Political Science Senior Honors Program
Senior Honors Seminar and Senior Thesis
To receive departmental honors, students are required to complete Political Science 191A-B Senior Honors Seminar: Frontiers in Political Science. The two-quarter graded seminar satisfies two upper division Political Science courses toward the twelve required for a degree. Through the two-quarter seminar, students will complete a senior thesis. Please note that POLI 191A is offered only in fall quarter and POLI 191B is offered only in winter quarter and these courses must be taken in consecutive quarters.
Admission Criteria
To be admitted to the seminar, a student must have:
- Senior standing in the first quarter of the seminar
- Minimum GPA of 3.6 in political science (this includes lower division courses at UCSD, courses taken through University of California Education Abroad Program [UCEAP], and Summer Session courses taken at UCSD)
- Completed ALL lower-division requirements including POLI 30(D) - Political Inquiry
- Completed at least five upper-division Political Science courses
- A faculty advisor from the list of Core Faculty in the Department.
- Completed and submitted the Senior Honors Seminar Recommendation Form
- Students may submit the form electronically via email to the Undergraduate Advisor, Natalie Ikker (nbikker@ucsd.edu) and must CC their Faculty Advisor in the email as well.
Final eligibility is evaluated after Summer Session 2 grades have been submitted; this means that students may take courses to complete the criteria above during the summer session(s) prior to the Fall quarter in which the Senior Honors Program begins.
For the 2020 - 2021 Senior Honors Program, the recommendation/advisor form must be submitted to the undergraduate advisor by September 14, 2020.
Benefits of Participation
Students have much to gain from the experience of writing a thesis, beyond the possibility of graduating with departmental honors.
- First, the courses tied to the Senior Honors Seminar – POLI 191A (Fall) and POLI 191B (Winter) – can be used to count for the Political Science major requirements in the Elective category as long as students earn a C- or better.
- Second, the seminar provides a rare opportunity for students to define and develop an independent research project. Students begin in the fall with a research question or thesis which they refine in collaboration with a faculty advisor. The seminar coordinators and other members of the faculty are available to help students with suggestions on bibliography and case selection or data banks.
- Third, the seminar allows students to work closely with a faculty member. Students meet regularly with the thesis advisor in mini-tutorial sessions. These meetings encourage students to pursue theoretical and empirical questions further than is possible in lecture courses.
- Finally, students who hope to go on to graduate school often acquire essential research and writing skills and self-disciplined work habits which are an enormous advantage in graduate school. Many past participants in the seminar have found that writing a thesis was very useful in helping them to evaluate graduate school options.
If you will qualify to enroll in the seminar in the Fall, we encourage you to consider this opportunity carefully. The program is a demanding challenge, but worth the effort it requires from students. Think about a thesis topic and a possible advisor. Try to define a topic that builds on your interests, strengths, and course background. Discuss your topic with several faculty people from whom you have taken courses to assess the feasibility of the topic, the availability of sources, and the interest of faculty in advising such a thesis.
Finding a Faculty Advisor
To be considered for the honors seminar, students must submit a substantial piece of writing to a member of the faculty. The department defines "substantial" as a paper in which the student has carefully developed an argument and systematically mustered evidence in support of it. This written work is intended to give students practice so that the 40-100-page thesis does not loom as an intimidating prospect. These papers may develop out of any of our upper-division courses that require papers, any departmental seminar, or in conjunction with coursework completed on EAP or OAP.
If the faculty member feels that the student is adequately prepared for the seminar, they will sign the Senior Honors Seminar Recommendation Form stating they are willing to advise the student during the course of the seminar. When submitting the recommendation form and piece of writing to the faculty member, students must provide a copy of their academic history from TritonLink. For ease of reading, select the "sort by subject" link when printing the academic history to print in subject order rather than quarter by quarter.
