Writing a Senior Thesis and Receiving Honors
Students seeking to write a senior thesis in Public Policy should apply in the spring term of their junior year. To be eligible, a student must have completed at least six courses in the concentration on a graded basis by the end of junior year; three of these courses must be PS100, PS 1600 (or equivalent), and PS 1200 (or ED 1160). Students who wish to write qualitative theses are advised to take PS 500 or ED 1100 prior to their senior year in order to help them prepare for their research. Applications are due at the Center by 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, 2008 and may be placed in Professor Clifton’s box. The application may be found online at the Center’s homepage or at the back of this guide.
Concentrators who meet the aforementioned guidelines and have outstanding academic records in public policy course work (generally an intra-concentration GPA of 3.3 or above) will be given serious consideration. Those approved to write a senior thesis enroll in the two-semester Public Policy Colloquium (fall term: PP 1990; spring term: PP 1991) and prepare theses that examine some aspect of public policy, including but not limited to a program evaluation, a feasibility study, or examination of an institution that affects policy. Candidates who write senior theses of distinguished quality are recommended for “Honors,” which is conferred by the department at the time of graduation from Brown.
Following the above application guidelines, mid-year students who intend to fulfill their graduation requirements in December should apply for honors before the pre-registration period in the fall semester (their sixth semester). These students will begin the colloquium (PP 1991) in the spring term (their seventh semester) and finish it (PP 1990) in their last semester at Brown.
Considerations for Those Intending to Write a Senior Thesis AND Study Abroad
Concentrators who intend to study abroad and write a senior thesis must plan carefully and early to ensure that they are able to accomplish each goal. Many Brown students decide to study internationally in their junior year. The department requires that students who intend to write a senior thesis complete the political research methods (PS 1600 or equivalent) and policy analysis (PP 1200 or equivalent) requirements prior to undertaking a thesis. PS1600, which is a requirement for enrolling in PP 1200, is generally a fall course and PP 120 is generally a spring course. As such, concentrators planning to study abroad and write a thesis are strongly encouraged to complete PS 1600 (or equivalent) in their sophomore year and study abroad in the fall semester of their junior year. (Note: PS 100 also is a requirement for PP 1200. Therefore, study abroad students also are expected to complete this requirement prior to going abroad.) If a concentrator intends to write a qualitative thesis, they may enroll in the methods and/or policy analysis class in their senior year. Please note, though, that these students are advised to take PS 500 or ED 1100 prior to their senior year in order to help prepare for the qualitative research they will undertake.
