  

You must have a UMass Boston email and student account to log in. Dissertation Proposal Library

ACADEMIC FORMS

Degree Requirement Tracking Form

Advanced Standing Form

INTERNAL DEPARTMENT FORMS: 

• Form A: Dissertation Committee Form (must be submitted listing chair before qualifying exam and must be completed prior to proposal defense and in conjunction with stage 2) 

• Form B: First qualifying exam results and instructions  

PROPOSAL DEFENSE FORMS: (GGHS doctoral students must complete all three of these forms (Stage 1, 2 and 3) in conjunction with their dissertation proposal defense) 

• Stage 1: Notification of passing qual exam  (to be completed upon successful completion of qualifying exam) 

• Stage 2: Notification of Proposed Dissertation Committee (The CV of the external member of the committee MUST be attached to this form and it must be signed and submitted  prior to proposal defense) 

• Stage 3: Notification of Proposal Acceptance (to be completed at proposal defense and must include votes by each committee member).  Upon successful proposal defense, the student is now a PhD candidate. 

DISSERTATION DEFENSE FORMS: 

• Stage 4: Notification of Intent to Defend Dissertation (complete Stage 4 as soon as the dissertation defense is scheduled) 

• Stage 5: Results of Dissertation Defense (to be completed at the dissertation defense and must include votes and initials of each committee member) 

In your third year, you must/should register for the required 10 required Dissertation Research credits (GGHS 899). These 10 credits can be distributed across the fall and spring semester as you choose. If you are on a Graduate Assistantship, it is imperative that you register for these credits in your third year. If you do not, you will have to pay for them out of pocket.  Most third-year students have completed all necessary course credits. However, students on an assistantship can choose to take a small number of additional courses, using their tuition remission.   

Beyond Your Third Year (ABD – All But Dissertation) 

GGHS doctoral candidates do a variety of things in their 4th and 5th years, including work or teach at UMass Boston, teach at other Boston areas schools, leave Boston to move to where their field work is, or back to countries or regions from which they come. Some also apply for and win competitions for dissertation research funding.

When you have completed all the required credits for the PhD, but are still writing your dissertation, you must remain in “full-time status” at UMass Boston by registering for, and paying, the “Program Fee.” You will not be allowed to graduate without paying for the semester(s) between your candidacy and your graduation. 

Doctoral candidates must complete and defend their dissertation within 8 years of entering the program. Students may petition for an extension in extenuating circumstances, but extensions cannot be guaranteed. 

The Dissertation 

GGHS Dissertation Guidelines 

Best Practices for Dissertation Advisors and Advisees. The completion and defense of a dissertation is the culmination of a doctoral degree. Dissertation formats vary across disciplines and countries. Typically, GGHS dissertations follow one of two formats common in North American and many international universities: 

• A single authored monograph (sometimes called “book-style”) dissertation project: This format often consists of a 5-8 chapter, single authored manuscript of 50,000 to 80,000 words. This is the most common format in the GGHS program. The chapters typically include an introduction, research objectives, a critical literature review, discussion of theoretical and conceptual foundations and frameworks used, methods, results/findings, interpretation, discussion and conclusions. 

• A “Trio of published and publishable articles” dissertation project. In this case, two articles must have received final acceptance for publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly venue. The third paper must be judged by the dissertation committee to be ready for submission to a peer reviewed journal. While individual papers should be stand alone publications, taken together they should also embody a recognizable, unifying theme and research project. 

• Doctoral students must consult with their doctoral advisor and doctoral committee members about venues before submission. Such publication venues should be included in the Web of Science Journal Citation Reports. All three published and publishable papers must make original empirical, theoretical, and/or methodological contributions. 

• Typically, the “full dissertation” for defense should include the three published and publishable papers, as well as an introductory paper/chapter and a conclusion which explicitly discuss the overall research project and its contributions to knowledge and research. A critical review of the literature must also be included. This might be an additional stand alone paper/chapter, or it might be included within the other parts of the dissertation. 

• Typically, papers in the dissertation are single authored. If any portion is to be co-authored (typically first authored), this would require specific authorization and agreement from all members of the dissertation committee. 

The dissertation should constitute a coherent, explicitly related set of chapters and papers. Further, consistent with UMass Boston rules and widely shared professional norms, a dissertation is deemed to complete the requirements for a doctorate degree only by members of the candidate’s dissertation committee and following a public defense and an oral examination (see below). The judgment/assessment of external articles or book publishers or peer reviewers do not and cannot replace the assessment of the doctoral committee. 

