Department of Politics

A thesis is the result of an independent research project, entailing at least two semesters of reading, research, and writing. A thesis is designed and executed by the student on a topic of her/his choosing under the supervision of a politics department faculty member.

• If you would like to build the most impressive record of achievement in preparation for graduate school in the social sciences or a professional graduate degree program – you should consider writing a thesis. 

• If you have a question that you would really like to investigate independently in the context of original research – you should consider writing a thesis.

• If you want to learn how political scientists and political theorists do their scholarly work – you should consider writing a thesis.

• In addition, the politics department requires that students have at least a 3.5 GPA in politics courses to write a thesis, and each student must have taken a seminar in the politics department prior to the senior year. Each student is responsible for securing a politics faculty member to advise her/his thesis. Selecting and meeting with a thesis advisor should take place by the end of the junior year. 

• "Cyberwar Norms? Lessons Learned from the Nuclear Case" by Tamar Levkovich

• "How States Exist Well: Applying Virtue Ethics to Politics" by Michael K. Perloff

• "Defining Politics, Defining Women: Does Gender Influence How Individuals Classify Activity as Political or Nonpolitical?" by Ilana M. Maier

• "War, Peace, and Power Transition: Managing China's 'Peaceful Rise' by Galen J. Pardee

• "Organizational Behavior and Humanitarian Assistance: International Humanitarian Organizations and the Choice to Intervene Amid Violence" by Benjamin A. Bechtolsheim

• "Staying the Sword: The Influence of Senate Hearings on Executive War Making" by Ruth F. Bloch-Rubin