Honors Program in Economics and Finance

Eligible students apply for admission through the department honors liaison or the chair of the department, who will forward applications to the Departmental Honors Committee. Upon successful review of the application, participation begins the following semester. Students may apply at any time after accumulating 60 credit hours (at least 24 from Rhode Island College). No student may be admitted with fewer than 30 credit hours remaining in their program. 

Criteria for admission:

1. Students must be enrolled in a major in the Department of Economics and Finance.
2. Students must have at least a 3.00 GPA in all courses taken prior to admission to the Departmental Honors Program (including transfer credits).
3. Students must submit a completed application form (including all required documents).
4. Students' proposal and paper submissions must be accepted by the Departmental Honors Committee.
5. Students must receive final approval of their proposal by the dean’s office.

Students who are admitted to the Departmental Honors Program enroll in the following two-semester-sequence courses:

• ECON 491-492: Independent Study (Please Note: ECON 491 is a restricted elective for major; and ECON 492 is required for the major and a substitute for ECON 462)

or

• FIN 491-492: Independent Study (Please Note: FIN 491 is a restricted elective for major; and FIN 492 is required for the major and a substitute for FIN 461 or FIN 463)

1. Students must maintain a B or better in all major and core courses taken while a member of the Departmental Honors Program.
2. Students must maintain a C or better in all other courses taken and an overall GPA of 3.25 or better and a GPA in departmental courses of 3.50 or better while a member of the Departmental Honors Program.
3. Students must complete an honors project while enrolled in ECON 491-492: Independent Study or FIN 491-492: Independent​ Study, under the supervision of a faculty advisor, and achieve a grade of B or higher in ECON 491-492 or FIN 491-492. The research project may be, for example, a historical study, a policy-analysis or an empirical study.
4. The honors project must be completed and submitted to the Departmental Honors Committee by April 30 of the student's year of graduation if the student is graduating Spring Semester or by Nov. 30 of the year prior to their graduation, if the student is graduating in the winter.
5. Completed projects must be formally presented before the Departmental Honors Committee (all department faculty members are invited to honors presentations, as well).
6. Students must receive approval of the honors project by the Departmental Honors Committee. In the case of an unsatisfactory evaluation, the committee may suggest revision which, if completed in a timely fashion, may result in a satisfactory evaluation. Evaluation of the project will be based upon criteria announced prior to project production. Students may appeal an unsatisfactory evaluation of a project to the Departmental Honors Committee, the chair, the dean, the vice president for academic affairs and the president (in this order) but must accompany such appeals with substantiating evidence of an incorrect or unfair evaluation. (Please refer to Section 3.11.4: Procedures for Handling Student Grievances in the College Handbook.)

1. Failure to maintain required grades and GPAs will result in dismissal from the Departmental Honors Program at the beginning of the semester following the unsatisfactory performance.
2. Credit and grades will be granted for the 491 or 492 course in which a dismissed student enrolled based on the performance in the course. Students will be allowed to complete research in progress should dismissal from the Departmental Honors Program occur, but students will not be recommended for departmental honors at graduation.
3. If the student fails to achieve satisfactory evaluation of the project or to satisfactorily revise the project upon recommendation of the Departmental Honors Committee, the grades for the 491 or 492 courses will be recorded on the transcript but without an indication of honors.

Composition of Committee

• The Departmental Honors Committee shall consist of all full-time faculty members of the department, as well as any department adjunct faculty members or other college faculty members deemed appropriate by the department chair.
• The chair of the committee shall be elected from among the members of the committee, not including the faculty advisor. The chair of the committee shall be elected each year when the committee is active, and a person may succeed them as chair.

Duties of Committee

Duties of Chair

• Distribute the honors application to the Departmental Honors Committee.
• Schedule meetings and provide agendas for these meetings in a timely fashion.
• Inform students in writing of acceptance or rejection and time lines.
• Collect and make available semester grade reports of students accepted to use in retention decisions 
• Inform students of adverse retention decisions and inform students of actions they can follow in the event of adverse retention decisions.
• Inform chair of the department of adverse retention decisions.
• Inform students of criteria for evaluation of honors projects.
• Inform students and/or supervising faculty about problems with projects that can be ameliorated, and provide deadlines for completion of revisions.
• Inform department chair of recommendations for graduation with Departmental Honors in Economics or Finance.
• Other duties as necessary

Duties of Other Members

• Decide who shall be accepted into the program.
• Assist the chair in monitoring the progress of all students in the program.
• Participate in the evaluation of the quality of the research proposal and project and make suggestions for plausible revisions when needed.
• Participate in the decisions to recommend graduation with departmental honors.
• Propose revisions to the program when needed.

Duties of Faculty Advisor

• The faculty advisor shall direct, assist and advise the student in preparing a research proposal and conducting the research project; and monitor the student’s progress.
• The faculty advisor shall evaluate the quality of the student research proposal and project, and make suggestions for plausible revisions when needed, and assign a final letter grade for enrolled courses​​​.

Economics and Finance Recent Honors Projects

Project by Esteban Giraldo

• Major: Finance
• Project completed: Spring 2019
• Faculty Advisor: Kemal Saatciouglu, Ph.D.

Relationship Between Financial Markets and Natural Disasters in the United States​

Project by Brianna E. Lukowicz

• Major: Economics
• Project completed: Spring 2019
• Faculty Advisor: Sanae Tashiro, Ph.D.

Education Shapes the Mind, but What Shapes Education? A Comparative Study of First-Generation vs. Non-First-Generation Students