During the senior year, each student writes a thesis. The senior thesis is expected to make an original (or otherwise distinctive) contribution to broader knowledge in the field in which the student is working.
It is important that the thesis be situated explicitly in relation to existing published literature. The senior thesis must be judged satisfactory by two members of the faculty, at least one of whom must be a member of the Department of Politics.
It is common, but by no means required, for junior paper topics, especially in the spring term, to serve as starting points for a senior thesis topic. The Department encourages students to use the summer between junior and senior year for work on the senior thesis.
The length of a senior thesis is generally about 100 double-spaced pages and rarely under 80 pages. No thesis should be longer than 125 pages, including appendices. (This limit does not include the ancillary pages for the title, dedication, table of contents, abstract, bibliography and honor code statement.) Any pages after 125 may or may not be read by the second reader. A thesis longer than 125 pages will not be considered for Politics thesis prizes.
Also, seniors are required to prepare and present a professional poster describing their senior thesis results.
| Advisors | Availability | Fields of Study | Areas of Expertise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faisal Z. Ahmed | Full | International Relations | Political Economy, International Economics and Politics |
| Gary Bass | Available | International Relations | International Security, Human Rights, International Justice, International Law |
| Mark R. Beissinger | Full | Comparative Politics | Social Movements and Contentious Politics, Nationalism, Statebuilding, Post-Communist Politics |
| Charles Beitz | Available | Political Theory | Contemporary Political Thought, Democratic Theory, Global Political Theory, Theories of Human Rights, Norms in International Relations |
| Nancy Bermeo | Available | Comparative Politics | Regime Change, Political Parties, Political Mobilization, Democracy |
| Carles Boix | Available | Comparative Politics | Empirical Democratic Theory, Political Economy, Political Institutions |
| Renee Bolinger | Available | Political Theory | Political Theory, Ethical Theory, Social Norms, Freedom of Speech, Just War |
| Charles Cameron | Available | American Politics | Judicial Politics, U.S. Presidency, Congress, Bureaucracy, National Policymaking, Political Economy |
| Brandice Canes-Wrone | Available | American Politics | Political Institutions, Political Economy, Judicial Politics, U.S. Presidency |
| Robert P. George | Available | Political Theory, Public Law | Philosophy of Law, Constitutional Interpretation, Civil Liberties, Moral and Political Philosophy, Bioethics, Law and Religion, Natural Law Theory |
| Germán Gieczewski | Available | Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | Political Economy, Game Theory, Networks, Information Transmission |
| Andrew M. Guess | Available | American Politics | Political Communication, Social Media, Misinformation, Opinion Change, Experiments |
| Matias Iaryczower | Available | American Politics, Comparative Politics, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | Political Economy, Institutions and Collective Decision-Making in Legislatures, Courts and Electorates |
| G. John Ikenberry | Full | International Relations | International Relations Theory, U.S. Grand Strategy, International Organizations, Theories of International Order, Liberalism and International Relations |
| Amaney A. Jamal | Full | Comparative Politics | Middle East and North Africa, Democratization, Political Development, Political Behavior, Muslim Immigration (U.S. and Europe), Inequality and Economic Segregation, Gender, Race, Religion and Class |
| Marzenna James | Full | International Relations | Case Study Methods, Economic Power in Central and Eastern Europe, Russian Foreign Policy |
| Gleason Judd | Available | Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | Political Economy, Elections, Lobbying, Legislative Bargaining |
| Ethan Kapstein | Full | International Relations | International Political Economy, Economic Development, U.S. Foreign Policy |
| John Kastellec | Available | American Politics, Public Law | American Political Institutions, Judicial Politics, Supreme Court Nominations |
| Atul Kohli | Available | Comparative Politics | Political Economy of Development, Politics in India, Imperialism and the Developing World |
| Frances Lee | Full | American Politics | Congress, Political Parties, Policymaking |
| Zhao Li | Available | American Politics, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | American Politics, Political Institutions, Political Economy, Campaign Finance, Lobbying, Interest Groups and Social Movements, Corporate Political Strategy |
