The Department Honors Program is open to all majors in the Department of Economics and is an opportunity for outstanding students to pursue their interests in greater depth by researching a topic of their choice. It is also an opportunity to interact more closely with faculty than is possible in regular courses.
Requirements for Admission
To apply for the Honors Program, you must complete the following:
- Be officially accepted into the Economics or the Business Economics major and completed your junior year
- Have a minimum 3.5 GPA in Economics 11, 101, 102, 103 and 103L
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher
- Complete the Departmental Honors Program Application (opens once a year on June 30th and closes on Sept. 30th)
- Submit a MyUCLA Message indicating that your application has been submitted
*Please note, all grades for the above courses must be posted to your DAR before submitting an application.
Your research proposal for your thesis is due at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the term in which you will take Econ 198A. If you are planning to begin your thesis and enroll in Econ 198A in the Fall of your final year, the application is due no later than the end of Summer Session A. If you are planning to begin your thesis in Winter, the application is due no later than the end of Summer Session C.
Requirements for Honors at Graduation
To receive Departmental Honors upon graduating, a student must:
- Have completed:
- Five upper-division economics courses chosen from the approved list of honors courses
- Economics 198A and
- Economics 198B
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5
- Have a 3.5 GPA or higher in the upper-division courses required for Departmental Honors.
- Have submitted your final honors thesis paper to the Economics advising office via MyUCLA.
Economics 198A/198B can be used as two Economics Electives towards the major. Economics 198A/198B must be taken in their final academic year over two consecutive quarters, Fall/Winter or Winter/Spring combination only. No units or grade points will be granted unless both Economics 198A and 198B are completed.
NOTE: If you are planning to participate in the Departmental Honors Program, DO NOT enroll in Economics 199A. If you complete Economics 199A, you will no longer be eligible to receive credit for Economics 198A and 198B.
Writing the Thesis
Students should think of the thesis as a “big term paper,” requiring an amount of effort equivalent to two upper-division courses. The typical thesis is around 30 to 40 pages in length, however there is no fixed requirement. The length is determined by what is necessary to do justice to the topic and meet the standards of the student’s Honors advisor.
Students should begin the process of choosing a topic before they enroll in Economics 198A. The best way to proceed is to be thinking of interesting research questions while taking other upper division Economics courses. When you get an idea for the topic, ask the professor teaching the course if the topic is feasible. If the answer is yes and you feel that you have established a good working relationship with this professor, ask him or her to be your thesis advisor.
Once your thesis is completed, please submit your final honors thesis paper to the Economics advising office via MyUCLA Message Center.
Highest Honors
Highest Honors are awarded to students who complete their UCLA scholarship with a minimum 3.9 cumulative grade point average.
