princeton politics senior thesis

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The Princeton University Archives located within the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library is the official repository for Undergraduate Senior Theses, Master's Theses and Ph.D. Dissertations. Princeton University undergraduate senior theses range from 1924 to the present.

The following page includes all information for submission, searching & accessing copies of a Princeton University Undergraduate Senior Theses, Princeton University Ph.D. Dissertations or Master's Theses.

Searching for & Ordering a copy of a Princeton University Undergraduate Senior Theses

The Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library is the central repository for Princeton University undergraduate senior theses from 1924 to the present.

• Members of the University community with an active NetID can access digital theses in Dataspace when connected to any Princeton-networked computer (if you’re not on campus, please first connect to the campus network via the GlobalProtect or SonicWall desktop applications).
• Independent researchers who are not members of the University community (including Princeton alumni) should use DataSpace to browse senior theses. Please create a Special Collections Research Account prior to submitting the Senior Thesis Order Form. In some cases we will be unable to digitize the senior thesis due to an embargo that prohibits digital access. Copyright of the theses are held by the author.
• Senior Thesis Order Form

Searching for & Ordering a copy of a Princeton University Ph.D. Dissertation or Master's Theses

All researchers, prior to contacting Mudd Library, should search the following platforms for the dissertation they are in need of: 

For Princeton Ph.D. Dissertations from 2011 - present, please search and access via the Dataspace repository for Princeton University Doctoral Dissertations . These are accessible to everyone for free, regardless of Princeton University association.

To obtain Princeton Ph.D. Dissertations from 2010 and earlier, if you are associated with an institution that has a ProQuest Library Subscription, the dissertation may be available to download for free through the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global search .

If a circulating copy is available via the Princeton University Catalog , those within the United States and Canada who have access to a local Interlibrary Loan service (ILL ) or Borrow Direct can request physical delivery through their library. 

If you are not associated with an institution with a ProQuest Library Subscription, you can purchase the dissertation through ProQuest Dissertation Express .

For Master’s Theses search the Princeton University Library Catalog and contact Mudd Library to discuss digitization of the original.

If the dissertation is unavailable in any of the above platforms, please contact Mudd Library to discuss digitization of the original. Mudd Library is only able to digitize those that are out of copyright or unavailable via ProQuest. In some cases we will be unable to digitize the dissertation due to an embargo placed by the student that prohibits digital access. If this is the case, the dissertation can only be viewed in the Mudd Library Reading Room after placing a request via the Princeton University Catalog . Copyright of the dissertations are held by the author.

Princeton University Undergraduate Senior Theses, 1924-2023

Members of the princeton community wishing to view a senior thesis from 2014 and later while away from campus should follow the instructions outlined on the oit website for connecting to campus resources remotely..

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Senior Thesis

Undergraduate Program Office 609-258-4861 [email protected]

The senior thesis is a scholarly paper focused on the policy issue in public or international affairs that is of greatest interest to the student. It is based on extended research and is the major project of the senior year.

Each student must complete a senior thesis that addresses a specific policy question and either draws out policy implications or offers policy recommendations (or both).

The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs awards several scholarships each year for travel and living expenses related to senior thesis research.

The University’s requirement for a senior comprehensive examination is satisfied in the School by an oral defense of the thesis. Students prepare a response to written evaluations from their thesis advisor and a second reader, followed by a question-and-answer period.

Senior Thesis Advising: The Senior Thesis Advisor Selection Guide  -  Students should use this to identify thesis advisors who match their interests and possible thesis topics. This tool is organized by faculty issue and regional expertise.

Senior Thesis Deadlines

Thesis Proposal Form Due                                 Thursday, September 21, 2023

You must submit your thesis proposal form, signed by your advisor, via email to [email protected] by 12pm (noon).

First Semester Progress Report Due                Monday, December 4, 2023

You must submit your first-semester progress report to your advisor and to [email protected] by 12pm (noon).

Complete Draft                                                     Friday, March 1, 2024

First drafts of all of your chapters are due to your thesis advisor by 12pm (or earlier per any agreement with your thesis advisor).

Thesis Due                                                           Monday, April 8, 2024

An electronic copy must be submitted to the Undergraduate Program Office ( [email protected] ) by 12:00 p.m. (noon).  Upload a PDF of your thesis, for archiving at MUDD Library, via the centralized University Senior Thesis Submission Site . See page 9 of the Senior Thesis Guide for additional thesis deadline information.

