Economics concentrators may be able to graduate with honors next year without writing a thesis, according to members of the department's Student Advisory Committee (SAC).

According to members at the SAC meeting last Tuesday, Andrew P. Metrick, assistant professor of economics and the department's head tutor, presented the group with a proposal to create a new honors track.

The proposal would allow candidates to replace the current thesis requirement with a course in econometrics and an additional course which included a significant writing component, such as a 20-25 page paper.

"We want to do what's best for the thesis program and for the undergraduate program in general," Metrick said last night.

The department's Undergraduate Instruction Committee (UIC) will discuss and refine the proposal later this week before presenting it to the entire faculty of the department.

Metrick said he hopes to bring the proposal in front of that group before spring break, and said he is optimistic for the proposal's chances.

"We would hope that this [track] is in place for next year," he said.

Metrick, however, adds that the proposal is still in the planning stages.

"We actually don't have a formal plan on the table yet," he said. "The exact specifics are still unclear."

The department is also considering a separate proposal to restructure the concentration's general exam and other concentration requirements for the class of 2000, according to Metrick and SAC members.

"We would like to teach a bit more writing and have more people take econometrics before they leave," Metrick said.

According to committee members, Metrick outlined the new track proposal at the SAC meeting last week and asked them to gather student input.

"The idea is to cover as many bases as possible--through phone calls, e-mail, talking to people in your house, making announcements in classes," Garuda said.

In addition, SAC members Karthik Muralidharan '98 and Angela W. Pan '97 will write a compilation of student input to present to the UIC.

Members of the SAC said that the department has been concerned for some time about concentrators' motivation for writing theses.