Honors Program and Awards

The economics department recognizes excellence in its leading student scholars through an honors program and departmental awards.

Honors and High Honors

Earning Honors in Economics

Eligibility

To be eligible for the honors program in economics, a minimum GPA of 3.33 is required in the following three core courses:

  • ECON 251
  • ECON 252
  • ECON 375

At graduation, honors candidates also must have a B+ average (A– for high honors) in the nine economics courses taken for major credit, and they must receive a satisfactory grade in ECON 490. Students interested in pursuing honors should discuss a plan with a professor in the department by the end of their junior year.

Seminar and Thesis

Students pursuing honors must take the yearlong honors seminar (ECON 489 and 490) during their senior year. In addition to the seminar, students will conduct research to complete an honors thesis under the supervision of an economics faculty member.

Upon completion of the honors thesis, students present their work to the classmates in their seminar. All members of a seminar act as discussants of other students' work.

Students earn one course credit for the full year of seminar study, including the completion of an honors thesis.

Certification of honors and high honors will be based mainly on the quality of the honors paper.

Earning Honors in Mathematical Economics

The mathematical economics major includes all the requirements for an economics major, which means students majoring in mathematical economics have two mutually exclusive options for pursuing honors:

  • A mathematical economics major may qualify for honors or high honors in economics by satisfying the honors criteria for the economics major (above).
  • You can qualify for honors or high honors in mathematical economics by satisfying the same criteria (above); however, your departmental GPA is calculated for all 13 of the required courses.
Past Honors Papers in Economics

Review the honors theses produced by undergraduates in recent senior classes:

Departmental Awards

Students who receive honors or high honors, as outlined above, are eligible for the following departmental awards allocated to graduating seniors.

Chi-Ming Hou Award for Excellence in International Economics

Established by past and present department members in honor of the late Chi-Ming Hou—a member of the Colgate economics department from 1956-1991—for outstanding achievement in international economics.

Most recent recipient: Frank Stearns '26

Marshall-Keynes Award for Excellence in Economics

Awarded by the department to the senior with the strongest sustained performance in analytical economics.

Most recent recipient: Matt Motichka '26

J. Melbourne Shortliffe Award

Established in honor of the late J. Melbourne Shortliffe, chair of the economics department emeritus, and awarded to outstanding graduating seniors who have concentrated in economics.

Most recent recipients: Sophia Hagerty '26 & Abrielle Silva '26


 

All graduating students, regardless of honors status, are eligible for the following departmental award.

The Carolina Castilla Award for Excellence in Economics

Awarded to the student(s) judged by the faculty to demonstrate outstanding academic performance in coursework within the department. 

Most recent recipients: Zoe Lebowitz '26 & Andrew Hatfield '26