Undergraduate: Degree Information, Political Science Dept., WCAS

The Honors Program in Political Science is reserved for our best students who wish to undertake the challenge of pursuing independent scholarly research in political science. Participants in the Honors Program work closely with a faculty advisor to complete a research project of their own design. The student is expected to craft a research plan, analyze relevant research materials, and write a senior thesis based on this research.

There are many rewards to pursuing an honors thesis: the chance to work closely with a faculty advisor, craft an original research project, engage in sustained intellectual study of a topic, sharpen research and writing skills, and form a research community with other honors theses writers. Students who have participated in the Senior Honors Program frequently view it as the most challenging, exciting and rewarding intellectual experience of their college years.

Eligibility and Procedures

Applications for the Honors Program will be available on the Political Science website beginning in February and are due on March 7th by noon. All political science majors who have achieved a grade point average of at least 3.5 both in their political science courses and overall may apply. Priority will be given to those applicants who have already completed at least seven of the ten political science courses required for the major, especially a research seminar (395) and a research methods class (310, 311, or 312).

Admission to the Honors Program is competitive. To apply, you must complete an application, which includes a two to three page topic proposal and a faculty recommendation. You will be assigned a faculty advisor; having a faculty member willing to supervise your thesis is a precondition to admission into the program. You should work with a faculty member on developing a strong honors proposal. It is never too early to think about potential topics to bring to a professor for discussion. Tips for choosing a topic and writing a proposal are available below.

Admission to the Honors Program requires that a student attend regular meetings with his or her advisor throughout the fall and winter quarters until submission of the thesis and maintain the required 3.5 GPA for the duration of the program. Students also must enroll in and satisfactorily complete the Senior Thesis Tutorial (Political Science 398) during the fall and winter quarters of their senior year. The Senior Thesis Tutorial is designed to help students foster a community of research scholars, develop the skills needed to present and evaluate their own work, and learn how to offer constructive feedback on the work of their peers. The 398 courses do NOT count toward the completion of the 10 total political science courses required for the major.

Designation of Honors

A student who completes the thesis on time may submit it to the Departmental Honors Committee (DHC) for consideration for Departmental Honors. The DHC arranges for each thesis to be read by an additional faculty member not directly involved in advising the project. This reader and the faculty advisor submit written reports to the DHC, including a recommendation regarding honors. In the event that there is significant disagreement between these readers on the merits of the thesis, a member of DHC also will read the thesis and make a recommendation. If the DHC determines that the thesis qualifies for honors, it forwards its recommendation to the Weinberg College Committee on Superior Students and Honors. This WCAS committee makes the final decision on honors in light of the Department’s recommendation, the student’s academic record, and the work submitted. Students will be notified of the decision of this WCAS committee by mid-June.

Questions and Answers about the Political Science Honors Program

A thesis is a sustained, scholarly investigation of a puzzle or problem. It deals with its topic in greater depth than a term paper can hope to attain. A thesis in Political Science can be written on a wide array of topics, ranging from a close rereading of a classical text in political theory to original survey research on a contemporary policy question. It may be based on field work done abroad or research conducted at Northwestern. Whatever the topic, a good thesis asks an important question about a specific issue in the study of politics.

You will write your thesis with the assistance of an advisor, either a faculty member or a graduate student. It is recommended that you meet with your advisor approximately once a week. With his or her guidance, you will be responsible for selecting a topic, compiling a bibliography, designing a research plan, and following through with research and writing. A Political Science thesis is generally between 60 and 120 pages long.

A. You must be a Political Science major of junior standing, and have a GPA in the major and college of at least 3.5. Priority is given to students who have completed the department’s methods and 395 requirements. Entrance is competitive, and the quality of the proposal is important.

