1. How is your honors degree program administered? Is there a specific
person who acts as coordinator?
The program has a faculty director responsible for overall administration
and advising of students. Professor Gardner has been honors director
since 1992. Questions are handled by consultation among the honors
director, the director of undergraduate studies, and the academic advisor.
2. What are the requirements for admission into your honors program?
How are students recruited for your program?
Students are recruited by a) self-recommendation, b) faculty teaching
honors courses and c) the academic advisor. Students who have completed
E201, E202, E370, E321, and E322 with a GPA of 3.3
or better are admissible to the honors program.
3. How does a student graduate with honors from your department?
The requirements are (1) GPA of 3.5 or better (2) completion of at least
6 credits in economics courses E390-E490 (3) completion of an undergraduate
honors thesis,
approved by the honors director. Three to six hours of credit may be
earned for preparation of the honors thesis (with permission of the
director) by registering for E499.
4. What courses do students take as juniors and before in order to
prepare for working on senior project?
Upper division electives in economics in the student's area of interest
provide preparation for thesis research.
5. Are there departmental resources available to support internships or
research projects related to the senior project?
No.
6. What is the nature of the honors thesis?
The thesis should be original research in an area chosen by the student
and approved by the honors director and the student's faculty advisor for
the thesis. The thesis is generally a 25-50 page paper focusing on some
well-defined research area in economics.
7. How might the work required for earning a honors degree be
particularly beneficial in future endeavors?
The completion of an original research project requires a degree of
imagination and responsibility viewed very positively by prospective
employers or graduate schools. The thesis itself is perfect as a writing
sample in a job or graduate school application, and the thesis content is
an excellent source of material for an interview. In one memorable
instance, the student's honors thesis was on the company doing the
interview-and the student got a job offer on the spot!
8. What are the advantages for students who pursue the honors degree
compared to a regular degree in your area?
The program for honors students offers small sections, with a broader
curriculum compared to the regular program. The honors seminars and
honors thesis in particular afford the student more direct contact with
the economics faculty, and facilitate much more detailed letters of
recommendation as a result.
9. Please list suggestions for other departments.
Recruit honors students as early in their education as possible, using
honors sections as a vehicle. Make "writing across the curriculum" your
mantra-it only takes one good writing assignment to jump start an
interesting honors thesis.