How to Apply for Honors
Application for 2012-2013 Political Science Honors Program
Applications (click the link above) are due on Friday, March 2, 2012 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 eleven political science courses required for the major, especially a research seminar (395) and a research methods class (310, 311, 312 or 315).
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.
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 (Poli_Sci 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 11 total political science courses required for the major.