Discuss pursuing honors with a political science faculty member you know. The decision to pursue honors is a weighty one; it will affect the entire experience of your senior year of college. You should discuss this decision with an advisor, and you should discuss potential research topics. It is a good idea to think about possible topics that might interest you before you meet with a faculty advisor. Better yet, take a stab at formulating a paragraph about a possible thesis topic. Students studying abroad are encouraged to start talking about potential topics before they depart for studying abroad. You should begin conversations about a potential topic no later than the winter quarter of your junior year.
Develop a proposal for a thesis topic in consultation with a faculty member. Admissions to the program will be based on the quality of the thesis proposal. In general, the proposal involves framing a question that can serve as the basis of a thesis project. Expertise in the topic is not required at the proposal stage. See the tips on crafting a thesis proposal.
Complete the cover sheet of the application and the top portion of a recommendation form. Give your recommendation writer a copy of the cover sheet and the recommendation form with the top half already completed. The recommender also needs a copy of the proposal. Don’t wait until the last minute! The recommendation form is designed to be completed quickly. Still, you need to give a faculty member advanced warning and time to discuss your proposal with you and complete the form. You may complete the recommendation form electronically as indicated on the form.
Print out a current transcript of your studies, verifying that your GPA in the major (political science) and college is 3.5 or higher.
Submit three copies of the Cover Sheet, unofficial transcript and 2-3 page project proposal to Bonnie Gordon, Undergraduate Program Assistant (due date TBA).

You want a topic that combines personal excitement with scholarly potential. Look over your past work at Northwestern and find those themes that run through the choices you have made. Is there a question or an event that jumps out at you? Do you find yourself selecting classes on a general topic or returning to a subject repeatedly? Is there something happening in the world that appears puzzling and that you would like to make sense of? Sometimes the topic may come from your personal experience or from something you observed. Your initial idea may be about a very broad subject (“I’m interested in the role of religion in American Politics”) or something more specific (“How is France trying to assimilate immigrants from its foreign colonies?”). In each case, you will need to transform a topic into a research question.

Most first efforts at formulating a research topic are too broad. They lack focus and need to be narrowed and framed in a way that makes the topic researchable. To give focus to a broad interest, read in the subject until some anomaly or surprise catches your eye. Ask yourself what specific concerns led you to the general issue. How did you first see the problem? What events stand out? Around what cases do the discussions revolve? Was there an important book, newspaper article or lecture that piqued your interest? Is there a recurrent argument about current affairs? Formulate questions with these specific facts in mind. Talk with others about the topic, including political science faculty members and TAs.

Keep in mind that it is usually better to ask a question rather than to state a topic. Thus you should transform an interest in civil war into a question about the conditions under which a civil war or type of civil war occurs.

Merely exploring a topic because it interests you is not enough; the thesis must pose a question that subsequent research attempts to answer or resolve. This question should be framed in a general way that highlights its importance. “Why was John Roberts confirmed to be a judge on the US Supreme Court” is probably too specific. It would be better to ask “What factors lead to success or failure in the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices?” You may end up answering this question by looking at confirmation hearings across time or by a comparison of just two nominees. The key is that the question is important in its own right and that answering it provides insight that is useful beyond the specifics of the case. Even with a carefully posed question, you still need to highlight its importance. You need to explain why it matters whether or not someone is confirmed for the US Supreme Court, and explain why confirmation is problematic enough to be worth sixty to a hundred pages of analysis.

More advice on selecting a thesis topic and crafting a proposal are available at the following website:

The department discourages students from pursuing honors in two majors. Instead, we encourage double majors to pursue the option of an interdisciplinary honors project. Students doing interdisciplinary honors theses will normally be expected to register for and to complete successfully the honors sequences in both departments. Information about interdisciplinary honors is available here:

Q. What should I do if I want to sign up for an honors thesis, but I am spending my junior year abroad (winter quarter included)?

A. Even if you are abroad, you still need to apply to the honors program during the winter quarter of your junior year. You should also still work with a faculty member on your proposal, either a Northwestern member or a faculty member abroad. You will need to be in correspondence with a Northwestern faculty member regarding your recommendation form and a letter of recommendation. You may also work with a faculty member on your proposal via e-mail.

Northwestern has funds available to conduct research, and you should explore applying for these funds to begin research on your topic while abroad.

Normally only students who submit an application on time will be admitted to the program. Late applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but the bar for entry is higher, and late applications will be accepted in exceptional cases only. Study abroad is not considered an exceptional reason unless the student is spending the winter quarter of their junior year in an area of the world with no electricity or internet connections. We encourage students to anticipate a situation that may lead to a late application, and talk to the Director of Undergraduate Studies or Honors Director in advance.