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Honors in the Major - Management

About the Program

The Honors in Management program provides targeted professional and career development to highly motivated management majors. Its curriculum, created by faculty and the Management Advisory Council, advances students through a specialized course, real company projects, select paid internships, coaching, and networking opportunities. Students completing the program also receive the Honors in Management designation on their official university transcripts.

  • Application Requirements

    Application Requirements

    Candidates are selected through an application and interview process. To be considered, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

    1. Management Major.
    2. B or better in MAN3025.
    3. UNF or overall undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or higher.
    4. Program Application Form

     

    Fall 2024 Courses

    CRN 86782 MAN 4930 ST: Honors in Management
    • M W 12:00-1:15 PM
  • Graduation Requirements

    Graduation Requirements

    To complete the program and receive the Honors in Management designation, students must meet the following requirements upon graduation:

    1. Major: Management or Business Intelligence (BI). 
    2. GPA: UNF or overall undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or higher.
    3. Course Performance: Earn a B or higher in the Honors in Management course (MAN4930:ST Honors in Management).
    4. Networking Activities: Attend at least two networking events per semester, which may include:
      • Management Advisory Council meetings
      • Jacksonville Business Professional (JBP) meetings.
      • Other approved meetings or events (subject to instructor approval).
    5. Practical Experience: Complete one of the following:
      • A paid internship (approved by the Honors course instructor)
      • A company case study project
      • A UNF or community service project

    Additional Opportunity for Hicks Honors College Students: 

    If you are an Honors College student majoring in Management or Business Intelligence (BI), we strongly encourage you to apply. Any internship or community service required by the Honors College will be recognized as fulfilling requirement #5 of this program. This allows you to efficiently earn an Honors in Management designation upon successfully completing MAN4930: ST Honors in Management with a B or higher. 

Internships

Each Honors candidate will complete a paid, 200-hour, professional internship. Ideally, the internship is completed over the summer with a member company in the Management Advisory Council. However, internships may be completed with other organizations, in different locations, and/or at other times of the year.

All internships, in all instances, must be approved by the Honors course instructor. By special arrangement, internships may be structured for academic credit in partnership with the Coggin Career Services Internship Course with approval from both Honors and Internship Course instructors.

Internships must meet the following requirements:

  • At least 200 hours.
  • Paid at least minimum wage. (Most internships pay $15–20/hr.)
  • Consist primarily of professional work activities.
  • Related to management, which includes (but not limited to) activities in strategy, human resources, operations, project management, data analytics, and intra/entrepreneurship.
  • A series of assessable tasks or projects that form the basis for final evaluation, including when applicable, the Internship Course grade.
  • Hiring manager completes a survey-based assessment of the student at the end of the internship.

Organizations may request Honors student(s) for internships by emailing the Honors program at management.honors@unf.edu.

 

Case Projects

Case projects are provided by members of the Management Advisory Council. Each project is short-term (approximately two months or less), with 40 hours per student. It addresses real-world experience for one pair of Honors students. Case projects typically involve research or analyses on the member’s “this would be nice to know” list that has not yet risen to a level of urgency. In other words, these are important but not urgent issues. The case project and its students are overseen by a manager within the member’s organization.

Cases allow council members to engage with Honors students via shorter/lower commitment projects. They increase members’ interaction and experience with the students and build relationships that potentially lead to internships and employment for the students. In addition, usable results are obtained through the students’ work.

Students volunteer for the projects. The work is unpaid. However, it involves professional management-related activities and thus enables students to develop their skills, résumés, and professional networks.

Case Projects Resources

  • Registration

    Registration

    Please email a brief response to the below questions to management.honors@unf.edu. 

