Departmental Graduation with Distinction

The department offers students majoring in political science a senior honors program, by successful completion of which a participant achievesGraduation with Distinction in political science. The central requirement of the program is an honors thesis which the student prepares under faculty supervision. The honors program consists of two courses (Political Science 200H.02 and 200H.03). Seniors entering their seventh semester who have attained at least a 3.3 grade point average overall and a 3.5 average in political science courses are eligible for admission to Political Science 200H.02. Upon request, the program director may recommend admission to the honors seminar of a student who lacks one or both requisite grade point averages. The program director must approve any recommended student's admission.

Political Science 200H.02, a seminar taken in the fall of the senior year, is devoted to developing an honors thesis. The work of the seminar includes close supervision of the proposal, research and writing stages of the project by a primary and secondary advisor selected by the student. The primary advisor must be selected from among the faculty of the Department of Political Science. The secondary advisor may be selected from among the same faculty or from among faculty of a related department or, in exceptional circumstances with the explicit approval of the director of the program and with the consent of the director of graduate studies, from among advanced graduate students in the Department of Political Science.

Continued close faculty supervision of the project by means of seminar meetings and individual conferences occurs in Political Science 200H.03. Completion of the thesis, its evaluation, and its defense before a three-member committee composed of the director of the program together with the primary and secondary advisors warrants Graduation with Distinction in political science if a grade of A- or better is assigned to the student's thesis and performance in Political Science 200H.02 and 200H.03. The intradepartmental concentration option is partially satisfied by successful completion of the two-course senior honors thesis seminar. Further information may be obtained from the honors program director or from the director of undergraduate studies.