PREDOC Education
Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers (PREDOC) runs educational programs that inform students about pre-doctoral opportunities and help them develop the coding, research, and professional skills necessary to submit an application. In addition to the synchronous summer course, our curriculum consists of a collection of free workshops, asynchronous courses, and advice from experts. Each element is a stand-alone event.
Bea Rivera (00:01):
With a program like Pre-Doc, it gives you the skills, um, it gives you the connections, it gives you the exposure. But I think above all, what ties all of that together is it gives you the confidence to know that you can submit your name alongside everyone else.
Pradeep Chintagunta (00:20):
The students were very engaged. What came across very clearly was their commitment to working in this area and continuing to work in this area.
Lauren Russell (00:30):
Well, a good number of the students came with like these big topic areas that they're interested in studying, and just trying to figure out how do I make the research questions in this area? Like what questions can I answer? And so seeing students just bring their passion for the topic and trying to figure out how to map into research was really cool.
Shuvam Bhowmick (00:46):
There's, you know, so many resources that this program gave me. Overall, it was just a fun experience and the inspiration that I could solve economic problems is probably the biggest thing I took away.
Fatima Djalalova (00:59):
Participation in the classroom really opened my eyes to how I can continue to use my skills to answer very interesting research questions. PREDOC was very valuable in helping me confirm that yes, this is what I want to do.
Bea Rivera (01:12):
They saw me through as a rising senior and as a young adult who was given an opportunity and they made sure that I could arrive there.
2024 PREDOC Summer Course
The 2024 PREDOC Summer Course will give you the opportunity to:
- Discover what a research career really looks like
- Ask and answer a meaningful question about society
- Learn to analyze large, real-world data sets
- Network with other students considering a research career
- Present your work at our annual summer conference in Washington D.C., hosted by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
- Earn a culminating stipend award of $2,000
The PREDOC Summer Course: Using Big Data to Solve Economic and Social Problems is an eight-week, tuition-free course providing a culminating award of $2,000 to successful participants. A goal of the program is to remove barriers to access to research and doctoral careers in quantitative social science, and cultivate an inclusive classroom experience where different ideas and experiences interact productively. This virtual course is designed to prepare rising undergraduate sophomores and juniors with the coding, research methodology, and professional skills that are relevant for pursuing a research career in the quantitative social sciences. We want students to be well-equipped to find their own research pathways, whether they lead to a pre-doctoral position or graduate study.
Applications are now closed. Please check back next year for information about the 2025 cycle.
Please contact us at info@predoc.org with any questions.
Summer Course Institutional Partners
This summer, the course will be taught by Professor Bruich, a lecturer and advisor in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Professor Bruich is a representative of Harvard's Opportunity Insights (OI), one of the main program partners helping to ensure the success of this program. Along with Prof. Bruich, students will have the opportunity to learn from and meet with faculty and economists representing a diverse range of specialties from OI and other premier research institutions.
The Federal Reserve Board of Governors will host Day 1 of the capstone research conference in Washington, D.C.
Opportunity Insights
OI's mission is to identify barriers to economic opportunity and develop scalable solutions that will empower people throughout the United States to rise out of poverty and achieve better life outcomes.
Opportunity Insights
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States. It performs five general functions to promote the effective operation of the U.S. economy and, more generally, the public interest.
Federal Reserve Board of GovernorsPrevious courses
PREDOC has offered a summer course annually since 2021. See each year's syllabus here:
Students have gone on to PhD programs institutions like Harvard and UT Austin, and pre-docs at institutions like the Chicago Federal Reserve, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Yale School of Management. Others have been hired into industry roles at companies including Analysis Group and the Bridgespan Group.
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