Finally, doctoral students should understand that the choice of dissertation format has very significant implications for post-doctoral job, career and publishing opportunities.  As such, the choice of format must be stipulated in the dissertation proposal and approved when the proposal is defended by the candidate and approved by the doctoral committee. 

Completing the Dissertation, Scheduling a Defense & Graduating 

Completing the Dissertation: Doctoral students should be working closely with their committee chair and members of their committee as they draft and complete the dissertation.  In cooperation with their committee chair, students should plan their dissertation completion and defense about 3-4 months in advance.  They should not expect to be able to defend immediately upon finishing a complete draft of the dissertation. 

According to UMass Boston procedures and expectations, doctoral committee members should review a full draft of the dissertation prior to a defense being scheduled. All committee members should have read the complete dissertation and agreed that the student is ready to schedule a defense prior to the defense being scheduled. 

• Committee members should have at least one month to review a full draft of the dissertation, in order to give feedback to doctoral students and in order to be able to assess whether a student is ready to move toward a defense. 

• Committee members may or may not want to review a revised draft before agreeing to schedule a defense. If they want to see revisions, they should have at least 3 weeks to review a revised draft of the dissertation before the defense. 

Once all committee members agree that a defense date should be scheduled, Doctoral students should coordinate scheduling with their committee chair, all members of their committee, and the GGHS departmental staff (Kelly Ward-Mason) to schedule a time that works for all, in a room that can accommodate the defense. All members of the committee must participate in the defense, but some members may participate virtually (via Zoom or other virtual options). 

The Defense 

Doctoral defenses are usually scheduled to take 2.5 hours. The dissertation defense consists of two components, a public lecture and an oral examination. The oral examination will normally be scheduled immediately after the public lecture.  

• The lecture is open to the university community and the broader public. The candidate should expect to present the dissertation research in a talk of roughly half an hour, with another half hour reserved for questions from the audience and answers from the candidate. Committee members may ask questions at this stage, but they will likely reserve their questions for the subsequent oral examination. 

• The oral examination will include only the candidate and the committee members, as well as any other participants that both the candidate and all the committee members agree to invite. The audience attending the public lecture is asked to leave before the oral examination begins. 

At the end of the oral examination, the candidate is asked to leave the room to allow the committee members some time to deliberate and discuss the oral examination and the dissertation.  The candidate and any remaining audience members are then asked to return to the room for the committee’s decision.  

The student can pass the final oral examination only with the unanimous approval of the members of the committee. If, at the final examination, two members cast negative votes, the candidate will be informed that he or she has not passed the examination. If there is only one negative vote, the degree will be held up pending satisfactory resolution of the objections by the student and the dissenting member of the committee. Final program approval is represented by the signature of the graduate program director. 

The dissertation committee generally requires some revision of the dissertation following the oral examination. Required revisions can range from minor changes to substantial. The candidate must complete these revisions to the committee’s satisfaction before depositing the dissertation with the Office of Graduate Studies (OSG). 

The OGS format editor will then review the dissertation for format and will indicate any necessary further revisions. Once these are made and the format editor has approved them, the final submission of the dissertation to OGS can take place. University rules about the formatting of the dissertation, and dates and deadlines for submission, can be found here. 

Graduation 

All doctoral students MUST meet UMass Boston deadlines for applying to graduate,  

Doctoral degrees are awarded in May, August and December. Note that for graduation the dissertation must be defended, revised, had the revisions approved by the committee chair, and be deposited with the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) by the deadline for format editing review. This is what the OGS called as ‘initial submission.’ For complete information, please refer to the OGS Thesis and Dissertation page. 

Dissertations must follow a required format. There are OGS format editors who review your dissertation and guide you through the process of meeting the standards. Details of the requirements and deadlines for each step are described here. 

Note that these requirements include a hard deadline for submission of the final version. 

• Doctoral Student, Candidate and Alumni Blog Posts: GGHS Blog Posts (updated Summer 2025)

• Doctoral Student, Candidate and Alumni Publications: GGHS Publications by Summer 2024 (updated July 2024)

• Doctoral Student, Candidate, and Alumni Awards: GGHS Awards, Fellowships, and Grants (updated Summer 2025)