| John B. Londregan | Available | International Relations, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | South America, Political Economy, Electoral Politics |
| Stephen Macedo | Available | Political Theory | Citizenship and Civic Education, The Constitution, Marriage and Family, Immigration, Diversity, Civil Liberties, Free Speech and Hate Speech |
| Nolan McCarty | Available | American Politics | American Politics, Political Institutions, Political Polarization, Economic and Social Inequality, Political Economy of Financial Markets |
| Corrine McConnaughy | Available | American Politics | 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 |
| Tali Mendelberg | Full | American Politics | Political Communication, Race, Ethnicity and Politics, Public Opinion, Political Psychology, Experimental Methods, Gender and Politics |
| Helen V. Milner | Available | Comparative Politics, International Relations | International Political Economy, Comparative Political Economy, Globalization, The Resource Curse, Taxation, International Trade, Two-Level Bargaining Games, International Economic Cooperation, Taxation and Political Accountability |
| Andrew Moravcsik | Available | International Relations | European Union Politics, International Relations Theory, Transatlantic Relations, International Human Rights, Qualitative Methods, International Organizations, International Law |
| Layna Mosley | Available | International Relations | International Political Economy, Globalization, International Finance, Labor and Employment, Human Rights, Multinational Corporations, Global Supply Chains |
| Jonathan Mummolo | Available | American Politics | Policing, Bureaucracy, Political Behavior, Quantitative Methods |
| Alan Patten | Full | Political Theory | Political Theory, Theories of Justice, Democratic Theory, Nationalism, Multiculturalism, Language |
| Rebecca Perlman | Full | International Relations | International Political Economy, International Trade, International Standards, Politics of Regulation |
| Marc Ratkovic | Full | Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | Causal Inference, Political Methodology |
| Andrew Reynolds | Available | Comparative Politics | Comparative Politics, LGBTQ Politics, Queer Politics, Human Rights, African Politics, Comparative Politics of the Middle East, Electoral Systems, Democratic Design, Democratic Consolidation, Gender and Politics, Transgender Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Politics |
| Sarah Staszak | Available | American Politics, Public Law | American Political Development, Bureaucratic Politics |
| LaFleur Stephens-Dougan | Available | American Politics | Racial Attitudes, Public Opinion, Black Politics |
| Rocio Titiunik | Available | Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | Quantitative Methods, Political Methodology, Applied Statistics, Comparative Politics, Party Systems |
| Ali Valenzuela | Available | American Politics | Latino Politics, Racial/Ethnic Identity, Religion, Immigration, Political Campaigns, Elections, Voter Turnout, Public Opinion, Surveys, Experimental Methods |
| Leonard Wantchekon | Available | Comparative Politics, Formal Theory & Quantitative Methods | Political Economy, Elections, Democratization, Governance |
| Omar Wasow | Available | American Politics | Racial and Ethnic Politics, Social Movements and Protests, Education and Criminal Justice Policy |
| Ismail White | Available | American Politics | Race, Ethnicity and Politics, Racial Attitudes, American Politics, Political Behavior, Public Opinion, African American Politics |
| Keith E. Whittington | Available | American Politics, Public Law | American Constitutional Politics and History, Constitutional Theory, American Political Development, American Political Thought, Politics of Law and Courts, Presidential Politics, Federalism |
| Jennifer Widner | Full | Comparative Politics | Public Management, State Capacity, Judicial Politics, Public Law, African Politics, Public Goods Provision, Politics of Reform, Disaster Response |
| Andreas Wiedemann | Full | Comparative Politics | Comparative Political Economy, European Politics, Social Policy, Economic Inequality, Financial Markets, Public Opinion |
| Lauren A. Wright | Full | American Politics | Media and Politics, Executive Branch Politics and Policymaking, Public Opinion, Gender and Politics, Celebrity Politics |
| Joanna Wuest | Available | American Politics | Sexuality and Gender Politics, Citizenship and Inequality, Constitutional Theory, Constitutional Law |
| Deborah Yashar | Available | Comparative Politics | Regime Politics, Ethnic Politics and Social Movements, Political Violence, State Formation, State Capacity, Latin American Politics |