The Honors Program offers the Political Science Department’s most accomplished seniors an opportunity to conduct original research on a topic of specific interest to them. Honors students work individually with a faculty mentor to complete a substantial work of original research (usually no shorter than 50 pages in length).
Honors students have the opportunity to share their research in a variety of ways, including with the campus community at the department’s annual Honors Thesis Celebration, as well as nationally at the annual conference of the Midwest Political Science Association (the country’s second largest professional meeting in political science). Furthermore, all honors theses are eligible for inclusion in Penn’s College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal.
Students who complete their thesis with a grade of at least A- are awarded Distinction in Political Science upon graduation.
Admission to the honors program is by application only; applications are available to students in the spring of their junior year.
Interested students are encouraged to reach out to past thesis writers. For more information, please visit the Past Undergraduate Thesis Writers page.
Juniors who are interested in writing an honors thesis can look here for information about the application process. Applications to write a thesis in 2024-2025 are due on May, 1 2024. If you have questions about the application process, contact bdavis3@sas.upenn.edu.