How the Thesis Grade is Determined
Each thesis will be read by two members of the department faculty; both of whom will assign the thesis a point score. The standard of evaluation will be that normally used by each faculty member to grade seminar papers of graduating seniors. Grades, point scores, and their honors equivalent are as follows:
Letter Grade |
Point Score |
Honors |
A |
4.0 3.9 3.8 3.7 |
Highest Honors Highest Honors High Honors High Honors |
A- |
3.6 3.5 |
Honors Honors |
A-/B+ |
3.4 3.3 |
No Honors No Honors |
B | 3.0 | No Honors |
B- | 2.7 | No Honors |
C+ | 2.3 | No Honors |
C | 2.0 | No Honors |
If the point scores assigned by two readers differ by more than two tenths of a point (e.g., 3.5 versus 3.8), the thesis will be read by a third reader. Beginning 2013/14, in the honors calculation involving a third reader, the median score will be used.
To graduate with honors in political science, a student must have received an average point score of 3.5 or higher on the honors thesis and maintained a GPA of 3.5 or above in the major through the end of the second quarter of the honors seminar.
How Honors is Awarded
The award of honors level (Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors) is by vote of the political science faculty. The award of honors will be based on the average of (1) the student's departmental grade point average at the end of the second quarter of the honors seminar (50%), and (2) the point score assigned the honors thesis by the readers (50%) .
Timeline for the Senior Honors Seminar Program & Course Enrollment
Pre-Senior Year:
Meet with the Department's Undergraduate Advisor to determine if the Senior Honors Seminar Program is a good fit for you academically:
- Verify eligibility requirements
- Review application materials needed for program eligibility
- Review your POLI GPA
- Review remaining courses needed for your Political Science Major
Academic Year Before Desired Participation:
Fall Quarter through Summer Session II: Students continue to take courses needed to be eligible for the Senior Honors Seminar Program. The Political Science GPA is determined AFTER Summer Session II grades have been posted.
Winter Quarter through end of Spring Quarter: Students planning to apply for the program should be seeking out and confirming their Faculty Advisor. The Faculty Advisor MUST be a current Core Faculty member in the Department of Political Science.
Spring Quarter through Summer Session II: Students can begin to submit all required application materials to the Department's Undergraduate Advisor.
Monday prior to Week 0 of Fall Quarter: Deadline for the submission of all application materials.
Week prior to Week 0 of Fall Quarter: Application materials and student eligibility are reviewed; students accepted to the Senior Honors Seminar Program are notified via email and VAC, and they are preauthorized to enroll in POLI 191A for Fall Quarter.
Fall Quarter
Week 0 - Friday of Week 2: Student accepted to the Senior Honors Seminar Program enroll in POLI 191A before the add deadline.
Finals Week: Faculty Advisors are contacted by the Department's Undergraduate Advisor regarding student's grades in POLI 191A.
Post-Finals Week: Department's Undergraduate Advisor preauthorizes eligible students to enroll in POLI 191B for Winter Quarter.
Winter Quarter
Week 0 - Friday of Week 2: Student eligible to continue with the Senior Honors Seminar Program enroll in POLI 191B before the add deadline.
Finals Week: Faculty Advisors are contacted by the Department's Undergraduate Advisor regarding student's grades in POLI 191B.
Post-Finals Week/Spring Break: Students begin to submit their completed thesis online and three (3) bound, hard copies of their completed thesis to the Department's Undergraduate Advisor.
Spring Quarter
Monday of Week 1 by 2:00pm: Deadline for students to submit their completed thesis online and three (3) bound, hard copies of their completed thesis to the Department's Undergraduate Advisor.
Early April - Early May: Department of Political Science Faculty read and evaluate theses. Decisions are made regarding level of honors for each student.
Mid-May: Results of honors are sent to students via email. Those who have earned a level of honors are invited to attend the Senior Honors Reception in mid-June.
Departmental Awards
Sanford Lakoff Award
Political Science offers undergraduate majors the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. Each spring quarter, the department faculty votes for the senior honors candidate who has submitted the best thesis. The award is called The Sanford Lakoff Award for the Most Outstanding Senior Thesis. This award is named for Sanford Lakoff, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, and the founder of our department.
