Honors Program

Honors Program Information

The Honors Program offers qualified students an opportunity to conduct independent research on an important topic and to write a thesis summarizing their findings. Students work closely with faculty advisors, who give the guidance and assistance needed to navigate the research, analysis and writing required to produce a good thesis.

Since no faculty member can effectively supervise more than a few theses at a time, students should talk to a prospective advisor as soon as possible. Students normally secure an honors adviser towards the end of winter quarter of their junior year. Normally the advisor will be someone with whom the student has already worked. In the rare cases where the advisor is not a regular (or “by courtesy”) member of the Political Science Department, a member of the Department should be enlisted as a sponsor. In such cases, the advisor will determine the thesis grade after consulting with the Department sponsor.

Students must submit their honors applications to the undergraduate administrator by the first Friday of spring quarter of their junior year.

Requirements

Students pursuing honors must complete the following by the end of Spring Quarter of their junior year: Methods requirement (POLISCI 150A,B,C, 151A, 151B, STATS 60, or ECON 102A), WIM requirement, a completed research paper from an advanced undergraduate seminar (200-level course) or directed reading, and have obtained an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher. Students are required to enroll in POLISCI 299Q, Junior Research Seminar, in the spring of their junior year. This credit/no-credit course is designed to help students shape their thesis topic.

Students who are accepted into the program should plan to make the thesis the focus of their senior year. Students may enroll in PoliSci 299A, B, or C if they wish to earn units for their thesis work.

To complete the honors program, students must:

Complete all requirements for the major.
Maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 or above.
Enroll in POLISCI 299Q during spring quarter of junior year.

Students cannot apply units from the POLISCI 299Q, Junior Research Seminar, toward the 70-unit requirement for the major. However, students can apply up to 10 units from POLISCI 299A,B,C Senior Project, towards the "related coursework" section of the70-unit major requirement if they wish.

The Department nominates the best theses for the Firestone Medal for Excellence in Research, awarded by the University at commencement weekend. To be considered for the Firestone Medal a thesis should be completed by the beginning of May.

Ready to Apply?

The application deadline for the 2009-10 academic year is the first Friday of spring quarter . Complete an application and return it to Hana Meckler in Encina Hall West, Room 100. Honors applications will be available at the beginning of winter quarter 2010.

Submission Guidelines

Submission guidelines and deadlines for the 2009-10 academic year will be posted late in the Winter quarter.