• Who is eligible for the new policies and the old policies?
    • Students admitted to UC Berkeley Fall 2025 and prior are eligible to use the existing and new policies to attain honors. Students admitted after Fall 2025 will only be able to pursue the new policies moving forward.
       
  • What if I already took all of the core courses at the regular level? Am I still eligible for the one-semester thesis option?
    • For students admitted Fall 2025 or earlier, if you’ve already completed the core coursework, you should follow the old one-year thesis track, which does not require the advanced coursework.
    • For students admitted Spring 2026 or later, you will need to take 2 of the 4 required courses for honors: Econ 2, Econ 101A, Econ 101B, or Econ 141. If you decide to pursue honors after completing the coursework, you may retake the more advanced versions of the courses for no credit, in order to fulfill the honors requirements.
       
  • If I complete the full thesis in one semester with H191 first, why would I continue on to take H195B? Basically, why take one-semester vs. two-semester/which option is right for me?
    • Students interested in more substantial research experience guided by an individual faculty member should consider the longer one-year track. This track is especially relevant for students considering graduate school in economics.
       
  • Why does the one-semester track require 2 quantitative courses while the one-year track only requires 1 quantitative course?
    • We want to maintain the academic rigor of what it means to complete an honors thesis at Berkeley while offering flexibility in options. Offering the two tracks to students allows for flexibility for students to choose their path in pursuing honors within the major. Additionally, these offers were designed so that students that decide late to pursue honors, and don’t have two quantitative level courses, can make up for this by doing the one-year thesis track.
  • Who would be listed in the commencement program as honors?
    • Any student who meets the criteria for honors in the department. Both the one-semester track and one-year track will be listed as honors students in our commencement program.
       
  • What courses do I need to have taken to enroll in H191?
    • Econometrics (Econ 140 or 141), Econ 100A or 101A, Econ 100B or 101B. However you must have taken a certain number of the more advanced option depending on the honors track (Econ 1 or 2, Econ 100A/101A, Econ 100B/101B, Econ 140/141)
       
  • Can I take H191 if I don’t intend to complete honors or I am ineligible for honors?
    • No. Due to limited space available in this course only students who are eligible, and intend to complete, the honors program will be enrolled into the course.
       
  • Can I take H191 if I’ve already completed 191?
    • “Students will receive no credit for Economics H191 after taking Economics 191”
       
  • Are alternate courses still being reviewed to fulfill the research requirement (H191) for the new one year track?
    • No. For the one-semester track, only H191 will be accepted for the completion of honors.
       
  • If a student gets lower than a B+ for ECON H191 can they retake it?
    • No. Students will have one attempt to fulfill the grade requirement for the course.
       
  • If a student gets lower than a B+ for ECON H191 can they appeal to be considered for honors?
    • No. There will not be an appeals process to be awarded honors when the grade requirement has not been met. Students must meet all requirements as listed in order to receive honors.
       
  • How can I enroll in Econ H191?
    • Confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements using the table above and then submit the application for the course.
  • How can I enroll in Econ H195B?

Confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements using the table above and then submit this application for enrollment into the course. You can submit the application here.