Congratulations to our 2019-2020 Sanford Lakoff Award recipient:
- Thomas Brailey (BS Political Science/Data Analytics, Highest Honors, Spring 2020)
Past recipients include:
- Lindsay Van-Horn (BA Political Science/Political Theory, Highest Honors, Spring 2019)
- Pravin Wilkins (BA Political Science/Comparative Politics, Highest Honors, Spring 2018)
- Eaton Liu (BA Political Science/International Relations, Spring 2017)
- Alison Bildsoe (BA Political Science/Comparative Politics, Highest Honors, Spring 2016)
- Austin Peters (BA Political Science/American Politics, Highest Honors, Spring 2015)
- Brandon Amash (BA Political Science, Highest Honors, Spring 2014)
- Arik Burakovsky (BA Political Science/International Relations, Highest Honors, Spring 2013)
- Charles De La Cruz (BA Political Science/Political Theory, Highest Honors, Spring 2012)
- Donna M. Farag (BA Political Science/International Relations, Highest Honors, Spring 2011)
- Jonathan A. Chu (BA Political Science, Highest Honors, Spring 2010)
- Kelly Zhang (BA Political Science/International Relations, Highest Honors, Spring 2009)
- Melissa Lee (BA Political Science/International Relations, Highest Honors, Spring 2008)
- Kaveh Sanandaji (BA Political Science/International Relations, Highest Honors, Summer 2007)
Departmental Honors
Senior Honors Seminar and Senior Thesis
To receive departmental honors, students are required to complete Political Science 191A-B Senior Honors Seminar: Frontiers in Political Science. Through the two-quarter seminar, students will complete a senior thesis. Please note that POLI 191A is offered only in fall quarter and POLI 191B is offered only in winter quarter and these courses must be taken in consecutive quarters.
Admission: Send an inquiry to the Virtual Advising Center
To be admitted to the seminar, a student must have senior standing in the first quarter of the seminar, have a minimum GPA of 3.6 in political science (this includes lower division, courses taken through Education Abroad Program, and Summer Session), have completed all lower-division requirements including POLI 30 (Political Inquiry) and five upper-division courses. Also, students must have an advisor prior to being allowed to enroll.
Award of Honors
The award of honors is by vote of the political science faculty. The award of honors will be based on the average of (1) the student's departmental grade point average at the end of the second quarter of the honors seminar (50%), and (2) the point score assigned the honors thesis by the readers (50%).
DeWitt Higgs Award
In addition to Honors, students may receive an award called the DeWitt Higgs Award for the Most Outstanding Honors Thesis in Law and Public Policy. This award is named for DeWitt "Dutch" Higgs, a prominent San Diego attorney who served as a member of the UC Board of Regents for 16 years. He was chair from 1968 to 1970 and vice chair from 1970-71, at a time when students were protesting at the various UC campuses over America's involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Former UC President Charles Hitch said that Higgs was the very "glue" which held the university together during that difficult time.
Congratulations to our 2019-2020 DeWitt Higgs Award receipient:
- Charlotte Zell (BA Political Science, High Honors, Spring 2020)
Past recipients include:
- Shafeen Pittal (BA Political Science/Public Law, Spring 2019)
- Trent Ollerenshaw (BA, Political Science/American Politics, High Honors, Spring 2018)
- Nicole Paige (BA Political Science/International Relations, High Honors, Spring 2017)
- Anissa Badea (BA Political Science, High Honors, Spring 2016)
- Samuel O'Brien (BA Political Science, High Honors, Spring 2015)
- Rachel Isaacson (Political Science, High Honors, Spring 2014)
- Brian Daigle (BA Political Science, Highest Honors, Winter 2013)
- Haley Devaney (BA Political Science/American Politics, High Honors, Spring 2013)
- Lucia Goin (BA Political Science, High Honors, Spring 2012)
- Vijaya S. Surampudi (BA Political Science/International Relations, High Honors, Spring 2011)
- Claire E. Halbrook (BA Political Science/International Relations, Highest Honors, Spring 2010)
- Nicholas Hromalik (BA Political Science/American Politics, High Honors, Spring 2009); read his thesis in published format - Congratulations, Nicholas!
