The Department of Politics will compute honors on the following basis:

• senior thesis (POL 499)* - 35%
• junior independent work (POL 981)** - 15%
• departmental courses - 50%

*For the Classes of 2026 (and beyond): As part of their independent work, all seniors must enroll in POL 498 (Fall) and POL 499 (Spring). POL 498 is graded as P/D/F and will not factor into the Honors calculation; in order to pass, students are required to meet with their thesis advisers at least twice in the Fall and also submit a senior thesis progress report. POL 499 reflects the final grade for the senior thesis which accounts for 35% of the Departmental GPA. Note that neither of these placeholder courses (i.e., POL 498 and POL 499) are considered part of the 11 required departmental courses, but they do count towards the University’s 33-course minimum required for graduation.  

**For the Classes of 2025 (and beyond): Students will receive one POL 981 grade at the end of spring term that is a weighted average of fall (30%) and spring (70%) JIW grades. The POL 981 grade will account for 15%.

NOTE: The senior thesis poster grade does not factor into the Honors calculation. However, submitting a poster and presenting it at the poster session is a requirement towards graduation.