Plan of Study Form for the Major

You can select any regular faculty member to be your advisor.  For a list of their subfields and office hours go to the Faculty Homepage. If you would like help selecting an advisor, please stop by 216A Silsby and speak to Chris Gex or 211 Silsby and speak to Kathy Donald.

 Who of the Government Department's regular faculty would you like to serve as your advisor (non-visiting professors, associate professors, assistant professors, or instructors)?:

Who would be your second choice as an advisor?:

Please state a broad substantive topic and a related puzzle that you hope better to understand by majoring in Government. Examples of possible topics include (but are not limited to) democratization, representation, ethnic conflict, institutions and political behavior, war and diplomacy, human rights, political economy, political development, and religion and politics. Examples of possible puzzles include: what is the relationship between economic growth and democracy? what are the causes of war? what is justice? what impact has federalism had on the development of the American welfare state?

Government 10 or its equivalent is a prerequisite for the major. It is a “tools” course, and the earlier you take it, the more opportunity you will have to use it. When did you take/when do you plan to take Government 10 or its equivalent?

What other tools, skills (e.g. a language), or areas of inquiry (e.g. biology, classics, economics, sociology) might enable you to gain better purchase on your chosen topic or puzzle? What courses outside the Department do you plan to take to complement the program you are designing as your Major?

You are required to take two introductory courses for the Major. Which introductory courses are most likely to help you lay a foundation for your program and why? When did you take/when do you plan to take each course?

You are required to take at least six further courses in the Department. These courses are the core of your program. They should be selected and sequenced in a way that makes intellectual sense. In practice, you may not be able to take the most suitable courses in the most sensible order (courses close, D Plans change…) —but you should start with a coherent plan. Please list below the six courses you would like to take, in the order you would like to take them.

In addition to the courses listed above, you are required to take at least one advanced seminar. What seminar is consistent with your intellectual goals and when do you plan to take it?

To fulfill the Culminating Experience requirement in Government, you must either take another advanced seminar in your senior year or write an honors thesis. You may now anticipate one option and later choose the other, so you should keep your options open. What additional seminar would appropriately cap the program you have constructed for yourself? On what topic can you imagine yourself writing a thesis?

Search Government