Honours Courses in Economics

• The Advantages of an Honours Degree in Economics
• How the Honours Degree Differs from the Bachelor's Degree
• The Honours Programme
• The Honours Programme in the BSc
• "Joint Honours" and "Double Honours"
  • Joint Honours [BCom(Hons)]: Economics and Accountancy
  • Joint Honours [BA(Hons), BCom(Hons) or BSc(Hons)]:
    Economics and Statistics
  • Joint Honours [BCom(Hons)]: Economics and Finance
  • Joint Honours [BCom(Hons)]: Economics and Marketing Management
• An Honours Degree in PPE
• The Difference between Honours and an MBus Degree in Economics
• Important Information about Honours Admission in 2012

The Advantages of an Honours Degree in Economics

If you are interested in a career as a professional economist, an Honours degree in Economics is really the basic minimum training requirement.

An Honours degree is also a general signal to employers that you have had a more comprehensive academic training than an ordinary Bachelor's degree, involving advanced-level papers and a significant research component in the final year of study. The latter is particularly valued by employers because it involves the application of a wide range of skills, including defining and focusing on a specific problem, planning work, applying relevant analytical and/or statistical techniques, interpretation and evaluation, time management, report writing, verbal presentation etc.

How the Honours Degree Differs from the Bachelor's Degree

Normally, an Honours degree takes four years to complete. The objective of our Honours degree is to provide a background suitable for intending professional economists or for proceeding to further academic study. This requires more emphasis on the "core" areas of Economics (microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics). As a result the programme is designed to include coverage of these areas by requiring specific papers, (specifically ECON 202, ECON 210, ECON 270, ECON 271, ECON 371, ECON 375, ECON 376, ECON 421, 422 or 423, ECON 424 and ECON 429). In the fourth-year programme everyone completes a dissertation (ECON 480) which aims to introduce you to the process of scholarly research by applying economic tools to a well-defined problem.

A class of Honours - First, Upper Second (2-1), Lower Second (2-II), Third or Fail - is awarded on the basis of performance in the final year of the Honours programme.

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The Honours Programme in the BA(Hons) and the BCom(Hons)

The specific paper prerequisites for entry to Honours in either the BA(Hons) or the BCom(Hons) are BSNS 104/ECON 111 and ECON 112, BSNS 102 or STAT 110 or 115, and FINQ 102 or MATH 160 or both MATH 102 and MATH 103. These papers provide the required background in Economics, Maths and Statistics for the Honours papers. If you are potentially interested in the Honours programme you are strongly advised to take these papers as early as possible in your degree programme. The same applies if you are interested in later enrolling for a postgraduate qualification in Economics.

The full structure of an Honours degree in Economics is as follows:

Outline of BCom(Hons)*/BA(Hons) in Economics

* BCom(Hons) students need to include a set of required business papers in their programmes in addition to the following.

You can enter the Honours programme at different stages. The most common way of getting in to the Honours programme is by invitation or by applying at the end of your first year to enter Honours in year 2. Entry to Honours requires a B+ average or better in the two 100-level Economics papers. Grades in other papers taken in your first year will also be taken into account (so, for example, a B grade in Economics could be acceptable if you have A grades in supporting papers, especially in Maths, Statistics, Finance etc.). Note that if you have not taken a Maths paper (FINQ 102, MATH 160 or equivalent) in year 1, you will need to take this in Semester 1 of Year 2 together with ECON 201. ECON 271 can then be postponed until Semester 1 of Year 3. This will not delay completion of your Honours Programme as ECON 371, for which ECON 271 is a prerequisite, will be offered in Semester 2.

Alternatively, you may decide you are interested in Honours at the end of the first semester of your second year. If you have completed ECON 271 and ECON 210 in Semester 1, you can take ECON 202 and ECON 270, which are required papers for Honours, in semester 2.

Applications for entry to third-year Honours (3H) will also be considered if you've successfully completed ECON 201 or ECON 271, and ECON 202 and other 200-level ECON papers (with a B+ grade or better on average) and have a good Mathematics and Statistics background. However, it's obviously easier to catch up on the required Honours papers if you've anticipated a possible shift to Honours and already taken ECON 270 and ECON 271 in year 2. It is possible to catch up on ECON 210 or ECON 271 in your 3rd year. To explore your options in this regard, see the Honours Co-ordinator.

Once you have gained entry, to proceed to the next stage of Honours you need to pass all your Economics papers and meet minimum grade requirements. To proceed to 3H, you need either a) an average of B across the four required papers or b) pass all required papers with a B- or better. Grades in other relevant papers may also be taken into account. To proceed to 4H, you must have a) an average of B- across the required papers, and b) have passed all required papers with a C+ or better. Grades in other ECON 300-level papers may also be taken into account.

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The Honours Programme in the BSc(Hons)

A BSc(Hons) programme is also available. This has additional mathematics and statistics requirements. For further details please contact the Honours Coordinator.

