Seniors may choose to write a senior research thesis. After the student has obtained approval from a faculty sponsor to supervise the project, the student will enroll in three-credit thesis colloquium course during the fall semester of their senior year. If at the end of the fall semester adequate progress has been made and the project warrants further work, the student must enroll in a three-credit independent study supervised by the faculty sponsor.
Students who complete a distinguished senior thesis and have a final major GPA (including final semester grades) of 3.7 will be awarded departmental honors. All students may choose to write a thesis, regardless of GPA, provided they have a detailed proposal approved by a faculty member at the beginning of the fall semester of their senior year.
All thesis-related courses apply to the total of 12 political science courses required for graduation in the major.

