The Department of Political Science and International Studies encourages majors to pursue graduating with departmental honors. In order to graduate with honors, students must demonstrate academic excellence by:

1. Obtaining a cumulative GPA of 3.2 by the end of their junior year.
2. Obtaining a GPA of 3.5 in political science by the end of their junior year.
3. Never receiving a "D" or "F" in any political science course.

Honors credit depends on the completion of a two-semester independent research project in any of the department’s sub fields. While there is no specific page requirement, the project consists of original research contributing new insights to the field. Students interested in pursuing departmental honors may sign up for three credit hours of independent research credits. NOTE: Honors thesis cannot be used to fulfill the Department's senior seminar thesis requirements.

Interested students who meet the criteria are required to meet the following deadlines:

September 30: Formal notification to the department chair of intention to pursue Honors in Political Science.

October 15: Submission of thesis statement to the department chair. The thesis statement must include:

• Research question(s) and research thesis
• Outline of the research design
• A preliminary bibliography
• Preference for academic advisor of the Honors' project

October 30: Honors' Thesis Proposal Review. Students meet with all members of the department to discuss their proposed research project. Upon approval, students meet with their advisor as necessary. Specifics are to be agreed upon between student and advisor. Advisor evaluates progress and quality of the research and schedules thesis defense.

Early April: Honors' Thesis Defense. Students present their thesis publicly to faculty, students, and invited guests. Each presentation is followed by a question and answer session. Defenses will take approximately 45 minutes total.