Kastellec posing with student winning an award

The Junior Independent Work (JIW) requirement in Politics provides majors with an opportunity to delve into their research interests and conduct a thorough examination. The goal is for students to produce a well-reasoned and analytical essay that scrutinizes a political issue using approaches from political science. Over the course of two semesters, students are required to undertake two research projects, consisting of a Research Prospectus in the fall and a Junior Paper in the spring. The Department views these as “building blocks” toward the preparation of a strong senior thesis. 

Fall Junior Independent Work

All Politics juniors are required to take POL 300 (Conducting Independent Research in Political Science) for departmental course credit, and will be assigned to a Junior Practicum in which they will both learn more about a specific topic and write a Research Prospectus.  

[Important Note: Students must block out the time that POL 300 is offered in order to complete this requirement and should take into account their practicum selections when choosing the subsequent Fall semester courses.]

A Junior Research Prospectus is the culmination of the Fall JIW requirement for juniors in the Department of Politics. The Prospectus is normally 12-15 pages, and will include a description of the significance of the topic with references to the relevant literature and a detailed research design. The Prospectus is supposed to define a significant political question or problem and to outline a design for answering it through ha process of systematic researching which may, depending on the nature of the topic selected, involve detailing the relevant primary and secondary literature or original documents, interviews, or compilation and analysis of existing or newly to be collected statistical data. The range of subjects suitable for a prospectus is very wide. Most projects involve the following elements: defining a significant question, formulating a hypothesis, detailing the relevant evidence and outlining how it would be assessed, reviewing critically the work of others on this subject, evaluating alternative methods of inquiry, showing critical awareness of the limits of one’s projected arguments, and prospectively relating one’s inquiry to a larger political context of issues. The Prospectus is not a passive review of the existing literature, nor a summary of facts, nor a long editorial. It sets out the framework for conduct of a critical and creative analysis of a question, problem or issue. A framework that would allow for the development of a student’s own well-reasoned views, should the Prospectus be carried out, is an essential part of this exercise. Policy recommendations are welcome but not required. 

Spring Junior Independent Work

In the spring semester, juniors complete a Junior Paper under the supervision of an independent work adviser. A Junior Paper written in the Department of Politics is normally an essay of 20 to 35 double-spaced pages that is clearly focused on one--or a few related--political questions, problems or issues. Junior papers are supposed to define a significant political question or problem and to answer it through a process of systematic research which may, depending on the nature of the topic selected, involve reading primary and secondary literature or original documents, interviewing, or compiling and analyzing statistical data. The range of subjects suitable for such essays is very wide. Most projects involve the following elements: defining a significant question, formulating a hypothesis, gathering and assessing evidence, reviewing critically the work of others on this subject, evaluating alternative methods of inquiry, critically reviewing one's own arguments, and relating one's findings and conclusions to a larger political context of issues. The Junior Paper is not a passive review of the existing literature, nor a summary of facts, nor a long editorial. It presents a critical and creative analysis of a question, problem or issue. A presentation of the student's own well-reasoned views is an essential part of this exercise. Policy recommendations are welcome but not required.

In general, the standards for senior theses apply in faculty evaluations of the Junior Paper, with the understanding that the time available to work on a Junior Paper is much less than the time available for the senior thesis. Faculty advisers are expected to submit extensive comments on the written work of the students whom they advise.

The Junior Paper should be advised by a Politics faculty member. In rare circumstances, a Junior Paper may be supervised by a faculty member outside the Department of Politics with special permission from the Director of Undergraduate Studies. (The Director of Undergraduate Studies may require a paper supervised outside of the Department to be second read by a Politics faculty member. If there is a difference in the assigned grades, the two grades will be reconciled according to the procedures for grading senior theses.)

While the Fall JIW will culminate in the writing of a prospectus for a Junior Paper, students are under no obligation to write their Junior Paper in the spring on the same topic, or with the same faculty member who advised their Fall JIW.  Students may ask the faculty member who advised their Fall JIW to advise their Junior Paper in the spring, but the faculty member is under no obligation to do so (and no faculty member is likely in any case to be able to advise the Junior Papers of all the students who have taken their JIW).  

