Honors Program

Honors in Political Science

The form is due by email to the director of undergraduate studies by April 15 of the spring semester of junior year. Selected applicants will be notified in early May.

The application form provides the opportunity to demonstrate preparation to write a thesis through a description of the planned project and an accounting of the substantive and methodological courses that have provided the necessary skills to complete it. The application also requires that the student find a professor in the political science department who will commit to serve as the thesis adviser throughout the project if the application is successful.

Those admitted to the program will write the thesis over both semesters of their senior year. In the first semester, the student will enroll in a thesis-writing independent study course (PSCI 4998) with the advisor and will complete the first steps of the thesis, including securing the data/relevant resources, making a data analysis/resource-use plan, and completing a literature review. In the second semester, thesis writers who are on track will be invited to enroll in the thesis writing capstone course to complete and defend their projects.

Honors in political science will be awarded if, in addition to the requirements set by the College of Arts and Science, the political science major is completed, the GPA requirements are maintained, the thesis benchmarks are completed under PSCI 4998, the thesis writing capstone course is successfully completed, and the thesis is deemed to earn honors by the capstone course and the adviser. The honors designation will appear in the Commencement program as well as on the diploma.

Successful thesis writers tend to be students who:

• Are deeply curious about a topic they have begun to study in political science classes;
• Have at least the start of an idea for how that topic could be studied in greater depth;
• Have taken classes in or out of the department that focus on research design and methods (such as statistics, data science, game theory, qualitative methods, etc.);
• Like the idea of taking the lead on their own research project;
• Have the time to devote to a big project (which usually means not writing a separate thesis in a different department);
• Have use for a publication-quality piece of original research, perhaps for a graduate school application or other portfolio; and
• Have developed a relationship with a professor in the department who has relevant expertise with whom they can work well to complete the project.

For additional information, contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Jon Hiskey.

Honors in Public Policy Studies

Students who have a GPA of 3.30 or higher for all previous courses taken for credit and a GPA of 3.50 for all courses counting toward the PPS major may apply for the honors track in PPS. Students normally apply for the honors track during the second semester of their junior year. By the end of the junior year, students interested in pursuing honors should have completed all of the required foundation courses in the PPS major and secured a faculty advisor who is willing to oversee the project. The PPS program director may make exceptions.

Those accepted into honors enroll in PPS 4980 and 4999 during the fall and spring semesters of their senior year. Students’ work with their faculty advisor forms the basis for credit in these courses. Successful completion of the honors program entails both the production of an original written thesis and an oral defense of the project. Both are evaluated by the thesis committee.