Students electing the paper option integrate their major by building upon a broad foundation of background information and analytical tools that enables them to study a carefully defined political problem in considerable depth. To qualify for approval, a student's Research Design must convince a faculty advisor that the student can generate a creative and thorough piece of work. It is very important for the student to explain in the proposal clearly and convincingly what he or she intends to study, why that study is important, and how the study will be carried out. This course provides instruction for developing and writing each section of the Design. Students must make a preliminary proposal for their paper by the end of the first week and have it signed by a department faculty member who agrees to advise the project.
Students can continue in the course only with the signed consent of a faculty advisor.
Please note that faculty may advise only a limited number of comps papers, and may decline to advise papers that are, for example, outside their areas of expertise. The course culminates in the submission of a detailed project proposal. The paper should be on a subject the student has already begun to research in a seminar or an advanced course. Such prior experience will help students prepare a proposal that demonstrates knowledge of the subject. Faculty members expect to help students prepare a proposal by reading and criticizing as many drafts as the student wishes to submit before the final one is due.