Programs

Honors, Internships, Special Programs

The Department of Economics values intensive and independent work by our students, as well as collaborate with peers and faculty members on economic research projects. To encourage and recognize high quality work, the department awards departmental honors to students who: (1) satisfactorily complete the Honors Research Seminar (Economics 420); (2) earn a departmental grade point average of 3.2 or above; (3) complete a senior honors thesis ; and (4) successfully defend the honors thesis before the faculty of the department. The Economics Department faculty members make the final decision on the granting of the honors degree.

Course credit for internships involving the application of economics may be available to qualified students who provide an acceptable application at least one month prior to the beginning of the internship. Persons desiring more information should contact Dr. Weise.

Internships:

The Economic Department provides students access to varied internships for course credit with for-profit and non-profit companies and governmental agencies. This information can be found in the Internship and Pre-Law Advising Center located on the second floor of Pennsylvania Hall. The Center staff will assist students in locating possible internship sites, although students will be responsible for making the contact with the agency and making the necessary arrangements for their placement. All students who participate in an internship for credit must register with this office.

To guarantee the internship experience warrants academic credit, the department requires adherence to the following statement:

Internship designates an individualized study experience that takes place in business, governmental, or professional offices, research laboratories, hospitals, schools, libraries, churches, or social agencies. The work in which the student engages should be related to an intellectual discipline, must proved a significant learning experience, and must demand analytical examination. The internship must be under the direct supervision of trained personnel and be advised by a Gettysburg College faculty member. The persons provide evaluation of the student's work at the conclusion of the course. Although an internship can be undertaken during any term, (with special arrangements) most internships occur during the summer months.

Consistent with this statement, the department has a set of guidelines which the student interested in an internship should pick up and read. The guidelines are available from the departmental office and a copy can also be seen in the Internship Office in Pennsylvania Hall. To summarize the conditions for an accredited internship: the student must consult with an Economics Professor at least one month prior to the end of the semester preceding the period in which an internship is to take place to determine a mutually agreeable set of expectations and proved a written statement of the same, with which the on-site supervisor agrees; must write a scholarly paper based on the internship experience; must keep a daily log of activities; and must be graded on an A-F basis.
 
Departmental Associates:

The departmental faculty chooses a few qualified junior and senior economic majors to assist each year with introductory economic courses. Student Associates receive training in how to facilitate labs, tutorials, and discussion sessions in the introductory course. These departmental associates are paid directly for their work; most report that the experience deepens their understanding of economics.

Awards:

Each year the faculty of the economics department selects the recipients of the following awards:

*James Boyd Hartzell Award

*The Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award in Economics

*Pi Lambda Sigma Award. The departmental faculty selects two nominees for the economics recipient.

*Dwight Eisenhower Society / R.M. Hoffman Family Memorial Prize in Economics awarded to the student producing the best quantitative paper or project (with public policy implications) in economics.

*Best Honors Thesis in Economics

The recipients of all these awards are chosen by the vote of the faculty on the basis of their excellence in course work and in departmental projects. The college catalogue gives additional details about award criteria.