    • Name, phone, and email.
    • Case project title.
    • Brief description of the case problem or task.
    • Desired student skillsets.
    • Confirmation that the project can reasonably be completed in 80 hours (2 students, 40 hours each) over 8–9 weeks.
    • Confirmation that a manager in the organization will oversee and guide the students.
    • Confirmation that the students will have an opportunity to present their results inside the organization.
  • Introductory Presentation

    Introductory Presentation

    The outline below provides suggestions for the introduction of a case project at an advisory council meeting. As many of our students do not yet have significant professional work experience, the presentation should help them to envision the work to be done, how they will help the member’s organization, and what they will learn through the process.

    The full introductory presentation should run 5 minutes or less.

    Introduction – Introduction of the council member, his/her organizational role, and the organization itself, including (if not widely known) what the organization does. 

    Case – A high-level overview of the problem and/or opportunity and why it is important to be solved or investigated.

    Resources – A summary of the data, support, access to employees, etc. that are part of the case. (Generalities are sufficient.) Anything relevant to the scenario that helps students understand the scope of the work is helpful, including the managerial resource(s) being committed to their oversight.

    Goals – A statement about the desired outcome(s) of the project, specifically what a good result would look like.

    Skills – A description of the skillsets the council member is seeking for the project, as well as the skills that he/she anticipates students will develop doing the work.

  • Results Presentation

    Results Presentation

    After the 2 students complete the case project, they will make a presentation at the last advisory council meeting of the semester. The presentation should help a general audience understand the objectives, activities, and results of the project (without disclosing proprietary information). Results presentations are given by the 2 students who worked on the case.

    The full results presentation should run 10–12 minutes.

    Introduction – The presentation begins with an introduction of the 2 students, the organization’s manager overseeing them, and the organization itself, including (if not widely known) what the organization does.  

    Case – A high-level overview of the problem and/or opportunity and why it was important to be solved or investigated.

    Activities – A summary of what was done during the project to approach or address the case. This could be a brief explanation of the steps taken to research, investigate, and/or analyze the problem or opportunity.

    Results – A description of the outcome(s). It should at least guide the audience in understanding the usefulness and impact of the work, if not provide them with the actual results (proprietary-dependent).

    Lessons Learned – A concluding examination of issues that arose during the project, and how those working on the project learned and adapted in order to overcome the difficulties or barriers.

  • What is a Case Project?
    Case projects are provided by members of the Management Advisory Council. Each is project is short-term (approximately 2 months or less), low-commitment (40 hours per student), real-world experience for one pair of Honors students. Case projects typically involve research or analyses on the member’s “that would be nice to know” list that has not yet risen to a level of urgency. In other words, these are important but not urgent issues. The case project and its students are overseen by a manager within the member’s organization.
  • What are the benefits?

    Cases allow council members to engage with Honors students via short, low-commitment projects. This increases the interaction and experience with the students and builds relationships that potentially lead to internships and employment. In addition, usable results are obtained through the students’ work.

    Students volunteer for the projects. The work is unpaid. However, it involves professional management-related activities and thus enables students to develop their skills, résumés, and professional networks.

  • What are the requirements?

    Case projects must meet the following requirements:

    • Scope – Cases must be relatable to an area of professional management activity.
    • Scale – Projects should be small enough to provide results after 80 hours of work. In other words, each student should be contributing 40 hours to the project.
    • Duration – Projects start near the beginning of a given semester (i.e., in September or January) and finish within two months (i.e., mid-November or mid-March).
    • Design – Cases have a clearly stated objective and/or problem to explore, often broken into a few steps likely involving data or access to company expertise to complete the work.
    • Oversight – Students are assigned directly to a manager who can answer questions and provide guidance and access.
  • Do you have examples?

    Case Projects are a new initiative for the Honors in Management. However, the Coggin marketing department has piloted a similar initiative in partnership with VENUS Fashion. VENUS provided two separate cases for four students to complete:

    • Brand Analysis – Students compared brand attributes between VENUS and selected competitors.
    • User Experience – Students followed customers through the purchase process at VENUS and at selected competitors.