- Devin Incerti (BA Political Science/International Relations, Highest Honors, Spring 2009)
- Colin McCubbins (BA Political Science, Highest Honors, Winter 2009)
- Mark Elliott (BA Political Science/Public Law, Highest Honors, Spring 2007)
Students may read theses that have earned honors since 2012 here:
Theses from 2020
Renewable Energy Adoption Among OECD Countries: The Role of Public Campaign Finance
The Role of Country of Origin on Immigrant Voting Behavior
Living in Limbo: How legal representation affects asylum adjudication for those under the Migrant Protection Protocols.
Provisions of Power-Sharing: Assessing the Impacts of Segmental Autonomy
Accounting for the Different Levels of Success Between the EZLN and the EPR
Permanent Alliance: A Case Study on the Impact of US-Israeli Relations on US-Iranian Relations
Theses from 2019
A Woman's Place Is In the House And In The Senate
“Communities of Interest": An Analysis of Redistricting Litigation from 2010-2018
Indigenous Peoples of Brazil: Guardians of the Amazon Rainforest
Working hard or hardly working?: An Analysis of Primary Elections and Legislative Effectiveness
Saving a Country without a State: Foreign Intervention and State Capacity in 21st Century Somalia
“When Two Authorities Are Up”: The Mixed Constitution in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus
Women of Now: Evaluating the Role of Autonomy and Empowerment in Women’s Rising Outmigration
Territorial Control & Homicide Rates Rio de Janeiro, 2006-2016
The Most Invisible of the Invisibles: Skin Color and Arab American Political Ideology
The Merida Initiative: A Case Study in International Drug and Security Policy Negotiation
Electoral Candidates’ Position-Taking on Nuclear Energy in Post-Fukushima Japan
Theses from 2018
The Effects of US Participation on the Success of International Environmental Agreements
When the Rivers Wept: Government Persecution of Iraq’s Minorities
Independence Referendums: An Analysis of Central Government Decision-Making
Social Identity and Perceptions of Terrorism in the United States
Theses from 2017
The Effects of Citizens United v FEC on State Legislative Outcomes
Environmental Policy in Scandinavia: An Analysis of Norway's Rising CO2 Emissions
Hate Crime Does Not Predict Trump Support, but Non-Reporting of Hate Crime Does
Theses from 2016
undergrad/departmental-honors-and-pi-sigma-alpha/honors-thesis-hate-crime-does-not-predict-trump-support.pdfAccountability and Independence
Being Israeli: The IDF as a Mechanism for the Assimilation of Ethiopian Immigrants
Theses from 2015
Disease Outbreak as a Determinant of International Trade
The Effects of Democratic Presidential and Parliamentary Systems on Hostage-Taking Terrorism
An Examination of the Effect of Permanent Absentee Voting on Voter Mobilization and Retention
The Political Economy of Keynesian Demand Management
A Puzzling Picture: The Tea Party, Minority Voting, and the 2010 Midterm Elections
Profits Before People: The Effect of Prison Privatization on U.S. Incarceration Rates and Recidivism
Theses from 2014
Competition and Legislative Effectiveness of State Senators
Coups, Democracy, and Foreign Aid
Determinants of State Policy on Childhood Obesity
The Effect of Electoral Uncertainty on Business Savings and Investment Choices
The Formation of National Party Systems
An International Study of the Gender Wage Gap and Political Institutions
More of the Same: The High-Cost Impotence of Citizens United
Theses from 2013
Accomodating Nations in Europe: Does Devolving Power Reduce Conflict?
Energy Policy and the Balance between Public and Private Sectors in China and France, 1973-2011
Greece and the Case of the 2012 Open and Closed List Elections
The Impact of Drug Policy Shift on Homicide: A Transnational Study
Institutionally Integrated Voter Access and the Youth Electorate
Perceptions of Media Bias: Viewing the News Through Ideological Clues
Poliltical Attitudes toward the Environment: The Politics of Residential Solar Panel Installations in California
Understanding the Determinants of Terrorist Attack Publicity