• Students apply in UFUNDs in the spring of junior year or 6th semester. Mid-year graduates apply one semester early, in their 5th semester at Brown. (This enables mid-year graduates to fulfill the Fall IAPA 1816A- Spring 1817A sequence and present their research in the Honors Conference in May of their 7th semester.)
• Applications are reviewed by the faculty committee and students are notified of their status by mid-May. Only students with approved thesis applications will be admitted to the senior thesis seminar in the fall.

UFUNDS INSTRUCTIONS

1. Complete all fields in the application
2. Paste or type your prospectus into the field. Note, there is a 1,000-word limit.
3. Your thesis advisor will be prompted to submit confirmation of intent when you select your 'faculty recommender'. Please also type your advisor's name in the field below.
4. Upload your transcript and course list form.
5. Submit your completed application by the due date. Late submissions will not be accepted.

1. Completion of required courses. Have completed by the end of the 6^th semester junior year: 
   • the Gateway course, 
   • the Track Foundational Course*, 
   • the Junior Seminar,
   • the two-course methodology requirement, and
   • at least three track electives. 
     
     *Track Foundational courses are offered only once per academic year. If a student has difficulty completing the course because of scheduling issues, please contact the faculty director to discuss options. 
     
     Students who are conducting research in another language should also, of course, achieve proficiency in that language before starting their research.
     
     We also strongly recommend that students take at least one elective related to their proposed thesis topic before senior year.
      
2. Two-thirds “quality grades” in the concentration. A “quality grade” is defined as a grade of “A” or a grade of “S” accompanied by a designation of “with distinction”.
    
3. A complete application. The UFUNDs application includes: confirmation from the primary thesis advisor (first reader), a tentative thesis title, and a prospectus.

The Prospectus

Your prospectus should be 1000 words or less, organized under the section headers below. Under each header, write 1-2 focused paragraphs that clearly and concisely explain your ideas. The Research Questions and Methods sections are especially important; please take extra space there if needed to show how you will approach your topic and why.

• Topic: Describe the phenomenon to investigate. (It can often be helpful to start out with thinking through events which have happened in the world. In other words: “What happened?”)  
• Significance: Explain why this topic matters. What makes this particular phenomenon important for understanding a broader policy, social, or political issue?  
• The Conversation: Summarize what other scholars or practitioners already know about this topic and identify what remains unclear or missing.
• Research Questions: State the specific question(s) your project will ask to address that gap in our knowledge or understanding.
• Research Methods: Outline how you plan to answer your question(s). What original data or evidence do you plan to collect? What social science research methods will you use to analyze that data? Why do you feel these data and methods are best suited to answer your research questions?
• Feasibility: Tell us about your concrete plans to acquire your data. For example: if you're conducting interviews, how do you plan on finding your participants? If you're examining documents, where are the documents available, and how will you access them? If you're doing a quantitative analysis, do you need to compile your dataset, or does it exist already? What does it look like?
• Preparation: Briefly state any coursework, skills, or experiences that have prepared you particularly well to carry out this research.

Who can be a Thesis Advisor/First Reader? 

Any member of the Watson faculty, associated faculty, or faculty members with a PhD from any of the five core affiliated departments (Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, History, or Economics) who is interested and knowledgeable about your topic and who is in residence at Brown for both semesters of your senior year. You must have acquired a First Reader in order to apply to the Honors Program.

Who can be a Second Reader? 

Any member of Brown's teaching faculty or a PhD student who is interested, knowledgeable, and willing to serve. Second Readers must be acquired no later than mid-September senior year. 

How often should I meet with my First Reader? 

At least once every two weeks, and perhaps once a week, beginning at the start of the fall term. It is imperative that you establish a regular meeting time early in September. It may not always be necessary to meet in person—emails and Zoom are often helpful—but it is always good to have a time set aside when you KNOW you can talk with your First Reader. Use these meetings wisely. Some advisors require students submit something in writing beforehand to guide progress. In any case, be prepared with a prioritized list of questions or points to discuss. 

How often should I meet with my Second Reader? 

Usually, much less often than with your First Reader. The First Reader is your primary advisor; the Second Reader MAY choose to be more involved, or you may invite such involvement, but the Second Reader is generally consulted much less regularly. The Second Reader may have expertise in a particular aspect of the thesis and may be particularly helpful early in the project in guiding you to sources, during your research on a particular chapter, and in the final draft. We recommend meeting with your Second Reader once in the fall, and once again in the spring.

Receiving Honors

Requirements for Honors in IAPA

1. Complete the 2-course required series in senior year, IAPA 1816A in the fall and IAPA 1817A in the spring.
    
2. Submit an honors quality thesis (of 80-120 pages in length) by the deadline, as judged by the student’s thesis committee – the primary thesis advisor and the second reader. Both readers must submit a written evaluation of the thesis. In the event of a lack of consensus, a member of the Faculty Committee will also evaluate the thesis.
    
3. Complete an oral presentation on the thesis at the annual IAPA thesis conference in the spring of senior year.

Does everyone who writes a thesis get Honors? 

While the great majority of submitted theses do receive Honors, not all of them do. A thesis that is not based on original research or is not rigorous according to the standards and conventions of academic thesis writing will not receive honors. While all students who complete a thesis will receive a grade for their work, only theses with a grade of A are considered for an Honors degree. Theses submitted late are ineligible to receive honors. 

The Thesis

How long is an IAPA thesis? 

There is no page requirement. Most IAPA theses, however, are organized around 5 or 6 chapters and have 80 to 120 pages. Students are strongly encouraged to read theses from previous years. Thesis abstracts and presentation slides from recent years are available on the IAPA website and will give students a sense of the broad range of topics, research questions, and approaches.

What if I want to do a thesis in an unorthodox format, such as a documentary or a website, or coauthor a project with a friend?

A thesis is an individual research project that follows a set of conventions that make it a thesis. Therefore, students must follow standard research and formal writing protocols for thesis work. Only thesis work is eligible for Honors in IAPA. Alternative projects may be undertaken as an Independent Study or as one of the one semester capstone projects, but not as a thesis.

Can I use the senior thesis I am writing for my other concentration for IAPA honors?
No. The IAPA Honors Program does not accept a thesis submitted for another concentration. Likewise, an IAPA thesis may not be used as a senior thesis in another department.

Honors concentrators in IAPA can apply for summer thesis funding. Deadline for summer research is May 16th, 2026.

Books and Worksheets

Harvard Thesis Writing Guides (Harvard Writing Project) 

How to Write a BA Thesis (Lipson)

The Art of Writing Proposals (Przeworski)

The Craft of Research (Booth)

Worksheets for Senior Thesis Writers (Reindle, Harvard)

Forms and Handouts

Authorization to Lend and Reproduce

Final Submission Checklist

Signature Page

Statement of Academic Integrity

Summer Checklist

Graduating International and Public Affairs seniors present their senior thesis research findings on pressing global problems. Students are organized into thematic panels, followed by Q&A. Interesting, important, and timely research accomplished by some of our best students!

2026 Watson Honors Conference

2026 Conference and Panel Schedule

2026 Livestream Links:   Day 1  |    Day 2

2025 Watson Honors Conference

2025 Conference and Panel Schedule

2025 Conference Recording (Day 1)

2025 Conference Recording (Day 2)

2024 Watson Honors Conference

2024 Conference and Panel Schedule

2024 Conference Recording (Day 1) 

2024 Conference Recording (Day 2)

2023 Watson Honors Conference

2023 Conference and Panel Schedule

2023 Conference Recording (Day 1)

2023 Conference Recording (Day 2)

Thesis Titles 2021-2026