The CISAC Honors Program aims to provide an opportunity for eligible students focusing on international security subjects in any university department to earn Honors in International Security Studies. CISAC seeks a diverse group of undergraduate majors for the program and has a goal of admitting no more than two undergraduates each year from any one department or interdisciplinary program.

Students selected for the Honors Program will intern with a security-related organization, attend the Program's honors college in Washington, D.C., in September, attend a year-long core seminar on international security research and produce an honors thesis with policy implications. Upon fulfilling individual department course requirements and completing the Honors Program, students will graduate in their major with a certificate in Honors in International Security Studies. Students are admitted to the program on a competitive basis.

» Alumni topics and departments (334.5KB )

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Criteria for Applying to the Honors Program

Students must be able to fulfill all course requirements in their individual departments by the time they graduate, in addition to the units required for the Honors seminar series.

1. Students must demonstrate sufficient depth and breadth of international security course work. Although the directors and coordinator of the program will have discretion to make exceptions, successful applicants to the program will be expected to have taken:

MS&E 195/PS 114S (International Security in a Changing World);
- and -
MS&E 193/PS 114R (Technology in National Security);

and, at least one related course such as:

STS 110 (Ethics and Public Policy);
Sociology 160 (Formal Organizations);
Sociology 166 (Organizations and Public Policy);
PS 110B (Strategy, War, and Politics);
PS 110D (War and Peace in American Foreign Policy);
PS 114T (Major Issues in International Conflict Management);
PS 123 (Politics and Public Policy);
- or -
Economics 150 (Economic Policy Analysis);

Students who apply to the program without having taken the required courses will, if admitted, be required to take the courses before graduation.

2. Students should have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or better at the time of application, and they must maintain this GPA throughout the program.

3. Each applicant must have a recommendation by a Stanford faculty member with whom he or she has worked closely.

4. Students must have a signed honors consultation form from a Stanford faculty member. This should be from a faculty member whose research interests are close to those of the student and who is a likely candidate to be the student's primary thesis adviser. This may or may not be the same faculty member who wrote the student's recommendation letter.

5. Students must be able to complete a one-quarter internship with a governmental office, international organization or non-governmental organization directly involved in international security policy. Internships served before or during junior year, including during Stanford-in-Washington, may, by approval of the program director, count towards the internship requirement. For those students who have not served an internship before admission into the program, CISAC will assist in placing students and offer a small stipend for living expenses if needed.

6. Students must be on campus all three quarters of their senior year.

7. Students must be able to attend the CISAC honors college in Washington, D.C., and at Stanford tentatively scheduled for September 1-19, 2008.

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Applications for the 2008-2009 program are due February 20, 2008.

Honors Program Application (393.5KB )

Please direct applications and inquiries to:

Michelle Gellner
Honors Program Associate
CISAC
Stanford University
Encina Hall, C223
Stanford, CA 94305-6165
Phone: (650) 723-9626
Fax: (650) 723-0089
Email: mgellner@stanford.edu