Classes in the honors program in Political Science will be open to all Political Science majors (both BA and BS students) ho have achieved an overall grade point average of 3.0 by their junior year, or who have been recommended to the program by the honors committee.  To graduate with "honors" a student must complete at least 9 hours of honors courses in Political Science at the Junior or Senior level, 3 hours of which will be in PS 4510 (Senior Honors Thesis), and must have achieved a 3.45 GPA in Political Science courses and at least a "B" or better in honors courses.  To graduate with "highest honors" a student must complete 9 hours of course work (3 hours of which must be in PS 4510) with a 3.65 GPA in Political Science courses and a grade of "A" in the honors courses.
 

Course Offerings:

Because the Political Science program requires that majors take courses in a number of subfields (especially in the BA track) it is necessary to design a program that both engages a number of subfield options for the majors and remains flexible enough to meet staffing and resource restrictions.  The general strategy of the department will be to employ a mix of honors sections of existing courses with new courses designed for the honors program and offered under the designator "PS 3510."  For students in the Political Science Honors Program, each honors course given under the general category of PS 3510 will be assigned a subfields designation for the major.  For any nonmajor taking a Political Science honors course, the courses will carry full elective credit.
 

Honors Thesis:

All students seeking to graduate with honors in Political Science must complete an honors thesis during their senior year.  Students will be expected to work with an advisor(s), selecting a topic for independent research and completing a written project.  Students working on a thesis should enroll in PS 4510 (Senior Honors Thesis).  PS 4510 is a three hour course and will count toward the nine hours required for graduation with honors.  Enrollment will be limited to Political Science majors with at least a "B" average in honors courses and who have otherwise met the qualifications.