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%
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.
*Senior Thesis for the Class 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.
**Junior Independent Work for the Classes of 2026 and 2027: 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%.
**Junior Independent Work for the Class of 2028 (and beyond): Students will receive one POL 398 grade (replacing POL 981) which will be based 100% on the final version of the Spring JP. The POL 398 grade will account for 15%.