International Relations Honors Seminar
Any student who attains the cumulative grade point average required for honors in the College of Letters and Science will receive Honors at graduation. However, to be eligible for High Honors and Highest Honors in International Relations, senior IR majors must also complete the two-quarter Honors Seminar (IRE 194HA and 194HB) and produce an honors thesis. All senior IR majors with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in courses counted toward the major are eligible to enroll in the Honors Seminar.
IRE 194 teaches students how to conceptualize, conduct, critique and present original international relations research for the production of an honors thesis. Fall quarter focuses on the development of a research design, which students execute during Winter quarter. The goal is to produce a thesis that is of publishable quality through a process that gives students a real research, graduate school–like experience.
Recommended courses for participation in the Honors Seminar*:
POL 51 Scientific Study of Politics**
POL 121 The Scientific Study of War
POL 114 Quantitative Analysis of Political Data
ECN 102 Analysis of Economic Data
*These courses are recommended for students interested in participating in the IR Honors Seminar.
**POL 51 is required for the IR major as of Fall 2009. For students who started the major prior to Fall 2009 and are not required to complete POL 51 it is recommended for participation in the Honors Seminar.