International Affairs Guidelines

You are reading this because you are considering writing an honors thesis. If you choose to do so, it will provide some of the most satisfying aspects of your academic experience at JMU. It will also provide some of your most frustrating academic moments. To maximize your benefits and minimize the low points, the POSC department has created guidelines for this three-semester process. It is a long road, but it can be well worth traveling if you can resolve two of the most persistent challenges facing thesis writers. 

First, thesis students are tempted in various ways to tackle too much. Focusing your thesis is not a path to triviality. Instead, it is the most feasible path to an in-depth analysis of important elements of the issues that drove you to choose a thesis topic.

Second, for most thesis writers, this is their first long, multi-chapter project. This can be intimidating and the "blank page syndrome" is a tough hole to confront. The only way out of that problem is to write. Even if the rough drafts of chapters seem flawed to you, they are the best route to a satisfying thesis. If you leave it all to a "big push," your final product will suffer. In addition, the (unwritten) thesis will nag at you on and off. Avoid spoiling the last semester of your JMU career by following the guidelines below.

POSC 499A

  • Participate fully in the thesis colloquium for POSC 499A organized by the POSC department.
  • Meet with each of the members of your committee - beginning with your thesis adviser - at least once during the first three weeks of the semester.
  • Submit your draft proposal to your entire committee no later than Tuesday of the sixth week of the semester (and submit your final proposal for signatures in advance of the Honors College deadline).
  • Submit a detailed outline of the projected structure & content of your thesis by Friday of the eighth week of the semester to all three committee members. Attach an expanded bibliography of at least 30 sources; at least 15 of those entries must be academic journal articles.
  • Submit a full draft of your literature review to your committee by Friday of the twelfth week of the semester. Attach a revised outline of the entire thesis.
  • When you meet with your thesis adviser late in the semester to discuss this draft and your progress, you and/or your adviser may choose to establish a drafting schedule for POSC 499B appropriate to the structure and nature of your project.
  • Late submission of required work for the colloquium or for the thesis committee will result in a late penalty to be determined by your thesis adviser. The maximum late penalty is a half-letter grade deduction in the grade for POSC 499A for each day work due is late. Unsatisfactory work in POSC 499A would suggest that you should not continue your thesis project.

POSC 499B

  • Participate fully in the thesis colloquium for POSC 499B organized by the POSC department.
  • By Friday of the first week of the semester, submit a revised outline of the entire thesis to your committee.
  • By Tuesday of the sixth week of the semester, submit a full draft of the first substantive chapter of your thesis.
  • During the next two weeks, discuss your thesis with each of the members of your committee - beginning with your thesis adviser. Your entire committee may prefer to meet with you jointly. Alternatively, one or both readers may prefer to discuss the outline and bibliography over the phone or in written form.
  • Submit a full draft of your second substantive chapter to your committee by Friday of the twelfth week of the semester.
  • When you meet with your thesis adviser late in the semester to discuss this draft and your progress, you and/or your adviser may choose to establish a drafting schedule for POSC 499C appropriate to the structure and nature of your project.
  • Late submission of required work for the colloquium or for the thesis committee will result in a late penalty to be determined by your thesis adviser. The maximum late penalty is a half-letter grade deduction in the grade for POSC 499B for each day work due is late.

POSC 499C

  • Draft and revise portions of your thesis every week during the first two months of this semester. As noted above, you may or may not be held to a specific timetable during this time period. Regardless, you need to keep writing on a regular basis!
  • A full draft of your entire thesis is due to your committee no later than Tuesday of the sixth week of the semester. Your adviser may choose to set an earlier deadline.
  • During weeks 7 and 8, discuss final revision plans for the thesis with each of the members of your committee - beginning with your thesis adviser. Your entire committee may prefer to meet with you jointly. Alternatively, one or both readers may prefer to discuss the draft over the phone or in written form.
  • The final version of your thesis must be submitted to your committee 7 days prior to the deadline for submission to the Honors College.
  • Late submission of required work for the thesis committee will result in a late penalty to be determined by your thesis adviser. The maximum late penalty is a half-letter grade deduction in the grade for POSC 499C for each day work due is late.