Economics Departmental Honors
Honors in economics are awarded on the basis of completed research, which is typically presented in the form of an honors thesis representing two semesters of work done in Economics 409 and 410.
Eligibility
All candidates for honors should have a B+ average in their economics courses prior to their senior year and a three-year cumulative average of B or better for all courses. A student who does not meet this requirement may petition the department for an exception. The petition must be signed by the student and by a faculty member who has agreed to supervise the project and is willing to sign a statement concerning the likely ability of the student to complete the project with honors.
Department Procedures
Candidates are responsible for adhering to all the requirements of the Honors College, in addition to the following:
- All seniors who wish to become candidates for honors should submit a one- to two-page statement of the thesis question to the department office by noon on the first Wednesday of October. They should also submit a three- to five-page Research Prospectus, consisting of a clear statement of what is to be accomplished, a detailed outline of the research project, an explanation of its methodology and a bibliography, to the department office by noon on the first Friday of December.
- In early December, each candidate will give an Oral Presentation to the Economics faculty, summarizing research in progress and outlining the major problems to be resolved in order to bring the research to a successful conclusion. Subsequent to the oral presentation, the tutor, after consulting with department faculty, will provide the student with the department's assessment of the viability of the project and possible additional steps for its successful completion.
- Students who have not taken Economics 409 may, with departmental approval, become candidates for honors by developing work begun as a research paper in any upper-tier elective economics course completed before the second semester of the senior year. Any such candidate is to offer an oral presentation at the department session in December. Once he or she has identified a thesis tutor, the candidate will enroll in Economics 410 in the spring semester. Only in exceptional cases, and with departmental approval, may a student become a candidate for honors on the basis of prior research without having followed either this track or the usual Economics 409-Economics 410 track.
- In all cases, in order to be evaluated for departmental honors, the candidate must submit the thesis to the Honors College by its April deadline. For the latest information and dates the link from the Registrar's office is Registrar Information The thesis will be read and evaluated by a committee consisting of the tutor and two anonymous faculty members. The thesis may be awarded Pass, Honors or High Honors. A thesis that is an expanded version of an upper-tier elective research paper is judged by the same criteria as a thesis produced in a two-semester honors tutorial.
- All recipients of Honors or High Honors are obliged to present a brief summary of their work to faculty and students at an Economics Department poster session the first week in May.