Requirements and Guidelines
High Honors and Highest Honors
Students seeking high and highest honors must complete a thesis. The following are the requirements for completing a thesis in the Department of Political Science:
Grade Point Average – Student must have a 3.5 or better upper division grade point average to be eligible for the honors program.
POS 4934 Honors Preparation – Typically, students choose an advisor – and take honors preparation with – a professor they have already taken a course with. A less common option is to find an advisor who you have not taken a class with, so long as that faculty member is willing to advise you. Students will receive a letter grade for this course. Assignments and grades are at the discretion of the thesis advisor. Students must see the department’s honors coordinator (Professor Sebastian Wang) to register for this course, which is governed by the University’s add/drop policy.
POS 4734 Research Methods in Political Science (3 credits) – See course catalogue for description or click here to go to the Registrar’s course description page. The Department offers both Quantitative and Qualitative sections of the course, so be sure to read the description of the course section before registering. Students must meet and receive approval with the department’s honors coordinator to register for this course, which is governed by the University’s add/drop policy. Though a requirement for department honors, the course is open to students not interested in writing an honors thesis.
POS 4970 Senior Thesis (2-4 credits, variable)- Written under the direction of the student’s thesis advisor. Students will receive a letter grade for this course. Assignments and grades are at the discretion of the thesis advisor. Students must see the department’s honors coordinator to register for this course, which is governed by the University’s add/drop policy.
Suggested Course Rotation – Typically, students take POS 4934 (honors prep) in fall of their senior year. We encourage students to take POS 4734 (Research Methods) the spring of junior year so as to get a head start on the thesis over the summer, but students may take the course in the fall of their senior year. The final step in the honors program curriculum is the “Honors Thesis Writing Course” (POS 4970). This is typically taken in the final semester of senior year. This is the course in which the honors thesis is actually written under the direction of the student’s faculty supervisor.
Determination of Honors Designation – Students who successfully complete the prescribed courses and write a thesis, are candidates for either “high” or “highest” honors. In evaluating the student’s thesis, the following criteria will be used:
The student’s mastery of the relevant academic literature.
Originality of the student’s research.
The contribution of the student’s research to the field of political science.
It is possible that students may complete the course work and a thesis and not obtain high or highest honors.
Faculty Responsibility and Evaluation of Theses
Faculty thesis supervisors agree to meet with students on a regular basis and provide feedback on the progress of the student’s project.
The responsibility for mentoring the student’s project lies with the faculty thesis supervisor.
The faculty supervisor is primarily responsible for evaluating the student’s thesis and determining if a high honors designation is warranted. The faculty supervisor may also recommend highest honors to the honors council. Where the faculty supervisor recommends highest honors, the honors coordinator will forward the recommendation to the honors council which will decide if highest honors is warranted. Highest honors is generally given only for those theses which make a significant contribution to the field.
Thesis Submission Guidelines
Final copies of theses are due to the faculty supervisor and the honors coordinator 3 weeks before the last day of class in the semester that the student is completing the thesis. Exact dates will be announced each semester by the honors coordinator.