"Joint Honours" and "Double Honours"

"Joint Honours" (or "Combined Honours") involves combining two subject areas in (normally) a four-year programme. "Double Honours" involves completing the final (4H) years for both subject areas, which will normally require an additional year of study. Approved programmes of study exist if you want to combine Economics with Statistics, Accountancy, Finance or Marketing (see the course structures below). Joint and Double Honours programmes combining Economics with Mathematics are also available. For further information, contact the Honours Co-ordinator.

Joint Honours [BCom(Hons)]: Economics and Accountancy

 

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Joint Honours [BA(Hons), BCom(Hons) or BSc(Hons)]:
Economics and Statistics

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Joint Honours [BCom(Hons)]: Economics and Finance

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Joint Honours [BCom(Hons)]: Economics and Marketing Management

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An Honours Degree in PPE

A BA Honours programme is also available in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. The first three years of study are constructed with approximately equal emphasis on the three disciplines. In the fourth year of Honours, you can either specialise or maintain a broader programme. Details of the course structure are given in the box below.

BA Honours in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)

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The Difference between BCom(Hons) and an MBus Degree in Economics

As well as the Honours programme, an MBus (Master of Business) in Economics is also available. The MBus degree was introduced in 1998 to provide a professionally oriented specialist degree for graduates and business professionals who want to enhance their qualifications and career prospects by postgraduate course-work study and applied research. It also offers an alternative pathway if you are in the Honours sequence. Normally, you need a BCom (or equivalent) with a B average (across ECON 271, ECON 202, ECON 210, ECON 270, and four ECON 300-level papers) to enrol for an MBus in Economics. This means that, if you are in the Honours programme, you can choose to complete an ordinary Bachelor’s degree and study for an MBus instead of completing the fourth year of Honours.

The main differences between the Honours degree and the MBus are:

Honours (fourth year)

• 108 points of ECON 400-level papers
• 36-point Dissertation (ECON 480)
• Can only be studied full-time
• Must be completed within a single calendar year (two semesters)

MBus

• 144 points of ECON 37X or 400-level papers
• 90-point Thesis (ECON 5A)
• Can be studied full- or part-time
• The taught course of study is normally completed within one academic year
• If studied full-time, the research thesis must be completed within 9 months
• If studied part-time, the research thesis must be completed within 18 months

If you are currently enrolled for Honours, our advice is first to complete the normal third-year requirements (ensuring that the BCom requirements are satisfied in the process) and decide between completing Honours or an MBus. You can then consider the different requirements in terms of time, cost, feedback from employers etc. The Otago Honours degree has a long tradition and is a well-respected and well-recognised qualification, held in high esteem both by New Zealand employers and overseas. However, course work Master's degrees have also become increasingly popular in recent years, with the need for additional qualifications beyond a Bachelor's degree.

“After completing my Honours degree in Economics at Otago, I began working in the Policy Advice Division of the IRD. The Division provides policy advice to government on all matters of tax policy and on related social policy issues. We see projects through all stages of the policy development process, from problem identification and development of policy options, through to the legislative implementation of final government decisions.

Economic theory plays a major role in this process, and my education at Otago has given me the skills to analyse complex policy issues and develop outcomes that are both practical and consistent with good economic theory. Further, the Honours papers I took at both third and fourth year level gave me a detailed understanding of core economic theory. This has created an invaluable base from which to research, understand and apply the latest literature to policy problems in my field.

I can strongly recommend the Honours programme in economics to anybody considering a career in public policy.”

Alastair Thomas: Economics Honours graduate, Policy Analyst at the IRD, and has completed an MSc in Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is currently working for the OECD in Paris.

"Studying Economics at Otago opened doors for me both in New Zealand and around the world. After completing my Honours degree, I joined Deloitte Consulting's Strategy and Operations practice, helping new Zealand's largest private and public sector organisations develop and implement business strategies. Our work varied from pure strategy development to operations process analysis, financial modelling to organisational design. Eighteen months later I was offered a transfer to Deloitte Consulting's US practice. I now spend my time between Washington DC and New York, providing business and strategy advice to some of the world's largest companies.

My training at Otago provided me with the knowledge to understand market issues at a macro level, as well as the skills to apply logical, structured analysis to solve business problems at a micro level. In addition to quantitative and theoretical analyses, the Honours programme in Economics touches upon a wide range of disciplines including psychology, accounting and management. All of this has provided me with an invaluable tool kit to deal with complex issues in different industries, markets and countries.

I can't emphasise enough the benefits of the Honours programme for those with a passion for learning and who seek to be challenged every day during their academic years. An Honours degree in Economics will provide you with solid foundations and can take you wherever you want to go."

Jonathon Wong: Economics Honours Graduate, Business Analyst at Deloitte Consulting Wellington and now a Consultant at Deloitte Consulting Washington DC.

 

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