Woman laying on floor in grocery store, covered by pillows and blankets
Food policy scholar Rujia Xie, clothed in her dress and blankets in the middle of the Durham Food Co-op, emphasized the value of small, local food networks in her honors thesis research.

Students who successfully complete an honors thesis can graduate with distinction or highest distinction. Graduating with distinction is among the highest honors that Duke bestows on its undergraduates.

To complete an honors thesis, students must enroll in two for-credit classes. This is normally done through enrolling in PUBPOL 495S in spring of the junior year and PUBPOL 496S in fall of the senior year (these courses cannot be taken S/U or audited).

To qualify for the honors program, a student must have a 3.7 GPA in the following core courses: 

  • PUBPOL 101
  • PUBPOL 301
  • PUBPOL 302/GLHLTH 210
  • PUBPOL 303

Since PUBPOL 101 is graded as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U), students must receive a "satisfactory" grade and have a 3.7 GPA for the remaining core courses.

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Best Honors Theses

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Best Honors Thesis 2026

Kate Seneshen's thesis concerns HPV and HPV-Related Cancer Prevention in Peru. Kate's project resulted in policy recommendations shared with Peru’s Ministry of Health, who expressed interest in implementing her findings.

Read about Kate's experience
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Best Honors Thesis 2025

Anushri Saxena won the 2025 Best Honors Thesis award for her thesis, “Crisis Pregnancy Centers Post-Roe v Wade: Correlates of State Variation in Anti-Abortion Fake Clinics.” Advisors say her research will immediately be useful to policymakers.

 

Read about Anushri's experience
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CONTACT the honors program director

E-mail Kenneth S. Rogerson

Undergraduate Handbook

Get information about the honors program and more - review the Undergraduate Handbook. 

The Honors Thesis

One Student's Story

Ysanne Spence PPS'22 talks about what writing an honors thesis has meant to her.