Oral Examinations                                               May 8th – May 9th, 2024

The University’s requirement for a senior comprehensive examination is satisfied by an oral examination based on your thesis.

Guide to Senior Independent Work

Please review this document completely and thoroughly for more information on your senior thesis.

Getting Started in Data Analysis: Topic Selection and Crafting of a Research Question -  Independent research projects start with the selection of a topic and the crafting of a feasible research question. This video maps the initial steps to help...

All independent work that involves research with human subjects must first be reviewed and approved by the University’s  Institutional Review Board . The mission of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to protect the rights, privacy, and welfare of human participants in research conducted by faculty, staff, and students. 

If you plan to conduct research involving human subjects for your Senior Thesis,  you must first consult with IRB prior to beginning your interviews to determine whether an IRB application, review, and approval are required for our project.  The department recommends Seniors should complete the process in October or November, if possible. 

Email a synopsis of the proposed activity (3 paragraphs) to the IRB: [email protected] . Include the draft measurements (survey, questionnaire, interview guide), if applicable. 

Please visit the eRIA-IRB training site for more information.

Should you have questions as you prepare the materials, please consult IRB at [email protected] or your advisor for assistance. 

SPIA Thesis Funding   -  Students can apply for funding by accessing the online application in the  Student Activities Funding Engine (SAFE)

In addition to your consultations with your thesis advisor, we strongly recommend that you meet regularly with the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs Writing Advisor, for assistance in conceptualizing and organizing your thesis, developing your arguments, and reviewing your writing. They can best help you if you meet with him early in (as well as throughout) the process.  Writing advisors can be reached at [email protected] . 

Library Resource Guide   -  A guide for seniors who are conducting thesis research

An excellent senior thesis can be 75 pages or less. No thesis should be longer than 115 pages. Any page after 115 may or may not be read by the second reader. A thesis longer than 115 pages will not be considered for a SPIA thesis prize.

The 115-page limit includes:

• the abstract
• the table of contents
• ancillary material such as tables and charts
• all footnotes

The page limit does not include:

• the title page
• the dedication
• the honor code statement
• the bibliography

Include the Honor Pledge, and your signature on the last page.

Use a 1-inch margin on the left, right, top and bottom.

Double-space all text (except long quotations, footnotes and bibliography).

Number your pages.

Make sure the thesis is single sided.

Use a 12‑point size type and a readable font. Avoid the use of multiple fonts and type sizes(other than footnotes, which may be in a smaller font).

Indent paragraphs and avoid paragraphs longer than a page.

Within chapters, use only two levels of headings, either in bold or underlined and placed at the left margin or centered. The primary heading is all caps, the secondary is caps and lower case:

Pages should be organized as follows:

Title page (see format on next page)

Second page: Dedications (optional)

Third page: Acknowledgements

Fourth page: Table of Contents

Fifth page: Abstract

Last page: The last page must contain the following: This thesis represents my own work in accordance with University Regulations. Your signature

Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript   Library  Senior Thesis Catalog  - is a catalog of theses written by seniors at Princeton University from 1926 to present

The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs will grant extensions only for severe personal illness, accident, or family emergency. The request for an extension must be made in writing. Extensions to a date no later than the University’s deadline for submitting senior independent work may be granted by the Associate Dean of the Program, Paul Lipton, [email protected] . After this deadline, extensions may be granted only by the Dean of your residential college.

Under no circumstances will extensions be granted for any reason connected with computer problems . Students should therefore save, backup, print their work in a manner designed to prevent last-minute crises.

One-third of the thesis final grade will be deducted for each four days (or fraction of four days) that the thesis is late. Please see the  Guide to Independent Work  for more information.

Submit one electronic copy in PDF format to the SPIA undergraduate office, [email protected] , by the Deadline. Must also upload a PDF of your thesis, for archiving at MUDD library, via a centralized University  Senior Thesis Submission Site .

The thesis is graded by the thesis advisor, who is the first reader of the senior thesis, and by a second reader assigned by the Undergraduate Program Office. The grade is calculated as follows:

• If the readers' grades are identical, that is the final grade.
• If the readers' grades differ by one full grade (e.g., A to B) or less, the average grade is the final grade.
• If the readers’ grades differ by more than one full letter grade, the two readers consult to determine the final grade; if they are unable to agree, the Faculty Chair of the Undergraduate Program determines the grade.

The Undergraduate Program office will determine any penalty for lateness, which will be included in the grade reported to the Registrar .

