Conditions for the Sciences Po–Barnard exchange program for majors in Political Science

(as of September 2009)

1) Barnard Political Science majors should complete all their major requirements (including the two colloquia) at Barnard.

2) Barnard Political Science majors should fulfill their senior thesis requirement by choosing one of the following two options:

Option 1 (which the department encourages): When at Sciences Po, the student should take a personal tutorial for two semesters with a Sciences Po professor who will be assigned based on the students’ academic area of interest. The tutorial should focus on advice on bibliographical search, research strategy, methodological issues, and writing on a given topic, in order to help the student write a research paper equivalent to a Barnard senior thesis in political science. The research paper should meet the following criteria:

• The research paper should be minimum 50 pages, double-spaced.
• The research paper should be a coherent piece of analytical writing.
• The research paper should embody the answer to some question about the operation of certain aspects of political or governmental institutions or processes, broadly conceived.
• The research paper should be based on original research conducted by the student.
• The research paper should be theoretically informed. It should be a social science paper, and not a policy one.
• The students should use primary and secondary sources

Option 2: The student should enroll in a senior thesis seminar in the Political Science department during her junior year at Barnard. (Students considering this option should consider taking the two colloquia during their sophomore year).