Economics UG Honors Thesis Course

In the 2023-2024 academic year, we will implement an honor thesis program which provides a wonderful opportunity to develop your academic skills to another level and to work closely with a faculty member on your own research project.

 

Course Structure

Students are required to register for both ECON 3800 UG Honors Thesis I and ECON 4800 UG Honors Thesis II in Fall and Spring (consecutive) semesters.

  • ECON 3800 UG Honors Thesis I (Fall semester): research idea development and obtain datasets.
  • ECON 4800 UG Honors Thesis II (Spring semester): implementing analysis and write-up a thesis.
    • Taking ECON 3800 is prerequisite

 

Course Credits

  • 2 credits in Fall (pass/fail) and 3 credits in Spring (Letter Grade)
    • The Spring semester course (3 credits) counts as an ECON elective course.
    • Receiving a passing letter grade from the spring semester will waive the capstone project which is a requirement for MAEC students.

 

Eligibility

  • Minimum CGA: In principle, a student is expected to have a CGA overall 3.3 (ECON major & elective courses 3.5, preferred)
  • Prerequisite:
    • BBA ECON: Managerial Micro and Macro, Introduction to Econometrics
    • ECOF/MAEC: Micro Theory I, Macro Theory I (Micro Theory II and Macro Theory II recommended), and Introduction to Econometrics
    • Complete at least one 4000-level ECON elective course
    • ECON 3700 Writing as an Economist
    • Note:
      • Students not meeting these requirements can still be enrolled if he/she has a justification and get permission from the honors thesis coordinator.
      • Students admitted in 2021-22 and before can waive ECON 3700 as a pre-requisite for ECON 3800. For those admitted in 2022-23 and after, they should finish ECON 3700 in their 3rd year before taking ECON 3800 and ECON 4800 in their 4th year.

 

Research Idea Development

  • Track 1: Students could develop his/her ideas.
  • Track 2: The faculty member could propose ideas, students could apply for.
  • Students could choose their track in the beginning of the Fall semester.

2023 - 2024 Timeline (Tentative)

May 12

Information session I will be organized by the Thesis coordinator via in-person as well as Zoom; recording will be available for review.

Watch: Video of the information session I
August 8 Research topics and student skill requirements will be submitted by the faculty member to the coordinator.
August 18

Honors Thesis Intention Form and CV to be submitted (by the student) to the Online System. The form and CV will be reviewed by the coordinator. Parts VII and VIII on the Form are not necessary at this stage.

Download: Honors Thesis Intention Form
August 31

Information session II 
Research ideas from the faculty member will be posted.
September 13 (2 days before the last day of the UG add/drop period) Thesis Initial Proposal/Advisor Request Form to be submitted by the student to the coordinator. Students will submit the "Instructor's Consent" and "Requisites Waiver" requests on or before this day to get the coordinator's approval to enroll in the course. After getting the approval, students will enroll in the course themselves.
September 25 (Monday in the last week of September)  Advisor assignments will be announced.
November 20 (Monday of the 3rd week of November) Submit thesis proposal (minimum 7 pages) approved by the thesis supervisor to the coordinator.
December 10 (Sunday) at 4 pm at LSK 1011 Proposal Presentation (organized by the thesis coordinator): 15-minute presentation of the proposal to get some feedback.
April 1 (Monday of the 1st week of April) The preliminary draft of the thesis (approved by the supervisor) will be submitted to the coordinator, and it will be distributed to the faculty reviewers immediately.
April 15 (Monday of the 3rd week of April) Reviewers will send review comments to students, supervisors, and the coordinator.
May 13 (1st day of study break) at 10 am at LSK 1007 Honors Thesis Workshop: 30-minute presentation in front of ECON faculty members and other UG students
May 29 (the last day of the Spring semester) Final Thesis Submission deadline

Honors Thesis Coordinator

Prof. Hyuncheol Bryant KIM

 

Honors Thesis Supervisor

  • Professor is assigned by Prof. Kim based on the thesis topic and the request made by students.
  • One faculty can supervise at most two theses per year

 

Honors Thesis Certificate

A+ with greatest distinction (about 10%) - gold medal
A0 and A-: with great distinction (about 20%) - silver medal
The coordinator will form a selection committee (consisting of 3 people) to select a thesis with (the greatest) distinction.

 

Formal Thesis Requirements

  • A title page with an abstract (200 words limits)
  • A detailed table of contents
  • A complete bibliography
  • Adequate documentation of footnotes so that source material can be found. Footnotes should be placed at the bottom of the page. Parenthetical references are acceptable.
  • You must sign the honor code pledge at the end of the thesis
  • The manuscript must be typewritten, font size 12, double-spaced, single-sided, and bound (softcover) with title and author on the cover. Margins should be one inch around except for the binding edge, which should be 1-1/2 inches.
  • Remember to number the pages
  • No explicit length requirement, but typically 50 pages long. Theoretical theses tend to be shorter.

 

Final Grading

  • Letter Grade, not a curve but only based on the quality of an individual thesis
  • Grading is determined by the thesis advisor based on his judgment as well as the input from the faculty reviewer