Honors Program

Management majors who have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4 are encouraged to apply for the Honors program, and pursue a more challenging program of study. The goals of the Management Honors curriculum is to teach students to critically assess theoretical explanations of organizational and management behavior, to examine and be able to apply research findings, and to gain some exposure to management research. Students who have not been admitted to the Honors program earlier are encouraged to apply to the Honors program during their sophomore year; applications from juniors are also considered.

Honors students have the opportunity to take Honors and graduate-level courses, work with faculty members to enrich existing courses, identify independent areas of study, and, in the senior year, write a thesis focused on an area of interest in management. To receive recognition of their Honors status on their transcripts and diplomas, Honors students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher at graduation.

Management Honors students work closely with a management faculty member. More information on the faculty and their research areas of interest can be found on the faculty webpage. Please contact Professor Travis Grosser, Management & Entrepreneurship Department Honors advisor, with any questions.

Management Honors Requirements

Honors advising

MENT Honors students are encouraged to meet with the MENT Honors advisor as soon as they reach junior status and at least once a year after that. In addition, it is recommended that they attend the MENT Honors Thesis presentations organized in late April as well as invited events that will give them the opportunity to meet MENT Faculty members and identify potential thesis topics and advisors.

Honors Coursework

The program of study for management Honors students is the same as those for other management students, but graduating as an Honors Scholar in Management requires completion of a minimum of 12 management or related upper-level business Honors credits plus 3 additional Honors credits at any level, in any department. Students following the 2012-2013 catalog or later, and graduating in December 2015 or later, are required to complete 15 Honors credits (including three Honors credits at any level). At least 3 of these 15 credits must be from an Honors or graduate course (not an Honors conversion, independent study or research, or the senior thesis). Honors courses must be taken in at least two subject areas as indicated by course subject code (e.g., MKTG, FNCE, PSYC, etc.) with at least three credits in two subject areas. See new Honors requirements for details.

Management Honors Credits

  • 3 credits from 3000-4000 level designated (MENT 3101H or MENT 4900H – formerly MGMT 3101H or MGMT 4900H) or converted MENT Honors courses
  • Up to 4 credits from MENT 4997 (formerly MGMT 4997) Senior Thesis in Management

Related Upper-level Honors Credits

  • 6 credits from 3000-4000 level designated or converted Honors courses from MENT or any other School of Business course (e.g., FNCE, MKTG, BLAW, OPIM, or ACCT) or from related disciplines, including study abroad courses, or MENT or related graduate courses, as deemed appropriate by the Management & Entrepreneurship Department Honors advisor.

Course, Course Conversions and Thesis Guidelines

The Management & Entrepreneurship Department will be offering MENT 3101 Honors every spring which Honors students are strongly encouraged to take. Students can also convert any other MENT or business course not offered as an honors section to Honors. Following the Honors Program Guidelines, the conversion project should take about 20-25 hours of extra work. It is separate and does not count as part of the grade but needs to be at a B satisfactory level for the course to convert as Honors. If a Ph. D. student teaches the course you are converting, you need to seek additional approval for the conversion from the Management Honors advisor.

Here are some examples of Honors Conversion Projects that you may discuss with your instructors:

  • In depth literature research on a topic of interest related but not covered in the course and a paper summarizing the findings
  • The equivalent of a group project performed individually and independently of the group project for the class
  • Independent analyses of an integrative HBS case study

Graduate-level Courses. Honors students are encouraged to explore graduate-level courses applicable to their research interests. Enrollment in these courses requires permission by the Management & Entrepreneurship Department Honors advisor and the course instructor.

Senior Thesis MENT 4997. An Honors student writes a senior thesis, under the direction of a thesis advisor, a faculty member in the Management & Entrepreneurship Department or in a related area who has been approved by the Management & Entrepreneurship Department Honors advisor. The Honors thesis plan needs to be approved by the thesis advisor and the Management & Entrepreneurship Department Honors advisor. This course is typically scheduled in the senior year but work on the thesis needs to start earlier and you are encouraged to take one credit MENT 4997 in the fall of your senior year and the rest of the credits in the spring. You should develop your thesis ideas in collaboration with your thesis advisor, complete a thorough literature review and plan your original work to allow you enough time to write and edit a good quality thesis.

How to Get Going on Your Honors Thesis

Writing Honors thesis is rewarding because it allows you to explore a topic in ways that are not normally possible in structured courses. You choose your research questions, your data sources, and

your analytical approach. Your thesis is “yours” and this is very exciting. At the same time, doing a thesis is a lot of work and you need to be self-motivated. Starting early, finding an advisor to work with, and devoting sufficient time each week to work on your thesis is critical.

Choosing an Honors Thesis Advisor. In your junior year, you should identify an advisor. Ideally, your advisor will be a management professor or someone from a related field such as psychology, marketing or business law with whom you have already taken a course. You want a faculty member who is an active researcher to help you refine your research questions and choose appropriate methods to address these questions. The Management & Entrepreneurship Department Honors advisor can help you identify potential thesis advisors, but you will need to convince a specific faculty member to be your thesis advisor. Before you approach a faculty member to be your thesis advisor, you should have a clear idea about the types of questions and topics you would like to pursue. Once a faculty member has agreed to serve as your thesis advisor, you and the faculty member can work to finalize your research domain and research topic. Staying engaged with the Management & Entrepreneurship Department and looking out for invitations to connect with departmental faculty will help you to choose an appropriate advisor.

Choosing an Honors Thesis Topic. Ideas for your Honors research work and thesis might come from things you observe in organizations, articles you have read, topics discussed in class, or from research articles in top journals in management, business strategy, entrepreneurship, social psychology or other fields that can provide insights into individual and corporate behavior in organizations. Before meeting with potential thesis advisors, put together a one-page document on up to three research topics. The one-page document should include: the focal research question; why that question is interesting to you, literature streams that may be relevant; a proposed methodology, and potential contributions of working on this topic.

Senior Thesis Course. To work and complete your Honors Thesis you should enroll in MENT 4997.

The thesis must involve both a good grasp of the literature in the field and some original work that may include the collection and/or novel analysis of data. Analysis can include qualitative or quantitative approaches. Your thesis should follow the style sheet of the APA or the Academy of Management Journal. A full draft of your thesis should be submitted to your thesis advisor no later than week 10. The final draft of the thesis is due in week 14, unless stated differently by your thesis advisor. Your thesis advisor and the Management Honors advisor must approve your thesis, you need to present your thesis in a formal presentation scheduled in the second part of April and you need to submit a copy of the final approved Honors thesis with a signed approval form to the Honors office. Submit your thesis to UConn’s digital commons to share your insights with others. Rules regarding academic conduct in the University Code of Conduct apply to all work submitted in connection with the Honors thesis. Students have the option of enrolling in MENT 4997 prior to their last semester to prepare their thesis, and enroll in MENT 4997 again in their last semester to finalize and present their thesis for up to a total of 4 credits.

University Scholar Program

Each year, up to thirty juniors are selected for the University Scholar Program through an application process administered by the Honors program. Applications are accepted from Honors and non-Honors students. The University Scholars program allows motivated students to pursue individualized and intellectually challenging programs of study that includes an in-depth research and an individualized plan of study. Applications are submitted during the first semester of the junior year. Students participate in the university scholar program during their last three semesters of undergraduate study. Graduation as a University Scholar is the highest academic honor bestowed on undergraduates by the University of Connecticut. For more information, see universityscholars.uconn.edu.