    Since the pilot with VENUS, other marketing cases studies have been successfully completed:

    • CSX – Students analyzed all chemical shipments in the eastern U.S., identifying unmet needs and sales opportunities, and creating a repeatable analysis process.
    • Doyle Group – Students defined “gig” marketing worker requirements and then built an on-demand pool by identifying, vetting, and contracting qualified workers.
    • Crowley – Students analyzed two years of all global container shipments—by product category, customer, and ports of departure and entry—to determine alternative near-shore opportunities. This became a repeatable process.
    • Fanatics – Students assessed the direct-to-web photo assets process, categorizing hundreds of vendors (with tens of thousands of products) into four categories of asset quality. They then recommended process improvements and built a dashboard currently in use.
    • Community First – In advance of Community First reopening a branch on the UNF campus, students completed a full qualitative and quantitative market research study of students’ financial health and financial awareness.
  • What makes a good case project?

    Good projects use existing or easily gathered data allowing students to make meaningful analyses or comparisons.

    Good cases could include operational, production, service, or value chain analysis. They might include processes, internal or external customer experience audits, or other reviews based on data a council member has at hand or that is collectable by survey or other quick method.

    (Council members with an idea for a case project, should contact management.honors@unf.edu to discuss.)

  • How are cases managed?

    Cases are overseen by a manager at the council member’s organization. While our students are bright, self-learning, and motivated, they typically are not highly experienced. A work plan with guidance and oversight are important to the project’s success. We recommend, at a minimum, a process that includes these events:

    Case Project Registration – The council member files a case project (see Resources) with the Honors committee, who adds the member to the first Advisory Council meeting agenda of a Fall or Spring semester.

    Introductory Presentation – The council member presents the case at the meeting. An outline for the presentation is provided below.

    Networking –­ Students approach the member during the networking portion of the meeting to learn more, and then register their interest with Honors course instructor for consideration.

    Student Assignment – Two students are selected for the case. Assignment is based on the skillsets needed by the council member and the abilities and interests of the students. Introductions are then made between the organization’s project manager and the students.

    Project Kick-Off – A kick-off meeting is held between the manager and students, providing a project overview, clear instructions (e.g., project plan), outcome examples, and required data. The students are asked to complete a small, measurable part of the project within a week to ensure they understand the objective.

    Initial Check – A first update meeting is scheduled approximately one week later to ensure students are heading in the right direction. Feedback is provided to help ensure the students will deliver what is expected. (Additional meetings may be scheduled as desired.)

    Mid-Check – After approximately one month, a formal update meeting is held to ensure the students are progressing as expected. This could include an internal presentation for additional feedback. (Additional meetings may be scheduled as needed or desired.)

    Results Presentation Draft – Results are provided in a final presentation draft, which is reviewed by the manager.

    Results Presentation – Students present their findings internally at the organization and at the last Advisory Council meeting of the semester. The council member controls what is presented at the council meeting to avoid disclosure of proprietary information. An outline for the presentation is provided in Resources.

  • How does a case project get registered?
    Council members provide the below Case Project Registration information to the Honors committee. The projects are discussed with the sponsor and committee and then placed on the next semester’s first Council meeting agenda.

Aspire Initiative

Aspire is a joint initiative of the Honors in Management and Honors in Marketing programs. It provides an alternative path to Honors training for students with constraints such as lack of time to complete the entire Honors program or ability to meet the full program qualifications.

More specifically, Aspire is a course that:

  1. Mirrors the Honors course’s professional and career development curriculum.
  2. Counts as a Management elective.
  3. Serves as credit for the Honors course and provides Honors program acceptance if a student subsequently qualifies for the program.

The Aspire course prerequisites are:

  1. Management Major.
  2. B or better in MAN3025.
  3. UNF or overall undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or higher.

For further details on the Aspire Initiative, see the Honors and Aspire in Management Fall 2023 Bulletin or email the Honors program at management.honors@unf.edu.