How do you decide which applicants to accept for the John List Voltage Research Program and the External Voltage Research Program?

For both programs, we look for applicants who are interested in economic research. Although we do not require any specific skills, we prefer applicants who demonstrate a strong familiarity with economic topics of their interest.

For first year undergraduate students, we look for demonstrated interest, passion, and a willingness to learn tools of economic research, especially coding.

For later-year undergraduate students applying to the on-campus program, in addition to the above, we also look at the economics courses that an applicant has taken and prefer applicants who have some understanding of applied (micro-)economics and econometrics (including but not limited to: ECON 200+ courses (except 23xxx courses), ECON 11020/21020/21030) and some training in coding (including but not limited to: CMSC 140 courses).

For students applying to the external program, in addition to what we look for in first-year students, we look at the economics courses that an applicant has taken and prefer applicants who have some understanding of applied (micro-)economics and econometrics (including but not limited to: intermediate microeconomics and econometrics) and some training in coding (including but not limited to: Python courses, introduction to coding for social science, introduction to programming).

Can I still apply even if I have not taken many economics courses/am not an economics major?

Of course! You may put a note that you are not an economics major in the additional comments section of the application. We will consider you as if you were a first year undergraduate in this case and focus on your willingness to learn the tools of economic research.

How do you decide which applicants to accept for the Advanced Voltage Research Program?

For the Advanced Voltage Research Program, we require familiarity with Stata and/or R, and Overleaf/LaTeX. While not required, the best applicants are also acquainted with a wide variety of technical skills such as Selenium, server management, SQL, and Python. We also look at the economics courses that an applicant has taken and prefer applicants who have an understanding of applied (micro-)economics and econometrics at an advanced level (including but not limited to: ECON 21020/21030, ECMA courses, data science electives, ECON 21xxx courses, ECON 300+ courses). We also prefer applicants who have prior research experience, especially if they have previously worked with us before.

What is the pay for the Advanced Voltage Research Program?

$15/hr.

What is work-study eligibility?

Please see details here.

I am an international student. Do I need work authorization?

You will not require CPT authorization for the advanced program, as it is considered on campus employment.

How does work-study eligibility factor into the application process?

Due to budget constraints, we unfortunately cannot offer positions in the Advanced Voltage Research Program to everyone. However, work-study eligible applicants who are qualified do not count against our budget and are therefore encouraged to apply for the Advanced Voltage Research Program if they meet the qualifications.

Who gets a recommendation letter?

At the bare minimum, you will need to participate in the Voltage Research Program for at least two quarters. John List and our team will recommend students who are highly committed to the research program, have done excellent work, and demonstrate the most initiative.

What skills will I gain?

You will gain necessary skills for economic research, data science, and strategic thinking and problem solving techniques. These are some of the skills you may learn in the program, depending on the initiative you join.

• Data cleaning, data visualization, and data manipulation.

• Literature reviews

• Econometrics with Stata and R

• Python

• Web scraping with Selenium, BS4, etc.

• Database and server management, SQL

• Machine learning

• An economic and econometric-centered thinking: learning how to consider biases in analyses, reason how best to conduct economic research, and tackle constraints arising in research such as incomplete data.

• Programming problem solving techniques: learning to debug code, find ways around problems, and isolate errors.

• General problem solving techniques: coming up with solutions in the face of limitations, knowing what to prioritize.

• Project management: learning how to work in a coordinated team and streamline and communicate tasks efficiently.

What is the summer program about?

The summer program is an immersive, paid full-day research program lasting for a little under 2 months. We offer positions in the summer program for students who are committed during the academic year in one of the Voltage Research programs. More details about the summer program will come later.

Additional Questions

If you have any other question, please e-mail voltagera@uchicago.edu with the title containing “[Question]”.