Economics

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Honors Project Course Information

ECON:497—Honors Project in Economics (1–3 credits)
Prerequisites: senior standing in Honors College.

Individual senior honors thesis on a creative project relevant to economics, approved and supervised by faculty member of the department.

General Comments

Students in the Honors program have a requirement for an Honors project. As all students majoring in economics are also required to do a Senior Project, the basic requirements for the Honors Project, its timeline and its evaluation can be found in the Senior Project Handbook.

Timeline and Schedule

It should be noted that B is the required passing grade for an Honors Project. Students signing up for the Honors project (ECON:497) should note that it is cross-listed with ECON:434 (Labor Market Analysis) for 3 credits and with ECON:496 (Senior Project). We recommend that students sign-up for 3 credits in the Spring semester and attend the Labor Market Analysis class with other majors carrying out their original research programs. If that timing is not possible, students need to sign up for 2 credits after finding a faculty member in the department with whom to work individually. The information on this option is further discussed in the Senior Project Handbook.

• Honors students electing to use ECON:434 to satisfy the Honors Project requirement must meet the specific timeline for this course. As such, their Concept Paper is due at the end of the first week of class. They may use this as the Honors Project proposal, which must still be submitted to the Honors College at this time.
• The final submission for the Honors Research Project should follow the standard guidelines for the Williams Honors College and students should submit their Senior Project Final Paper to IdeaExchange@UAkron.

General Guidelines

• You must receive a grade of "B" or higher on your Honors Research Project to graduate as an Honors Scholar. If you do not achieve this grade you may still meet the requirements to graduate as an undergraduate student in your major. Please contact your Honors Advisor for more information.
• When there are multiple students involved in an Honors Research Project, each student should be included as authors on the final report, even if they are not part of the Williams Honors College. Every student should receive the proper recognition for thier contributions.
• Every committee must be composed of a Sponsor and two Readers. More information on these roles is available here.
• Students expecting to work on an honors project involving the use of human subjects should be aware that such projects may need to be evaluated by the University of Akron Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews all proposals for research involving human participants to insure appropriate ethical and safety standards are observed. Depending on the nature of the proposed research, IRB review and approval may be required prior to moving forward with your study. In the same way, any research involving live animals will require review by the University of Akron Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC). Please communicate with your project sponsor regarding the need for IRB or ACUC consideration as it relates to your specific project. Information concerning research applications and review procedures can be obtained via the University of Akron Office of Research Administration (ORA).