Honors Program Curriculum

Honors Seminars

Students begin the program in the Fall semester of their third year. Each semester they participate in an intensive honors seminar in one of four subfields: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory. This seminar is taught exclusively for the five to seven students admitted into the honors program each year.

The challenging readings, regular written assignments, intensive interaction with the faculty tutor and focused discussion among faculty and students is designed to develop students’ capacity for verbal and written critical analysis. Instead of giving grades, faculty tutors provide students with regular constructive evaluations of their work. They submit a detailed written evaluation of each student’s performance at the end of the seminar. Each seminar counts for fifteen credit hours. Students take the seminar on a pass/fail basis.

The sequence of the subfield seminars is usually:

3rd Year, Fall Term: Political Theory -- PT Syllabus

4th Year, Fall Term: Comparative Politics -- CP Syllabus

Honors Thesis

Honors students have the opportunity to research and write an original thesis on the topic of their choice. Students have selected a wide range of research topics over the years. Recent titles include:

• “Resolving the Kings Dilemma An Investigation of Regime Stability in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”
  — Scott Anderson
• “Dirty Hands in the War on Terror”
  — Brian Bolin
• “A Corporate Makeover: UNESCO, American Withdrawal and Western Media Conglomerates”
  —Michael Behr
• “Avoiding Preventive War: A Theory of Peaceful Power Transitions Among Democratic States”
  — Matt Nicholson
• “Water for the People: A critical Assessment of Solutions tothe Water Crisis”
  — Khalial Withen
• “The Flattery Machine: On the Origins and Consequences of Globalization”
  — Jordan Berman
• “Losing the Illusion Norway's Struggle with the 'Immigrant' Question"
  — Lara Eilhart
• “ Justice with Ashes or Justice At All? Evaluating Post-Genocide Justice in Rwanda”
• “ Diversity at Virginia - A Student Narrative”
  — Alberto Gullaba Jr.
• “Education Expert Opinion, Drug Use Statistics,a nd Public Opinion: External Influences on the Supreme Court Rulings in Vernonia and Earls”
  — Shannen Naegel
• “The Rehnquist Court and Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment: Judicial Policing of Congress from Boerne to Hibbs”
  — Khang V. Tran
• “Violence and Victims: Understanding International Terrorism in the Modern Age,”
• “Environmental Racism in Post-Industrial America”
• “Quality, Equity, and Liberty: Competing Values in Education Policy”
• “International AIDS Prevention and Treatment: A New Paradigm”
• “The Power to Change: How Transnational Networks Can Shape the International Arena”
• “Good Wife, Wise Mother: Redefinition and Resistance of Japanese Women”
• “The Souls of States and the Stones of Power: Political Philosophy and Memorial Architecture in Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and New Deal America”

Students select a faculty advisor which advises them on ways to best achieve their research goals. Advisors need not be faculty tutors in the program. They are usually members of the Department of Politics. In special cases, students can work with professors outside the department with the approval of the Director. In such cases, students are encouraged to find a “second reader” within the department.

Students complete a thesis prospectus by the spring of their third year. They will be encouraged to make steady progress during fourth year. Honors theses must be completed NO LATER THAN APRIL 1 of the fourth year.

Honors Pro seminar in “Thesis Writing and Research Design”

The Honors program offers a pro seminar in “Thesis Writing and Research Design” to provide students with the opportunity to develop research and analytic skills helpful in completing their thesis in as expeditious and effective a manner possible. Topics covered by the pro seminar include: techniques for framing research questions, the strengths and weaknesses of case studies in supporting theses, assessments of the relative strengths of different approaches to political analysis. The thesis seminar also provides opportunities for students to present their work in midstream at opportune times for constructive feedback to assist them in developing and refining their theses. As an ungraded course, the pro seminar encourages students in the honors program to share their thesis writing ideas and experiences with one another. It meets on alternative weeks, usually at the directors home.

Honors Thesis Colloquium

Upon completing their thesis, honors students will have the opportunity to present their work in the Honors Thesis Colloquium. The colloquium is designed to be the capstone of the thesis writing experience. Students will briefly present their thesis. Other students and faculty will then discuss the contributions of the thesis. The colloquium will discuss the work of all students in an honors class. As such it will afford the opportunity for students to share their insights with one another in the spirit of intellectual community that the Honors Program is designed to promote.

Stevenson Award

Each year the Stevenson Award is given to the best honors thesis. Thesis supervisors nominate qualified theses to a faculty awards committee that selects the best thesis. The prestigious Stevenson Award includes a cash prize of $500.00

Outside Courses

Students broaden their backgrounds and consider diverse analytical approaches and issues by taking a minimum of six courses outside of the program on a pass/fail basis. Students select their courses to aid hem in their honors theses. Others use these courses to take courses in areas that add intellectual breadth to their course work. Still other students have designed a curriculum that enables them to complete a second major or minor in another discipline. The program works closely with students to enable them to use these courses to serve their intellectual needs.

Honors Exams

Students have the opportunity to reflect upon the issues and approaches that they encountered over the year by taking honors exams given at the end of the spring semester each year. These exams are composed and read by professors outside of the Program and in some cases outside the University itself. This is done to insure fairness and to make certain that the students have attained a broad understanding in the field of political science.

Exams usually consist of several essay questions that raise key issues in a particular subfield covered by an honors seminar. They are composed by examiners on the basis of a seminar’s syllabus. The examiner is also free to pose questions about broader issues in the subfield.

Students have four hours to complete their written exams. Consultation with notes, books, or other materials is not permitted during the exam period. The University Honor Code applies to these exams as it does to all University programs.

Third Year Exams

During May of the third year, students take exams that are considered as “practice essays.” The third year exams are intended to prepare students for their fourth year exams. These exercises cover the subfields taught in the third year Honors seminars, usually Political Theory and International Relations. The exams will be returned to students with written comments and an approximate grade. The grade does not count towards the student’s final level of Honors but rather is intended as a guide to future work.

Third year students will take practice examines in the two subfields for which they have taken core seminars during their first year in the program. The exams will be returned to them with written comments offering constructive criticism.

Fourth Year Exams

At the end of spring semester, the fourth year students take written exams in each of the four subfields -- political theory, international relations, comparative politics, and American politics. Topics covered on these exams will be based on the core seminar syllabi. They may also include issues that the examiners deem important for politics honors students to know. The examiners may ask questions based on the students' answers during the subsequent oral interviews.

All fourth year exams will be based on the current syllabi for the honors seminars. In cases where the syllabus has been greatly altered from the previous year, examiners will compose questions that combine materials from the past two years.

Third year students will take practice examines in the two subfields for which they have taken core seminars during their first year in the program. The exams will be returned to them with written comments offering constructive criticism.

Fourth Year Oral Exams

At the end of the year, fourth year students take oral exams following their written exams. Each student meets individually with the panel of examiners in all four subfields. Students are asked questions in reference to their written answers, their thesis project, or other areas of the study of politics deemed relevant and important by the examining committee members. These interviews are usually one-half hour long.

Levels of Honors:

After reviewing their complete records the panel of examiners determines the level of honors that students will receive on their transcript and diploma. Students can graduate with Highest Honors, High Honors, Honors, and No Honors. The latter is the equivalent of graduating as a regular major.