The Department of Politics offers a Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) as an advanced program for students who major in Government or Foreign Affairs. The program provides qualified majors with the opportunity to pursue in-depth research on issues related to the major. Students in the DMP take one more upper-level course in the Department than other majors and write a thesis under close faculty supervision during the year in which they are graduating (typically their fourth year). Participants in the program meet regularly throughout that year to discuss progress on their theses.
The director of the Distinguished Majors Program is Professor David Waldner.
The standards for admission, program requirements, and the procedure for evaluation are outlined below.
Informational Meeting
Potential applicants are invited but not required to attend an informational meeting to lean more about the program. The 2025 meeting will be held on March 5th, from 7:30 pm - 9:00 p.m. in Gibson 296.
Admission to the Program
Unless they intend to graduate early, students apply to the program in the spring of the third year. Students wishing to join the program should first declare a major in the Department, either in Government or Foreign Affairs. Students seeking admission to the DMP should be on track to graduate with Departmental and University grade point averages of 3.4 or above.
Students are encouraged but not required to complete a Politics research methods course, such as PLAD 2222 (Research Methods), PLAD 4500 (Seminar in Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences) or equivalent courses in other departments before the start of their fourth year. We understand that space in these courses is limited and students who have not completed one of these courses will not be denied admission to the program for that reason.
DMP application materials for the 2025-2026 Academic Year are due on Friday, April 4th, by 5:00 p.m. Students will be notified of their status in the program prior to the beginning of course registration for the Fall 2025 semester Please email all application materials to the department administrator, Ms. Sharon Marsh, at ssm4g@virginia.edu. Your completed application should include the following materials:
- An unofficial copy of your most recent transcript.
- A statement of no more than three double-spaced pages of your proposed research. That statement should include the following elements:
- The proposed research questions (a statement of the personal or policy relevance of the research is optional).
- Discussion of any preliminary knowledge of the relevant research literature, including any relevant prior coursework. The best research statements relate the proposed topic to existing research and can describe how their research might contribute to the existing literature.
- . A preliminary statement of the research hypothesis; we understand, however, that students may revise their research hypotheses as they complete some of the early stages of research.
- A preliminary statement of potential research methods that might be used in the project.
- A one-page list of relevant publications.
- Two confidential letters of recommendation by faculty members submitted directly to he DMP faculty director, Director Waldner, daw4h@virginia.edu . At least one of these letters and preferably both should be from full-time Politics faculty. Try to familiarize your recommenders with your proposed research so that they might comment on its significance and on your competence to undertake it.
Academic Requirements
GPA Requirements
Students in the DMP must maintain grade point averages of 3.400 or better, both cumulatively and in the department.
Course Requirements
Students in the DMP are required to take 3 credits in the Department as a prerequisite plus 30 credits in the major. These 30 credits must include: (1) At least l2 credits at the 4000 and 5000 levels including six credits of PLAD 4960. (2) Courses to satisfy general departmental distribution rules for Government or Foreign Affairs majors.
The DMP Seminar
In the fall semester, members of the DMP will meet regularly to discuss issues related to conceptualizing, researching, and writing social-science theses. In the spring semester, members of the DMP will present their preliminary hypotheses and findings to the seminar.
The DMP Thesis
Students in the DMP are required to write a thesis of high quality, earning six credits, during the fourth year. The thesis seminar, PLAD 4960/PLAD 4961, is a year-long course, carrying six credit hours. Students are responsible for obtaining a faculty member to serve as their thesis advisor for both semesters of the course.
Limited funding is available to support thesis research. Please see the Funding page for more information about the funds and application process.
Complete first drafts of theses are typically due during the last week of March. The final deadline for completed theses, reflecting all revisions, is typically in the third week of April, on a date set each year by the director.
Program Evaluations
Students who successfully complete the requirements of the DMP will be evaluated based on the following: (1) quality of the thesis, (2) overall work in major field of study, (3) overall College record.
Faculty thesis readers will forward evaluations to the Department’s DMP faculty director, who will review the evaluations and students’ records, and forward recommendations to the College Committee on Special Programs.
Superior theses will be nominated by faculty advisors for the Emmerich-Wright Prize, which is given annually to the outstanding thesis.
Where can I find the official academic requirements for the University?
The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found at http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/index.php.
Questions
Please direct questions not answered above to Prof. David Waldner
Recent DMP Theses
Emmerich Wright Prize Winners are in bold.