Senior Essay

For many students, the senior essay is one of the most intellectually rewarding experiences of their undergraduate education. Through close collaboration with a faculty adviser, students explore a political question in depth, develop advanced research and analytical skills, and produce original scholarship on a topic of personal and academic interest.

Writing a senior essay is optional for Political Science majors. However, completion of a senior essay is required for students seeking Distinction in the Major, formerly referred to as Honors (see below).

Students interested in writing a senior essay should carefully review the Department’s Senior Essay Guidelines before applying. The guidelines describe the Department’s expectations for the senior essay and provide detailed information on research, deadlines, formatting requirements, academic integrity, submission procedures, and grading.

Applying to Write a Senior Essay

Students wishing to write a senior essay must submit a PLSC Senior Essay Application and a Senior Essay Prospectus during the spring term of their junior year.

Applications will be considered only from students who have met, or are in the process of completing, the eligibility requirements listed below.

Students wishing to write a senior essay must also be admitted to and enroll in PLSC 4900 The Senior Colloquium. Enrollment is limited to ensure that students receive sustained, individualized feedback on their research and writing.

Admission to PLSC 4900 The Senior Colloquium depends on 1) meeting the eligibility requirements, 2) identifying, before the registration period finalizes, a faculty member willing to advise the student’s senior essay and 3) on the quality of the proposal.

One-term senior essays are also written in PLSC 4900. Only in exceptional circumstances, and with the approval of both the faculty adviser and the Director of Undergraduate Studies, may a one-term senior essay be completed in a seminar.

Students will be notified that they have been admitted to PLSC 4900, The Senior Colloquium, before the end of the registration period. Students are advised to add the course to their official registration worksheet promptly after they are notified of their admission.

Eligibility Requirements

At the time of the application, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.7.

Additionally, they should have completed, or be in the process of completing during the spring term of the junior year, all of the following:

  • Two Introductory Lecture Courses
  • One Core Lecture Course
  • One Seminar
  • Methodology Requirement

Forms

Rev. 06-16-26