Students are encouraged to direct their Junior Paper toward a possible thesis topic, and are allowed to use some of the same research for both. Nonetheless, the Junior Paper must be an independent piece of work which stands on its own, and it may not be incorporated directly into the thesis. The Spring JP may expand upon ideas that you explored in the Research Prospectus. A student may draw on and cite your own prospectus just like they would use other resources. In addition, you may re-use a limited portion of your prospectus in the Spring JP, including the literature review. Whenever material from the prospectus is re-used, the student must add a footnote noting the duplication. Note this policy does not affect the standard University guidelines for attributing ideas and research findings, whenever appropriate.

NOTE: Special permission is required to submit the same paper both for purposes of Junior Independent Work and for a course. The Director of Undergraduate Studies and all instructors involved must give their consent in writing. This option is strongly disfavored, and permission will be given only in extremely exceptional circumstances. In cases where the course instructor is also the student’s junior adviser, it may be required that the paper be second-read by another faculty member of the Department.

 

Xu Xu and student

Students are strongly urged to submit rough drafts of their junior papers to their independent work advisers. Comments received on a first draft may be crucial to the project's success. Advisers are under no obligation to give detailed comments on preliminary versions of a Research Prospectus or Junior Paper if they are submitted after these departmental deadlines. Advisers may choose to read drafts after these deadlines, and faculty are encouraged to set their own preferred deadlines for preliminary work.

The rough draft deadlines set by the Department are:
-for the Fall Research Prospectus, the last day of Reading Period 
-for the Spring Junior Paper, is the Friday after Spring Break

The completed final assignments (Research Prospectus in Fall semester, Junior Paper in Spring semester) must be submitted into the Department of Politics junior independent work database by 4:00 pm on the day of the University’s stated deadlines for independent work as noted in our important dates. The Research Prospectus and Spring JP may not be submitted after the Politics deadline without the prior approval from the student’s Residential College Dean. If the student’s Residential College Dean, in conjunction with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, approves an extension with a late penalty, a late penalty of 1/3 of a letter grade for every 48 hours will be applied, beginning at 4:00 pm on the due date.

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. POL 981 will carry 2.0 units. Students must achieve a grade of C or better in POL 981. If a student receives a grade below C in POL 981, another Junior Paper is required with a grade that brings the average of this additional paper and the POL 981 grade to at least a grade of C. This is a prerequisite for beginning the senior year. For purposes of this requirement, the grades before application of any penalties are used.

