The Political Science Department at California State University, Fullerton offers a course for Masters Degree students titled “Understanding the Professional Discipline of Political Science.”²

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the methods that political scientists use to conduct research and report their findings. An important part of the course is attendance at the Western Political Science Association Conference (WPSA) in the spring. In addition, the course also focuses on stimulating students' creativity to develop research projects and papers of their own.

Prior to the first class meeting, students are asked to read some introductory articles about the discipline of political science,³

and one three-hour seminar session is devoted to discussing these articles. A second session offers a general orientation to the WPSA conference including logistics and procedures for registration. We discuss how the conference is organized, and how papers and panels are chosen. As students receive the preliminary program they are encouraged to contact authors prior to the conference to obtain copies of papers in which they are interested. This process aids them in preparing for the conference and deciding on what panels they will attend.

At the conference, students are required to attend three panel sessions per day and interview at least one presenter. There are two post-conference class meetings. In the first meeting, students report on their experiences at the conference and evaluate panels that they attended. By the final meeting, each student is required to develop and present a research proposal or paper proposal to the class.

In the spring of 2000, 27 students attended the conference including some MPA (Masters of Public Administration) students. Sixteen attended in the spring of 2001. In evaluating the seminar, we wanted to know if the students felt that the course was a worthwhile educational experience, and whether the seminar stimulated their creativity in formulating individual research projects. As a point of departure, we rely on the work of Teresa Amabile,⁴

who notes that educators need to understand the three parts of creativity: expertise, the ability to think flexibly and imaginatively, and motivation. Educators can certainly influence the first two, and we hope that in doing so motivation is also increased. The purpose of a practical seminar, such as Political Science 545, is to enhance the creative process by going beyond the typical graduate seminar. This paper is an evaluation of how successful we were in achieving the objectives of learning, creativity, and motivation.

To evaluate the objective of educating students by exposing them to expertise, respondents were asked if attending the Western Political Science Association Conference was helpful in assisting them in current research. Thirty-three percent ranked the experience as very helpful and 33% as helpful.⁵

Students were also asked if the seminar was helpful in raising confidence in their writing and analytical skills. Sixteen percent ranked the conference as very helpful and 33% as helpful.⁶ With a few exceptions, participants thought that the educational experience was a valuable one. Several of our Masters Degree students are government teachers in Orange County High Schools. These students invariably stressed that the conference was very helpful in their own preparations and classroom work.

Students were also asked to interview a participant at the conference. The purpose of the interview was to find out about the research interests of a political scientist and how he or she proposed, developed, and wrote a paper. Nearly one-half of the respondents thought the interview was either helpful or very helpful in understanding methods for writing future papers.⁷

In written evaluations, several students noted that interviewees were very accommodating and that several scholars encouraged the students to pursue further research. Another measure of the positive influence of the conference was how many papers students bought. Every student bought at least one paper, and surprisingly, 11 out of 30 students bought 10 or more papers. This would indicate that many thought that the papers would help them in their own studies. Although buying papers after the panels was an important activity for the students, several commented that the panels were much more educational when the papers were obtained and read in advance. Most students were able to obtain some papers electronically in advance of the conference.

Next, we wanted to find out how motivational the conference was for each student. After the conference in 2000, four students submitted papers for the 2001 conference. Two student papers were accepted and presented at the 2001 conference. Two related questions asked directly about the motivational experience. We asked if the conference motivated anyone to seek a career in political science. Sixteen out of 30 answered this question affirmatively. We also asked if participation in the seminar motivated students to seek an advanced degree beyond the Masters or MPA. Fourteen out of 30 answered affirmatively to this question. As one student wrote, “I frequently question whether political science is the discipline for me, but attending panels that I could see myself participating in, reminded me that political science is what I want to study and do.”

Finally, we wanted to know if any of the panels stimulated research ideas. Seventeen out of 31 students said that the panels did stimulate creative ideas. Attendance at a panel concerning women and politics prompted one student to write, “I was impressed with these women and was inspired to continue my political science education and specialize in women and politics.” Many of the research proposals we received at the end of the semester cited WPSA conference papers as the basis for further research. Further, several students mentioned the positive aspects of meeting people who share similar research interests. As one student commented, “I got a chance to meet people who were interested in the same things as I am, and I won't hesitate to contact them in the future.”

The evaluation seems to suggest that exposure to the work of practicing political scientists not only positively supplemented the student's graduate education, but also provided motivation and, in several instances, encouraged research ideas. As a student summarized, “It was useful to hear why people chose this field, what projects they had currently undertaken, how they got started, and the rewards of this profession.”

Finally, it might be useful for conference organizers to know the major criticisms of the conference. First, almost every student noted that some panelists seemed to be insufficiently prepared. Second, many thought it would be helpful if more papers were available prior to the conference. The American Political Science Association has found a remedy for this by posting papers online and requiring submissions by August 10. Third, panel topics overlapped and precluded some students from focusing on specific areas in which they had an interest. Finally, some students thought that some panels made no attempt to address the theme of the conference. However, others found that overall the panels addressed the 2000 theme, “Politics as a Contingently Contested Concept,” in an enlightened fashion. As one student wrote, “The theme of the conference seemed to set a tone for scholars to present their purposes for studying politics.”