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This page is designed to help USC majors in international relations prepare to apply to the School's honors program. Applications are due at the end of March during the junior year. Acceptance requires a GPA in IR of at least 3.5 and overall at least 3.3. The application includes a proposal for original research. Those who are accepted then conduct their proposed research, with faculty guidance, during the summer. They enroll in IR 494 during the senior fall, when they draft, revise and polish their honors theses, which are due in December.
Professor Odell will teach this course in 2010. He recommends that each applicant approach at least one additional SIR professor who specializes in your subject for guidance in focusing on a researchable question, books to read, and possible research operations to conduct. This special faculty adviser will also help grade the thesis. He also recommends asking this professor to enroll you in two units of IR 490, directed research. The goal would be focus on a sufficiently narrow research question that would lead to an interesting project, and complete the proposal before the deadline.
The following documents are offered to help those interested in applying. They include three successful past proposals on diverse subjects, and an article describing several case study methods that some students have chosen to use in the past. These particular methods are not required, though some recognized method for doing research and defending an argument is strongly recommended. Links: Preparing for the honors program Three parts of a senior thesis proposal Odell, J. 2001. "Case Study Methods in International Political Economy." Lipson, Charles. How to Write a Thesis
Last revised 2/23/07 rrivera |
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