Scholarships & Awards
Every year the undergraduate program provides scholarships and awards to students majoring in Economics. Please see below for detailed information.
Hamermesh Senior Thesis Prize in Economics
Description
The Senior Thesis Prize in Economics is an annual prize, established in 2010, for the most outstanding undergraduate honors thesis in Economics. In 2013, the prize was renamed to the Hamermesh Senior Thesis Prize in Economics for contributions to the field by UT Economics professor Dr. Daniel Hamermesh. The intent in offering this award is to encourage undergraduate research and honors theses in economics.
John and Tammy Cummings Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Economics
Description
The Presidential Scholarship in Economics is an annual prize, established in 2020, for students who are Texas residents and who have demonstrated leadership and service to the University and community. Preference will be given to students who attend a small high school and/or live in a rural area of Texas. The endowment was made possible by a generous donation from John and Tammy Cummings.
Salam Fayyad Excellence Award
Description
The Salam Fayyad Excellence Award is an annual prize, established in 2013 that is awarded to a high-achieving graduating senior in Economics. The endowment was made possible by a generous donation from an Economics faculty member. The endowment honors Dr. Salam Fayyad, who received his PhD in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin in 1986. Dr. Fayyad is the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority and was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Texas Exes in 2008.
University-wide Awards & Recognitions
The Economics Department also selects nominees for the following awards and recognitions:
- Dean’s Distinguished Graduates
- Unrestricted Endowed Presidential Scholarship
- Edmund Thornton Miller Endowed Presidential Scholarship
Hamermesh Senior Thesis Prize in Economics
| CRITERIA | ELIGIBILITY | AMOUNT | TIMELINE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Recipients are selected by a subcommittee of the department’s Undergraduate Studies Committee. The committee considers the following:
|
All students who complete an undergraduate honors thesis in Economics will be considered for the award. There is no application. |
The prize carries a monetary award. |
The committee reviews all honors theses completed during the year. Typically the recipient will be announced at the end of the spring semester. |
Recipients
| YEAR | RECIPIENT | THESIS |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Brooke Jones | "Public Safety or Public Debt? Analyzing the Effect of Municipal Debt on Fines and Forfeiture Revenue Generation" |
| 2021 | Akash R Thakkar | "Say No To Drug-Free School ZonesAnalyzing the Effects of Relaxing Drug-Free Zone Laws on Crime" |
| 2020 | Drew Burd | “The Effect of Female Managers on Pay Inequality: Evidence from Congress” |
| 2019 | Ishaana Talesara | “Culture and Divorce: An Analysis of Immigrants to the United States" |
| 2018 | Gauthier Fally | “Modernization and the Ghost of French Post-War Industrial Policy: Reconciling France’s Legacy of State-Led Capitalism with its Commitment to Further Economic Integration Since 1983" |
| 2017 | Stephen Chen | “Hospital Readmissions and Observation Stays: A first-year analysis of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program” |
| 2017 | Victoria Fung | “The Housing Assignment Problem with Roommates” |
| 2016 | Angie Acquatella | “Quantifying the Effects of Shared Spectrum” |
| 2016 | Sam Trejo | "An Econometric Analysis of the Major Choice of First-Generation College Students” |
| 2015 | Shreyas Krishnan Shrikanth | “Beyond Cash: Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa” |
| 2014 | David Oh | “The Gift of Salvation” |
| 2013 | Robert McDowall | "Patterns in Sovereign Default" |
| 2012 | Sharanya Rajan | "Missing women in education - Does the existence of son preference among Asian immigrants influence parents' education decisions?" |
| 2011 | Juan Salem | "Measuring Residential Housing Price Levels Using Hedonic Regressions" |
| 2010 | Audrey Straus | “Education, Wages, and Employment in Pancho Mateo, Dominican Republic" |
For more information about the Economics Honors Program, please contact Holly Smith at hollysmith@austin.utexas.edu or 512-471-2973. See also “Announcement of First Recipient of Thesis Award Winner”.
John and Tammy Cummings Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Economics
| ELIGIBILITY | AMOUNT | TIMELINE |
|---|---|---|
|
The prize carries a monetary award. |
Applicant deadline March 1, 2022. |
Recipients
| YEAR | RECIPIENT |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Zoe McDowell |
For more information, please contact Jana Cole at jana@austin.utexas.edu or 512-471-2973.
Salam Fayyad Excellence Award
| CRITERIA | ELIGIBILITY | AMOUNT | TIMELINE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Awarded to the student(s) with the highest academic achievement in the graduating class. Recipients are chosen by the Director of Undergraduate Studies and Department Chair, based upon overall GPA, Economics GPA, and overall academic record. |
The recipient must be classified as a senior in his/her last semester prior to graduation. |
The prize carries a monetary award. |
Typically the recipient will be announced at the end of the spring semester. |
Recipients
| YEAR | RECIPIENT |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Kyle Louis Irlbeck |
| 2020 | Ethan Judd |
| 2019 | Grace Moriah Enda |
| 2019 | Vikrant Mukul Shirvaikar |
| 2018 | Nathan Mosley |
| 2017 | Branden Goldberg |
| 2016 | Niraj Parekh |
| 2015 | Marshall Drake |