Spring JP Advisers 2025-2026
Advisers Fields of Study Areas of Expertise
Carles Boix Comparative Politics, Political Economy Empirical Democratic Theory, Political Economy, Political Institutions
Gregory Conti Political Theory History of Political Thought, Democratic Theory, Representation, Freedom of Speech
Rafaela Dancygier Comparative Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Identity Representation, Immigration, Elections, Political Violence
Aaron Friedberg International Relations International Security, Globalization, Political Economy, East Asia, Foreign and Defense Policy
Paul Frymer American Politics, Public Law, Race, Ethnicity and Identity American Political Institutions, Law, Parties and Organizations, Civil Rights and Race, Labor and Employment, Historical Institutionalism
Robert P. George Political Theory, Public Law Philosophy of Law, Constitutional Interpretation, Civil Liberties, Moral and Political Philosophy, Bioethics, Law and Religion, Natural Law Theory
Germán Gieczewski Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods, Political Economy Political Economy, Game Theory, Networks, Information Transmission
Naima Green-Riley International Relations Chinese Foreign Policy, U.S. Foreign Policy, Political Communication, Public Opinion
Matias Iaryczower American Politics, Comparative Politics, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods, Political Economy Political Economy, Institutions and Collective Decision-Making in Legislatures, Courts and Electorates
G. John Ikenberry International Relations International Relations Theory, U.S. Grand Strategy, International Organizations, International Order, Liberalism and International Relations
Marzenna James International Relations Case Study Methods, Economic Power in Central and Eastern Europe, Russian Foreign Policy
Gleason Judd Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods, Political Economy Political Economy, Elections, Lobbying, Legislative Bargaining
Ethan Kapstein International Relations International Political Economy, Economic Development, U.S. Foreign Policy, Conflict
Atul Kohli Comparative Politics Political Economy of Development, Politics in India, Imperialism and the Developing World
Nicholas Kuipers Comparative Politics Comparative Politics, Bureaucracy, Development, Southeast Asian Politics
Melissa Lane Political Theory Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought, Plato, Aristotle, Climate Change, Environmental Political Theory, Modern Political Thought
Frances Lee American Politics Congress, Political Parties, Policymaking
John B. Londregan International Relations, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods South America, Political Economy, Electoral Politics, Text as Data
Nicholas Lotito International Relations International Security, Civil-Military Relations, Middle East and North Africa, Political Violence, Terrorism, Conflict, Democratization, Extremism
Stephen Macedo Political Theory Citizenship and Civic Education, The Constitution, Marriage and Family, Immigration, Diversity, Civil Liberties, Free Speech and Hate Speech
Nolan McCarty American Politics American Politics, Political Institutions, Political Polarization, Economic and Social Inequality, Political Economy of Financial Markets
Corrine McConnaughy American Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Identity American Politics, Gender and Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Politics, American Political Development, Democratization, Social Movements and Protests, Policymaking, Social Identities, Federalism, State and Local Politics, Voting Rights, Political Decisionmaking
Andrew Moravcsik International Relations European Union Politics, International Relations Theory, Transatlantic Relations, International Human Rights, Qualitative Methods, International Organizations, International Law, Foreign Policy, Far-Right Populism, Global Democracy
Layna Mosley International Relations, Political Economy International Political Economy, Globalization, International Finance, Multinational Corporations, Global Supply Chains, International Trade, Sovereign Debt
Jan-Werner Müller Political Theory Democratic Theory, Constitutionalism, European Union, Politics and Religion
Elizabeth Nugent Comparative Politics Comparative Politics, Middle East and North Africa, Political Psychology, Authoritarianism, Politics and Religion
Temi Ogunye Political Theory Activism, Authority and Political Obligation, Civil Resistance, Social Norms, Political Theory, Social Change, Civil Disobedience
Grigore Pop-Eleches Comparative Politics Comparative Political Behavior, Authoritarian Politics, Historical Legacies, Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, Latin America
Markus Prior American Politics Public Opinion, Media and Politics, Political Involvement, Elections, Politics of Time
Kristopher Ramsay International Relations, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods, Political Economy Violent Conflict, War, Strategy, Political Economy, Environmental Politics
Jacob N. Shapiro International Relations Conflict, Political Economy, Security, Development, Disinformation
Arthur Spirling Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods Comparative Politics, Political Methodology, Text as Data, Machine Learning/AI, Political Institutions, Parliaments, British Politics
Sarah Staszak American Politics, Public Law American Political Development, Bureaucratic Politics, Public Law
LaFleur Stephens-Dougan American Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Identity Racial Attitudes, Public Opinion, Black Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Politics, Political Communication, Experimental Methods
Rocío Titiunik Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods Quantitative Methods, Political Methodology, Applied Statistics, Comparative Politics, Party Systems
Rory Truex Comparative Politics Chinese Politics, Authoritarianism, Repression, Human Rights
Guadalupe Tuñón Comparative Politics, Political Economy Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Politics and Religion, Judicial Politics, Latin American Politics
Sam Van Noort Comparative Politics Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Democratization, Democratic Backsliding
James Raymond Vreeland Comparative Politics, International Relations International Political Economy, International Organizations, Democratization, Transparency
Leonard Wantchekon Comparative Politics, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods, Political Economy Political Economy, Elections, Democratization, Governance
Ismail White American Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Identity Race, Ethnicity and Politics, Racial Attitudes, American Politics, Political Behavior, Public Opinion, African American Politics
Jennifer Widner Comparative Politics Public Management, State Capacity, International and Comparative Constitutional Law, Public Law, African Politics, Public Goods Provision, Politics of Reform, Disaster Response, Electoral Systems, U.S. Community Development Block Grant Program
Andreas Wiedemann Comparative Politics, Political Economy Political Economy, Economic Inequality, Social Policy, Representation
Lauren A. Wright American Politics Media and Politics, Executive Branch Politics and Policymaking, Public Opinion, Gender and Politics, Celebrity Politics
Xu Xu Comparative Politics, Political Economy Digital Authoritarianism, Repression, Chinese Politics, Political Economy of Development
Hye Young You American Politics Interest Groups, Lobbying, American Political Institutions, Political Economy, Congress, Bureaucracy, Federalism
Zeyang (Arthur) Yu Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods Causal Inference, Political Methodology, Political Institutions, Quantitative Methods, Comparative Politics, Chinese Politics, Political Economy of Development, Bureaucratic Organizations, Political Communication, Media and Politics
Noah Zucker Comparative Politics, International Relations, Race, Ethnicity and Identity, Political Economy Comparative Political Economy, Climate Change, Identity Politics, International Political Economy