The Department of Economics has a long tradition of providing specialized and individual instruction to its academically advanced students and those in related curricula to allow them the opportunity to develop their talents more fully through its Honors Program in Economics.

One of the main purposes of the Honors Program is to provide a more challenging educational environment. Undergraduate instruction, even in a student's major, frequently involves a succession of large classes which usually do not provide students an opportunity to develop and express their own ideas and to learn to subject them to critical scrutiny. Large classes may also make difficult any continuing or informal education relationship among students and professors. The Honors Program permits students who seek a different classroom format and more personalized instruction an opportunity to participate in seminar-type courses and small-size classes, to write papers and to discuss them with their peers.

Graduates who have participated in the program in the past have rated it as extremely valuable for the training and confidence they gain in their research, oral, and writing skills as well as for the insight into economics they obtain. Training in these basic skills pays off in graduate school, law school, and careers. It is also worth noting that a recommendation from a faculty member who knows the student well enough to cite personal strengths can be valuable for admission to graduate school or for landing a prime job.