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Thesis Writing
During their senior year, GVPT Honors students complete an undergraduate thesis on a topic of their choosing under the guidance of a faculty member. The process begins in the spring of the students' junior year, when they attend a thesis workshop and submit a one-page thesis proposal. Students are then matched with a faculty mentor and begin researching background information for their thesis. Students receive academic credit for researching and writing their theses; they register for their advisor's section of GVPT 396 in the fall and GVPT 397 in the spring. The process culminates in the spring of the students' senior year, when they defend their thesis before a panel of selected faculty members, who award the thesis candidates Honors, High Honors, or No Honors on their thesis. Successful theses from past years have covered diverse topics such as bioterrorism and national security, affirmative action and minority healthcare, and transportation policy in Washington DC.
Getting Started
The prospect of writing a 100-page thesis may seem daunting at first; however, there are several resources to keep your thesis writing as painless — and as productive — as possible.
Thesis Writing Workshop:
Each spring, Professor Lee, the GVPT Honors Program Director, holds a thesis writing workshop for all GVPT Honors juniors interested in writing a thesis. The workshop includes information about what constitutes a successful thesis, how to manage your time while writing the thesis, and how to propose a thesis topic.
The Library:
Government & Politics, Public Affairs, and Law Librarian Gerri Foudy has created a great informational resource specifically for GVPT thesis students. The site includes research/journal databases, current events databases, and government document databases as well as citation information.
Thesis Timeline
Part of writing a successful thesis is knowing how to manage your time. You will have approximately a year to complete your thesis, and with careful planning, this should provide you with plenty of time to research, write, revise, and defend your thesis.
** Any satisfactory thesis requires that you do your research regularly, week by week, starting from the very beginning of the Fall Semester. This means that, in your weekly schedule, you must set aside at least one day per week to carry out research or writing. Go over and decide on such a schedule with your thesis advisor. Without set times for you to work on your thesis, it will not actually get done. Do not rely on school breaks to complete your work.**
Thesis Designations
When you defend your thesis, faculty members will evaluate your work using the following criteria to determine whether your thesis merits High Honors, Honors, or No Honors.
A thesis that merits HONORS:
- Treats the topic in a competent, straightforward way.
- Shows a good grasp of the literature.
- Makes use of existing data sources in a competent fashion or shows a good acquaintance with primary sources.
- Shows a solid comprehension of crucial texts in political theory.
- Sustains a line of argumentation throughout the text.
- Ordinarily spans 75-100 pages.
A thesis that merits HIGH HONORS:
- Shows all of the above qualities of a thesis meriting Honors as well as some measure of originality in research.
Originality is defined as developing new data; treating existing data in an original or particularly compelling way; developing new or particularly compelling theoretical arguments; interpreting a classical text in an original or particularly compelling way; or bringing primary or secondary materials together to sustain a new, comprehensive or compelling interpretation. In general, a thesis meriting High Honors either shows some measure of originality in its argument or empirical base; or is in some other way striking or new. As with a thesis meriting Honors, a High Honors thesis will ordinarily be between 75-100 pages.
A thesis that merits NO HONORS:
- Shows a cursory examination of the topic.
- Makes little use of existing data sources.
- Fails to examine primary sources.
- Shows little comprehension of crucial texts in political theory.
- Lacks adequate organization and/or length (usually 75-100 pages).
Examples of Student Theses
Below you will find several theses that were written and defended by past GVPT Honors students, who earned either Honors or High Honors. They are provided as a resource for students interested in examining the content and organization of a successful thesis.
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