Senior Year Experience (SYE) /Senior Honor Thesis

The SYE is the highest level of scholarship to which a major in the Government Department can aspire, and we strongly encourage those who qualify to consider undertaking one. SYE requires juniors to have a GPA of at least 3.2 in the Government major and at least 3.0 in the GOVT 290 course.

In the semester before you want to do your SYE:

Talk to faculty members in the Department about possible project/thesis ideas and topics. Many of our students use their study abroad experience as a launching pad for their research topic, and also conduct research while they are abroad for a semester. Students may choose to expand on research they initiated for the GOVT 290 research seminar.
Do some preliminary investigations of areas of interest.
Pick a thesis advisor (one of the department faculty) and topic.
Notify the Chair of the Department of your intention to conduct an SYE.
When registering for courses, register for GOVT 489A. You will need to ask your thesis advisor to add your name to his/her "permissions" list in the APR system.

In the fall semester of your senior year:

Chose a committee of three professors (including your thesis advisor).
Turn in an SYE Proposal to the department chair, approved by the thesis committee, no later than the date mid-semester grades are due.
SYE thesis committee should consist of your sponsoring thesis advisor and two additional committee members (at least one of whom is from the government department).

The Proposal should include:

A clearly focused research question
A proposed thesis statement
A bibliography and/or literature review
A suggested research methodology

Approval of the formal Proposal:

The Approval of the formal proposal is not automatic, and without it the students may no advance to the senior thesis status.
If the student has not prepared a satisfactory proposal by the mid-term deadline date, or decides, for whatever reason, not to pursue the senior thesis, the paper retains its status as an Independent Project. Its completion is expected by the start of the Spring semester.
Once the student's formal proposal has been approved by the committee, the Department will change the course registration to Senior Year Thesis status (GOVT 497A - SYE: Senior Thesis).
The students will receive an X grade for the fall semester. The final grade for the SYE will be determined at the end of the spring semester, and the X grade from the fall will be adjusted accordingly.

Final Thesis:

The draft of the thesis should be submitted to the committee no later than final week of classes in the spring semester.
The committee will meet with the student during exam week for an oral defense of the thesis. After this presentation, the committee deliberates and makes the decision regarding to final grade, and whether to award the completed thesis Honors.
If it is decided to award the paper Honors, the thesis formally receives that designation only upon actual completion of the project. Actual completion includes any and all revisions students are asked to make at their end of year meeting with the thesis committee, and those edits must be submitted to the committee for approval.
Formal University Honors can only be awarded to students who have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in all courses in the major.

Senior Year Forum:

Every Year the Government Department sponsors a Senior Year Forum at which all students who have written a thesis present their research and findings to all the government majors, and to the Government Department faculty.
All students registered for GOV 290 courses in the spring semester are required to attend the Senior Thesis Forum.