Economics Beyond Middlebury

Here you’ll find information and resources about Economics Beyond Middlebury.

The Center for Careers and Internships is the place to begin your search for information on winter or summer internships as well as job opportunities following graduation. For an extensive list of opportunities personalized to your specific career interests, please use Handshake.

On this page, we have included additional general information put together by the Economics Department about Research and Policy Opportunities, Internships and Summer Opportunities, and Graduate School:

 

Research and Policy Opportunities

 

There is significant demand for economics research assistants and analysts in government agencies, think tanks, nonprofits, and international organizations, as well as in academia.

Government agencies hiring economists include the Federal Reserve System, Congressional committees, and various agencies within the Executive Branch:

The Federal Reserve System

Congress and the Executive

Think tanks in the United States are predominantly located in Washington, D.C., although there is a smaller cluster in New York City and a handful in other cities. Smaller regional policy shops can also be found around the country (often linked to a D.C.-based think tank). Most think tanks specialize in certain areas of policy work or advocacy, e.g., tax and budget policy, labor markets, inequality, the social safety net, urban economics, international economics and trade, etc. Some larger think tanks do work in almost all of these areas, e.g., the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings, or the Center for American Progress. Think tanks advocate for various policy agendas, some of which might be described as left-of-center, centrist, right-of-center, or more of a libertarian bent. If you are interested in working for a think tank, take a look at their areas of policy work and think about how your values align with their policy agendas. Here are a number of institutions likely to hire economics research assistants/analysts or policy interns (not a comprehensive list of all think tanks):

D.C.-Based Think Tanks

NYC-Based Think Tanks

National Networks of Policy Shops

Nonprofits (NGOs) and international organizations often hire economists to work on economic development and poverty alleviation initiatives:

NGOs/International Organizations

Students and recent graduates considering pursuing graduate school in Economics often find it helpful to have some initial work experience in academic research:

Academic Research

Internships and Summer Opportunities

The following organizations and institutions are among those regularly offering internship and/or summer opportunities for current students:

Graduate School

There are many graduate school programs that our Economics Major prepares you for – masters and PhD programs in Economics, Applied Economics, Public Policy, and related fields, as well as professional degrees (MBA, MPA, and MPP), among several others.

How should one prepare for a PhD in Economics or Applied Economics? Graduate training in economics requires additional mathematical preparation – multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and real analysis are often considered a must for many programs. Other quantitative courses (math, statistics, computer science, GIS) may also offer useful preparation for certain fields in economics. Good grades in these quantitative courses at Middlebury will not only signal your skills, they will also help you once you are in graduate school. Since the PhD programs are focused on training professional researchers, we strongly suggest you consider writing a senior honors thesis and/or getting involved in supporting a professor’s research while at Middlebury to decide if research is for you (and to get to know a faculty member who will be able to write you a letter of recommendation). Information about the thesis workshops can be found here and research opportunities with Middlebury faculty can be found here.

Where to apply? There are several rankings found online that will give you an idea about reputations of various departments and universities. Learning about these reputations can be daunting, so we suggest you talk to your faculty at Middlebury and our alumni who are currently in graduate school.

The American Economic Association offers many useful resources here.  

Department of Economics

Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT 05753

Amy Holbrook, Coordinator

Warner 103

(802) 443-5327

holbrook@middlebury.edu

Vijaya Wunnava, Events Coordinator

Axinn 243

vwunnava@middlebury.edu

Andrea Robbett, Chair

Warner 304

(802) 443-5654

chairecon@middlebury.edu