Undergraduate

Department Honors Program

Qualifications:
- Junior or Senior Status
- GPA of 3.5 or 3.0 and an Outstanding Student Nomination

What is the Political Science Honors Program?
The PSC Honors Program is an opportunity for outstanding juniors and seniors to take a graduate seminar and complete a thesis, with the guidance of a faculty member. The graduate seminar is taken during the Fall semester and the thesis is completed during the Spring semester. Students receive 3 upper level credits for the graduate seminar and 3 upper level credits for the thesis.

When is the application due?
There is no deadline for this application, but it is strongly recommended that students file applications before the first day of the Fall semester. Please click on the following links to download a copy of the Political Science Department Honors Program Application and Form.

How do I go about applying?

  1. Select a graduate seminar that you wish to take for the Fall semester.
  2. Get the instructor’s permission. Do this by going to see the instructor during his/her office hours. Ask the instructor to sign the application as your first reader.

  3. Choose a second reader. The first and second readers are the faculty members who will read and grade your honors thesis. The first reader is always the faculty member teaching your Fall graduate seminar. The second reader can be any faculty member. Ask the second faculty member to sign your application as your second reader.

  4. Complete the petition to take a graduate course for undergraduate credit. This form is necessary in order to make certain that you receive credit for the graduate seminar. The form is attached. After you complete the form, ask the instructor of your graduate seminar to sign the form. Do not worry about getting the Chair’s signature or an advisor’s signature, both of these signatures are not necessary.

  5. Drop the completed application and the petition off at 520 Park Hall. Applications must be dropped off during the first week of the first semester\

 

The department will respond to your application via email.

If your application is approved, the department will register you for your Fall graduate seminar and your Spring honors thesis. The department will email you when the registration is completed.