Honors

Honors in Politics is a three-semester program in which students do sustained independent reading and research under faculty supervision. A detailed description of the program is available in the department office. Each January, the department reviews the academic records of all junior majors and invites some of them to become candidates for Honors. In the second semester of the junior year, such students normally undertake a junior project, which consists of a research paper done in the context of a seminar or other course. (Students who are away from Oberlin during that semester should consult the chair to work out an alternative.) Students who successfully complete junior projects are invited to pursue Senior Honors in one of the four departmental fields. During their senior year, Honors students write a thesis and take oral and written examinations, administered by an outside examiner, in their chosen field. Such students enroll for Honors Research courses (POLT 403, 404) totaling two to five hours each semester. Because the Honors Program builds on intermediate courses, we urge students interested in pursuing Honors to enroll in courses in their expected field of interest as early as possible