What is the Honours Program?
The Political Science Honours program admits 16-18 students per year. Admitted students usually have grades of 80% and above in all their lower-level POLI courses.
The Honours program is neither better nor worse than other political science programs — it’s just different. Honours students have 18 of their upper-level credits occupied with preparation for, and then execution of, an original research project. There is also a kind of academic, intellectual intensity in the 3rd year and 4th year Honours seminars. So you get a different experience in 18 of your upper-level credits (POLI390, 6 credits; POLI492, 12 credits). It is intellectually demanding but also requires a very strong independent work ethic to produce the honours thesis in fourth year. You can see recent Honours thesis titles here, spanning across the entire discipline of Political Science.
POLI Honours is a cohort program where this small group of scholars learn from and support each other throughout their time in the program. They begin with the 3rd-year Honours Seminar (POLI390) in the fall semester (6 credits) and then the following year they conceive, plan, and conduct a major research project, the thesis, as part of POLI492 for a full year (12 credits). Given that 18 credits are occupied by the Honours Seminars, the program requirements differ from the major (see below).
POLI390 is a seminar (syllabus here) that operates both as a substantive course and as a preparation for writing a thesis. As a preparation for writing a thesis, we focus on carefully understanding the arguments and evidence being used by authors to build your skills at (1) critically engaging with arguments made by scholars and (2) making your own scholarly arguments. This involves better understanding the various arguments needed to substantiate a claim, how to use evidence in compelling ways, and how to make the scope of your questions and claims fit the evidence you can gather. POLI390 is one semester but is worth 6 credits, given the intensive reading, research, and writing involved.
POLI492 (syllabus here) is a year-long seminar occupying 12 credits. There is some full-group reading and seminar discussion, some smaller-group methodologically-focussed group reading and discussion, and lots of one-on-one consultation and feedback from the professor, from a TA, and from your faculty co-supervisor. You are supported in generating a truly original research project and executing that project. This is a research thesis, very different from a term paper. It is not simply a longer version of what you’ve done in other courses. POLI492 is September-to-April, for 12 credits, reflecting the time required to develop an original research project, collect data and materials, do the analysis, and write a 35 page paper in the form of a journal article.
Students who relish the challenge of conducting independent original research on data, historical artifacts, experiments, texts, and events are a good fit for the Honours program.
Some Political Science Honours theses can be found here.
You can apply for the Honours Program in Political Science at the end of your second year in the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.
Admission
Our application form will close on Friday 22 May, 2026 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.
Please review our 2026W Admissions FAQ before submitting your application.
Degree Requirements
Degree Requirements for the Honours in Political Science
Graduation from the Honours Program normally requires an 80% grade in at least one Political Science course during the fourth year, a minimum grade of 75% in POLI 492, and a 75% overall average in the final two years.
Honours students must complete at least 60 but no more than 72 credits of Political Science within the 120 credits required by the B.A. degree. At least 48 of these credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, including these required courses: POLI_V 34X, POLI_V 380, POLI_V 390*, POLI_V 492**, and at least six additional credits of Political Science seminars at the 400-level.
Entering the fourth year of the Honours Program requires an 80% grade in at least one Political Science course during the third year, a minimum grade of 75% in POLI_V 390, and a 75% average overall in the third year.
Students not meeting these standards, but nevertheless satisfying all other university requirements for graduation, will be awarded a B.A. in the Major Program.
*POLI_V 390 is a one-term, six-credit seminar.
**POLI_V 492 is a year-long, 12 credit course in which Honours students develop research skills and write an original thirty-five-page thesis.
Seminar Restrictions
Space in our 400-level seminars is extremely limited. Because of this, Honours students are permitted to take POLI_V 492 and a maximum of two additional 400-level POLI seminars during their time at UBC. Members of our Undergraduate Advising Team regularly check seminar enrolments to ensure that students do not exceed this seminar registration limit. If you have exceeded this limit, a member of our Advising Team will get in touch with you to better understand why you have structured your schedule in this way and confirm which of your extra seminars can be dropped from your schedule. If you are not responsive to our first or follow-up attempts to reach you, we will de-register you from the additional seminars in your schedule starting with the last seminar in which you registered.
Degree Requirements for the Honours in Political Science with International Relations Program
Honours in Political Science with International Relations is a 78-credit interdisciplinary program that is made-up of 24 lower-level credits, 6 language credits at any level, and 48 upper-level credits.
First 60 Credits
Students take the following courses:
- POLI_V 100, POLI_V 110, and POLI_V 260, plus one other 100/200-level POLI-coded course
- ECON_V 101 and 102
- 6 credits chosen from HIST_V 102,103, 112, 113*
60-120 Credits
- POLI_V 380, 390, 492 and 6-credits of any 300-level POLI-coded course.**
- 12 credits chosen from: POLI_V 360-379, 460-469, of which at least 3 must be from 460-464, 466
- ECON_V 355 or ECON_V 356***
- 6 credits chosen from: HIST_V 359, 360, 361, 371, 372, 408, 409, 425, 432****
*If you were admitted into PSIR in or before 2025, took HIST_V 112/HIST_V 113 in order to complete your lower-level HIST requirement, and have not yet gotten in touch with our Advising Team to request an edit to your Academic Progress Report, please contact poli.ugrad@ubc.ca as soon as possible so that we can update your record.
**Credit for POLI_V 300 does not fulfill requirements towards any program in Political Science or any program in International Relations.
***If you were admitted into PSIR in or before 2025, you are able to take ECON_V 356 in lieu of ECON_V 355. Please contact poli.ugrad@ubc.ca if you choose to do so, and we will edit your Academic Progress Report.
****If you were admitted into PSIR in or before 2025, you are able to take six credits of HIST_V 359/360/361/370/371/372/408/409 in order to meet your upper-level HIST requirement (HIST_V 425/432). Please contact poli.ugrad@ubc.ca if you choose to do so, and we will edit your Academic Progress Report.
Language Requirement
Honours in Political Science with International Relations (PSIR) students are required to complete 6 credits of post-secondary coursework in one language other than English. The language courses can either be at the upper or lower-level, including any post-secondary coursework completed prior to admission to the program. These credits must be completed by all PSIR major students and cannot be waived based on prior language study or an existing language competency.
Courses taken to complete the PSIR language requirement can also be used to fulfil the Language as Meaning Breadth Area of the Bachelor of Arts’ Ways of Knowing Breadth Requirements.
If a student has already commenced language studies prior to entering UBC and wishes to continue at a higher level they should consult the administering department to confirm the procedure for placement.
Seminar Restrictions
Space in our 400-level seminars is extremely limited. Because of this, PSIR students are permitted to take POLI_V 492 and a maximum of two additional 400-level POLI seminars during their time at UBC. Members of our Undergraduate Advising Team regularly check seminar enrolments to ensure that students do not exceed this seminar registration limit. If you have exceeded this limit, a member of our Advising Team will get in touch with you to better understand why you have structured your schedule in this way and confirm which of your extra seminars can be dropped from your schedule. If you are not responsive to our first or follow-up attempts to reach you, we will de-register you from the additional seminars in your schedule starting with the last seminar in which you registered.