Honors

In addition to fulfilling the prerequisites, PPE core, and distribution requirements, Honors students will take two courses in their theme and dedicate their thesis to a research project in that theme. Honors students take PPE 401-402 as their capstone course.

To be admitted to the Honors PPE program, students must have at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA and a 3.5 in courses used to satisfy PPE requirements, or permission of the director of PPE. Prospective PPE Honors students should begin planning their Honors program with their advisor as soon as possible.

Honors students will submit a thesis proposal for approval by the director of PPE. They will write a thesis in their theme under one of the following options:

  • PPE 401 (thesis preparation seminar) and PPE 402 (an independent study thesis-writing course under the principal supervision of a faculty member in one of the three departments).
    Honors in PPE (PPE 401-402) will initially be run as meet-togethers with the respective Honors offerings of the three departments, and Honors PPE students will sort themselves into the different Honors thesis courses according to their primary disciplinary orientation. Thus, Honors PPE students may take PPE 401 as a meet-together with PHIL 401, POLSCI 493, or ECON 495 (the respective thesis-prep courses for each department). In the second term of their Honors sequence, PPE students will continue with PHIL 499 or POLSCI 494, if their theses are oriented to philosophy or political science, and may continue with ECON 495/498, if their economics-oriented thesis calls for a second academic term of work.
  • ECON 495: Seminar in Economics or ECON 498: Honors Independent Research for students intending to write an economics-oriented Honors thesis for PPE. Most economics-oriented PPE theses would be expected to enroll in ECON 495, which is the primary Honors thesis vehicle for economics concentrators.

Honors will be awarded by a two-person committee consisting of the student’s advisor plus a second reader in one of the other units, on the basis of the written thesis and an oral defense.