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Invitiation
to apply to department honors program
for junior economics and economics-accounting majors (Class
of 2009)
Invitation
The Economics Department is now soliciting applications
for the Economics Department Honors Program from the economics
and economics-accounting majors in the junior class. This
program offers you the opportunity to write a serious
research paper with one of our faculty on a topic of your
choosing. This is a great opportunity for any student
seeking to work on an independent study project, especially
for those considering graduate school, graduate fellowships,
and research-oriented jobs. Program participants gain
valuable experience in research, writing, and public speaking,
which are skills vital to any career. Students who complete
the program graduate with department honors designation
on transcripts. The theses written by previous years'
honors classes can be viewed from a link on the program's
web site. Last year, students wrote on such topics
as the relationship between credit and fertility, the
efficiency of securities trading systems, access to health
care, China's growth prospects, and the tax incentives
for taking second jobs. This is the second year economics-accounting
majors will be admitted to the program. This year, the
economics-accounting honors student is writing a paper
on the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on the quality
of earnings reports.
Although
grades are one of our selection criteria, we also seek
applications from students with solid (but not necessarily
exceptional) grades who are strongly motivated to work
on a semester-long research project. Participants in
the College Honors Program are welcome to apply. Students
studying away from the College in the spring of junior
year or any time during senior year are not eligible
for the program.
Economics
majors
Ideally, applicantscomplete ECON 249 (Statistics),
255 (Microeconomics), and 256 (Macroeconomics)
by the end of the fall semester of this year, though
exceptions are routinely made for students with other
strong credentials.
Economics-Accounting
majors
Economics-accounting majors complete accounting
courses through ECOA 278 (Intermediate Accounting
II), ECON 111-112 (Principles of Micro and Macro),
ECON 249 (Statistics), and the second semester
of Calculus equivalent by fall of the junior year.
The
program
The program consists of three parts. In the spring
of the junior year, department honors students take
a research methods seminar in which they learn and
practice using the tools of economic research, develop
a thesis topic and literature review, and choose an
advisor. (This course is a lower-level elective for
economics majors.) In the fall of senior year, honors
students write their honors thesis under the guidance
of their advisor. (The thesis is an upper-level elective
course.) In the spring of senior year, students prepare
a presentation to be given at the College Academic
Conference, and provide guidance to the juniors in
the research methods class. (This is a half-course
overload.) See the program's
web site for more
information.
Special
considerations for Economics-Accounting Majors
Economics-Accounting majors face special challenges
in completing the program due to the large number
of courses that are required for the major, and the
14 course cap placed on economics department courses.
- Economics-accounting
majors must be aware that admission to the honors
program may affect course selection and possibly
require taking additional coursework as overloads
or away from the College. Given the CPA exam requires
150 hours of coursework to sit for the exam, in
reality this may not be an unreasonable burden.
- Majors
have 13 required courses and one elective in the
department (in addition to a year of Calculus).
Economics-accounting majors are required to take
14 courses within the department and may take two
additional electives for a maximum of sixteen courses.
- Majors
often take electives such as Corporation Finance,
Accounting Information Systems, Financial Institutions
and Markets, and other economics courses. Some students
need some specific electives in order to sit for
the CPA exam in some states.
- The
honors program will take up two of the electives.
If an honors student wishes to take Econometrics
to help with the thesis, that will take up the final
elective that may count towards graduation. Econometrics
has Microeconomics as a prerequisite, which normally
would require an overload.
Typical
Schedule for economics-accounting major in honors
program
(honors courses in bold)
Application
materials
To be considered, four copies of the following materials
must be submitted to Ms. Babette Mahoney, the Economics
Department Administrative Assistant (Stein 519), by
Monday, October 15, 2007
at 4pm:
-
An
unofficial transcript printed out by you from STAR.
Make sure it is fully legible.
-
A
separate typed list of economics courses (including
current courses) with your professors' names
-
A
letter of reference from a faculty member in the
Economics Department (ask professor to send letter
directly to department office)
-
A
one or two page statement explaining why you want
to participate in the honors program and why you
feel you are qualified
-
A
short writing sample, e.g. a short paper from a
class you've taken
In
addition, sign up for an interview time in the Economics
Department office when you submit your materials.
Decisions will be made prior to junior class course
enrollment (November 8-9).
Questions
about the program or application?
Contact the honors program
director, Prof. Miles Cahill, mcahill@holycross.edu,
x2682, Stein 541.
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