Kenneth F. Janda Prize for Distinguished Honors Thesis in Political Science

Max Henry Feinleib

Redesigning the Filibuster for More Effective Lawmaking in a Polarized Senate

Advised by Dr. Daniel J. Galvin, Professor of Political Science; Faculty Fellow, Institue for Policy Research

Laila Skramstad

How the Presence of Syrian Refudees Affects Elections in Turkey

Advised by Dr. Wendy Pearlman, Professor of Political Science; Crown Professor of Middle East Studies

William M. McGovern Award for Academic Excellence, Leadership, and Citizenship

The McGovern Prize is in honor of William M. McGovern, who taught comparative politics and political theory in political science at Northwestern from 1929 until his death in 1964. In recognition for his devotion to his students and for making significant strides to enhance academic life in the Political Science Department, the McGovern Prize is awarded to an outstanding graduating political science major who has demonstrated excellence in scholarship, leadership, and University citizenship.

Edward Dowd 

Edward graduates with a double major in Political Science and Geography with a certificate in Leadership. While at Northwestern Dowd was a Senator for the Associated Student Government (ASG), the Speaker of the Political Union and BridgeUSA, a representative on the Political Science Undergraduate Advisroy Council and the Political Science representative for the Weinberg College Student Advisory Board. Dowd is a founding member of NUNITED, an annual coference that seeks to moderate political polarization. 

Sara Ibrahim

Sara graduates with a double major in Political Science and INternational Studies with a minor in Legal Studies. While at Northwestern Ibrahim was an editorial assistant with the Council on Foreign Relations, a research assistant with Northwestern Law's Bluhm Clinic Center for International Human Rights, and a founding member of the MENA Student Association, advocating for new academic programs and resources to support the MENA community at Northwestern. Beyond NU, Ibrahim has raised $30,000 to establish a residential home for special needs indivuals in Egypt.

R. Barry Farrell Prize for Academic Achievement in Political Science

Daniel Wolf

“The Political Potential of  Art”.
Submitted to Professor Michael Loriaux for Fall 2023's Critical Theory and the Study of Politics

Senior Marshal

The Department of Political Science chooses one graduating senior to carry the Department’s banner at the Weinberg College Convocation. Nominations are submitted by graduating students and Political Science professors and chosen by the Undergraduate Program Committee.

Lily Cohen

For her academic achievement and contributions to the Department, Weinberg College, and Northwestern community as a whole

Ibrahim Saeed Ahmad 

Pooja Jain 

Theodore Mahlum 

Xuandi Wang 

Tess Ann Ballis 

Cydney Alayne Johnson 

Jesus Portales 

Haley Jane Weil 

Wyatt Browdy 

Jan M. Karolczak 

Jacqueline Rose Prata 

Max Atticus Weldon 

Alexandre Joseph Brunet 

Huma Zulfiqar Khan 

Madeleine Ashley Schneider 

Keyler White 

Emma Lily Jane Burnham 

Gia Khanna 

Jamison Elizabeth Stout 

Janie Zhenni Xu 

Liliana L. Carey 

Caroline Ashleigh Labow 

Aidan Michael Taylor 

Hankyeol Yang 

Phillip A. Cervantes 

Brennan Alice Leach 

Malcolm Owen Alonso Turner 

Hyunsu Yoo 

Kikue Chelsea Higuchi 

Nicholas Magovern Leahy 

Nicole Lynn Wallace 

Arin Matteson Zwonitzer