Undergrad research opportunities

Several economics associations invite undergraduates to present essays at their annual meetings and some award prizes for the best essay. Other organizations invite participation by undergraduates and provide summer and other opportunities for college students to pursue their interest in economics.

Annual Meetings that Invite Submission of Undergraduate Essays

Eastern Economic Association Undergraduate Sessions
The Eastern Economic Association invites undergraduates to submit essays for presentation at its annual meeting in late Feburary or early March. The deadline for submission is early November.

International Atlantic Economic Society: Best Undergraduate Paper Competition
To encourage undergraduate interest in economic issues, the International Atlantic Economic Society invites undergraduate students to compete in the IAES annual undergraduate paper competition. The winner of the student competition will receive: a $500 check, a handsome commemorative plaque, and complimentary publication of the paper in the Atlantic Economic Journal. The winner will be selected at the International Atlantic Economic Conference annual conference in October. The submission deadline is June 15.

Midwest Economics Association Undergraduate Sessions
The Midwest Economics Association invites undergraduates to present their essays at special undergraduate sessions of the annual meeting each March. An award of $200 goes to the best undergraduate essay. The deadline for submission of the essay is November 15.

Missouri Valley Economic Association invites undergraduates to submit proposals to present essays at the MVEA annual meeting and provide cash awards for top essays.

Council on Undergraduate Research provides a variety of venues for undergraduates to present their research.

Carroll Round at Georgetown University is an annual conference on international economics "provides a unique forum for research and discussion among the nation’s top undergraduates."

Journals for Undergraduate Student Research in Economics

The Berkeley Economic Review is the University of California at Berkeley's undergraduate, peer-reviewed, academic economics journal, and publishes undergraduate research papers and honors theses in the field of economics, political science, public policy, business, statistics, and related fields. They also accept academic term papers, class essays, policy briefs, and op-eds. All undergraduate students currently enrolled in an accredited four-year college or university are welcome to submit content for review.

The Developing Economist is edited at the University of Texas at Austin and welcome submissions from undergraduate economists.

Equilibria: Duke Economics Review accepts outstanding papers in economics and related fields such as business, accounting, finance, marketing, public policy, and game theory. Students from all academic disciplines may submit their work.

Issues in Political Economy is edited and refereed by undergraduates and publishes essays by undergraduates. This journal is published by Elon University and the University of Mary Washington.

Undergraduate Economic Review is edited by undergraduates and publishes essays authored by undergraduates. It is based at Illinois Wesleyan University.

The Columbia Economic Review publishes essays by undergraduate with an issue each semester. It is published by students at Columbia University. 

The Stanford Economic Review is Stanford's only undergraduate economics publication, accepting research papers and commentaries from all fields related to economics, including public policy, finance, international relations, business, and more.

The Student Monthly Labor Review is a pilot project by the Bureau of Labor Statistics dedicated to publishing social science research by undergraduate students. Subjects that the Student Monthly Labor Review publishes include, but are not exclusive to, demographics, labor economics, prices, environment, community research, and social statistics.

Summer Opportunities for Undergraduates

American Economic Association Summer Program and Minority Scholarship Program
The American Economic Association's Summer Program and Minority Scholarship Program is now based at Howard University. A program begun in 1974, the AEA Summer Program seeks to prepare talented undergraduates for doctoral programs in Economics and related disciplines, by offering a unique opportunity for students to gain technical skills in Economics, and conduct research with prominent faculty.

Contests for Students

St. Norbert College cosponsors the iOMe Challenge, inviting teams of undergraduatres to submit an essay and a short video to illustrate some of the economic issues associated with financial security. A blue ribbon panel chooses winning teams. The top prize is $10,000 to the winning student team and $2,000 to that team's faculty advisor. The winning team may also be invited to Washington, D.C. to present their entry to Members of Congress, policymakers and other notables interested in this policy issue. There will also be honorable mention prizes of $2,500 for teams and their faculty advisors. More details and specific rules are available at the contest's website. The deadline for teams to submit the essay and video is in the fall. 

Other Organizations

American Economic Association
Membership in the American Economic Association includes subscription to nine journals and a reduced rate for registration at the annual meeting. The journals are the American Economic Review, American Economic Review: Insights, the Journal of Economic Literature, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, the American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, and AEA Papers and Proceedings. The American Economic Review is published monthly and the other journals are published quarterly, with the exception of AEA Papers and Proceedings, which is published once a year in May. The AEA annual meeting happens every year in January. Economists from all over the world attend the meetings. There is also a job market for economists.

Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession
CSWEP, a committee of the American Economic Association, publishes a newsletter containing information that helps women keep up-to-date about what is happening in the profession.

Omicron Delta Epsilon
ODE is an honorary society of economics students, organized as chapters at participating campuses.  ODE honors "achievement in economics worldwide" and published The American Economist.

Council for Economic Education
The Council for Economic Education is a nationwide network that leads in promoting economic literacy with students and their teachers. The mission is to help students develop the real-life skills they need to succeed: to be able to think and choose responsibly as consumers, savers, investors, citizens, members of the workforce, and effective participants in a global economy.