Undergraduate thesis option
Undergraduate students in the Department of Political Science have the opportunity in their fourth year to complete a thesis based on independent, original research. Completing the thesis allows students to explore a topic of interest with the help of a faculty supervisor, strengthens preparation for graduate applications and funding, and provides a capstone research experience for the undergraduate program.
If you are interested in the thesis option, you will need to do the following:
- You must complete the courses POLS-4970 Political Science Thesis 1: Research Design, and POLS-4980 Political Science Thesis 2: Writing and Presentation in your fourth year of study.
- To be signed in to the POLS-4970 course in the fall of your fourth year, you must have a major GPA of at least 80.0. If you are pursuing a combined major, your average in your POLS courses must be at least 80.0.
- You should take the required course POLS-2750 Introduction to Research Methods before entering fourth year.
- Consult with the department’s academic advisor and the course instructor for POLS-4970. You can only get into this course by being signed in by the course instructor. The prerequisite for POLS-4980 in the winter semester is the POLS-4970 course, and you must also be signed into this course by the course instructor. Generally speaking, if you did not earn a grade of at least 70 in POLS-4970, you will not be signed into POLS-4980.
- Look into Political Science faculty research interests and begin thinking about who might be a good supervisor for your thesis project. A faculty supervisor is required to help with guidance on reading, research design, and writing, but nothing needs to be finalized before the POLS-4970 course begins.
In addition to capping their undergraduate program with an independent research project, students who successfully complete POLS-4970 and POLS-4980 will be able to graduate with the distinction of “with Thesis” on their honours BA degree. For more information, please contact the department’s undergraduate program chair and academic advisor.