Political Science Honors Program
Freshman-Sophomore Honors

The department offers POSC 190ab, Politics and Society, an honors sequence for freshmen and sophomores. POSC 190a is an honors seminar which emphasizes discussion, independent research, and oral and written reports. The second semester, POSC 190b, is a continuation of the first semester with greater emphasis on research. Open only to freshmen and sophomores in the Political Science major. Students are selected after careful screening based on their academic record and a personal interview. Classes are limited to about 10 students.

Junior-Senior Honors

The department also offers an honors program for outstanding undergraduate political science students in the junior and senior years. The two semester program emphasizes a specialized topic (a different area each year) in Political Science. The organization of the course during the first semester follows the seminar model, emphasizing independent research, discussion, and oral and written reports. In the second semester, the student is required to write a thesis under the direction of a faculty member. Students are admitted to the program after careful screening on the basis of their academic record and a personal interview. Classes are limited to about 10 students.

For more information please contact Paul Kovich or Fanny Cisneros.

HONORS SOCIETIES

Phi Sigma Alpha

USC also has one of the nation's oldest chapters of Phi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honors society. For more information please contact Paul Kovich. Click here to see a copy of the original 1927 letter requesting national recognition of the newly-formed chapter.

Blackstonians

Founded at the University of Southern California in 1923, Blackstonians is a pre-law honor society that recognizes academic excellence in undergraduate students and strives to expand their knowledge and perceptions of the legal profession. Students have access to a variety of events, speakers and resources that will enable them to focus on using law and the legal system for the moral improvement of society as a whole. In accordance with Blackstonians bylaws, membership is restricted to USC students who have completed at least 32 units (16 of which must have been at USC), but not more than 118 units. An overall USC GPA of 3.5 is also required.
For more information or for any questions, visit the Blackstonians website at uscblackstonians.weebly.com.