A thesis that receives a grade of A or higher and a statement of support from both readers (and is within the page limit) may be considered for a Princeton School of Public and International Affairs thesis prize. Prizes are awarded by a specially appointed School faculty committee that weighs the relative merits of all theses under consideration. Prizes are presented at the Class Day ceremony.

SPIA Prize Theses  -  Sample Prize theses from 2017 to present

Senior Thesis Poster Session

The Department requires the production and presentation of a thesis poster in lieu of a comprehensive exam. The poster requirement has deepened students’ learning by requiring them to present their work to a wide audience of their peers and faculty members.

Early in the Spring semester, the Department hosts two poster information sessions. A handout with important guidelines will be distributed at that time. Students who are curious about what a poster looks like are welcome to view exemplary posters which are displayed outside of 127 Corwin Hall.

Students are required to upload a PDF of their thesis poster into the Politics Thesis Poster Database by the stated deadline . A link to the database, along with instructions, will be sent as the deadline nears. An initial penalty of 2/3 of a letter grade and an additional penalty of 1/3 of a letter grade for every 24 hours that a poster is late will be applied, beginning at 4:00 pm on the PDF due date. [NOTE: The Department will order and pay for the posters.]

Students must also attend the Senior Thesis Poster Session , which will be held during Reading Period. Students are required to be at the Poster Session for the full duration. 

Seniors’ posters and their oral presentations are evaluated by faculty graders according to the following criteria:

• Visuals & Mechanics: Is the poster visually appealing, legible, uncluttered, and well written (spelling & grammar)? Does it make effective use of visualizations (graphs, charts)?
• Research Question: Does the poster clearly state the main research question? Does it show one or several hypotheses that derive from the research question?
• Methods and Results: Does the poster provide information about the evidence used and link between hypotheses and evidence? Are results presented effectively?
• Structure & Organization: Does the poster have clear sections, a logical flow, and effective use of labels?                        
• Oral Presentation: Was the oral presentation clear and within the allocated time? Did it effectively and succinctly communicate the main argument made in the poster?

Beginning with the Class of 2022, the Department will award four $500 outstanding senior thesis poster prizes. Three will be determined by faculty graders, and one will be determined by an audience vote. 

Questions about the thesis poster session requirement should be directed to the Poster Session Coordinator, Vincent Heddesheimer , and Department Coordinator,  Gina Palmisano .

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Senior Thesis

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Through their Senior Thesis, majors learn to identify interesting economics questions, survey the existing academic literature and demonstrate command of theoretical, empirical, and/or experimental methods needed to critically analyze their chosen topic.

All seniors are encouraged to browse the Senior Thesis Database for examples of past work.

To see examples of papers that won Senior Thesis Prizes, see this article about the Class of ’22 student winners.

Senior Thesis Coordinator Professor Alessandro Lizzeri [email protected]

Key Resources for Seniors

Senior Thesis Handbook Senior Thesis At-a-Glance Senior Thesis Advisors and Their Advising Interests Senior Thesis Proposal/Advisor Request Form Senior Thesis Advisor Assignments Senior Thesis Grading Rubric Exit form: Senior Thesis Research Integrity Form Exit form: Senior Thesis Advisor Evaluation Exit form: Departmental Survey

Senior Prizes

At the end of senior year, the department awards several prizes to acknowledge the best Senior Thesis projects from each class. Available awards are listed below.

• John Glover Wilson Memorial Award: Awarded to the best thesis on international economics or politics.
• Walter C. Sauer ’28 Prize (joint eligibility with Politics, SPIA): Awarded to the student whose thesis or research project on any aspect of United States foreign trade is judged to be the most creative.
• The Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies Prize: Awarded annually to the best five policy-relevant theses.
• Burton G. Malkiel ’64 Senior Thesis Prize in Finance: Awarded for the most outstanding thesis in the field of finance.
• Elizabeth Bogan Prize in Economics: Awarded for the best thesis in health, education, or welfare.
• Daniel L. Rubinfeld ’67 Prize in Empirical Economics: Awarded for the best thesis in empirical economics.
• Hugo Sonnenschein Prize in Economic Theory: Awarded for the best thesis on economic theory.
• Wolf Balleisen Memorial Prize: Awarded for the best thesis on an economics subject, written by an economics major.
• Halbert White ’72 Prize in Economics: Awarded to the most outstanding senior economics major, as evidenced by excellence in departmental coursework and creativity in the Junior Paper and Senior Thesis.

• Victor Mukhin

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

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