Required for political science majors
Key component of full capstone experience
Students will take an exam administered by the department to show competency in the field of political science.
Typically taught Spring (1 section)
Primary coordinator for 6 sections when course required independent research advising
Primary instructor for 2 sections when course was focused on departmental examination
PSCI 4999: Senior Capstone Exam is a required course for political science majors, designed to assess their mastery of the discipline through a standardized, department-administered comprehensive exam covering major subfields. Its core goal is to ensure students can synthesize and apply knowledge across the political science curriculum.
From Spring 2021 through Fall 2023, I was the primary coordinator for six sections of PSCI 4999 when it included both the comprehensive exam and an independent research paper completed in the same semester. These early iterations of the course were co-taught with other political science faculty who all advised students on their independent projects. While this format aimed to integrate research and assessment, it placed considerable demands on students and faculty alike. Students often found the dual requirements overwhelming, and faculty faced unsustainable advising loads alongside exam administration and grading, all without additional instructional support
In response, I led a successful proposal in Fall 2023 to split the exam and research components into two separate courses. This resulted in the creation of PSCI 4800: Advanced Research in Behavioral Sciences, a dedicated research seminar focused exclusively on guiding students through the research process with structured instruction, iterative feedback, and scaffolded assignments.
Starting in Spring 2024, PSCI 4999 has been restructured to focus solely on the comprehensive exam, while PSCI 4800 supports students’ research development. This separation has enhanced the capstone experience by improving student performance, reducing stress, and creating a more equitable, pedagogically effective structure for both students and faculty.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will show mastery of political science by showing proficiency in writing political science research and taking a comprehensive exam.
Click the links below to view course evaluations and curricular changes by year.
In addition to leading the structural redesign of PSCI 4999, I undertook a comprehensive revision of the capstone exam. The previous 75-question multiple-choice exam had not been meaningfully updated in several years, resulting in misalignment with current disciplinary standards, departmental learning outcomes, and contemporary developments in the field.
In Spring 2024, I conducted a thorough review and overhaul of the exam, drawing on disciplinary literature and faculty feedback across subfields. The revised exam now:
Covered the five major subfields of political science: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and research methods.
Reflected current debates, theoretical frameworks, and methodological advancements within each subfield.
Included questions that tested not only content recall but also conceptual understanding, application, and critical thinking.
Used clear and precise language, minimizing ambiguity and improving the exam’s validity as a tool of assessment.
To further support student success and academic integrity, I also redesigned the retake exam. This version maintains rigorous standards while offering students a fair and transparent opportunity to demonstrate competency on a second attempt, addressing longstanding concerns from both students and faculty.
These updates have modernized PSCI 4999, reinforcing its role as a core component of the department’s capstone experience. Under my leadership, the course now provides a more equitable, focused, and discipline-aligned assessment of graduating students’ political science proficiency.
In Spring 2025, I focused on improving the study materials that support student preparation for PSCI 4999: Senior Capstone Exam. Although the exam itself had been comprehensively revised in Spring 2024, the existing study guide remained loosely organized, overly general, and lacked sufficient scaffolding to help students synthesize material across subfields.
To address these issues, I developed a new study guide that directly supports student success and aligns closely with the revised exam’s learning objectives. This updated guide provided clearer structure and more targeted resources, enabling students to prepare more effectively.
The impact was notable: students reported increased confidence in their exam preparation, and faculty observed greater engagement and improved performance during review sessions.
More broadly, the separation of research and exam components between PSCI 4800 and PSCI 4999 has continued to benefit both students and faculty. PSCI 4800 now offers sustained, focused guidance for independent research projects, while PSCI 4999 provides a dedicated space for reviewing and demonstrating disciplinary knowledge. This division has reduced student stress and fostered deeper learning in both areas.
Overall, these reforms have strengthened PSCI 4999 as a culminating assessment of political science majors’ intellectual development. By aligning exam content, preparation materials, and course structure with departmental learning outcomes, the course now delivers a more equitable, rigorous, and pedagogically sound conclusion to the major.