Mentoring for Undergraduates

In the face of the growing representation of women at the baccalaureate level, the stagnation of the share of women in entering Ph.D. classes means that entering Ph.D. students represent a declining fraction of new baccalaureate women. This latter decline is no doubt rooted in the analogous decline in the fraction of women undergraduates who major in economics. CSWEP first explored the issue of “Where the Pipeline Begins” in the Fall 2006 CSWEP Newsletter. The Spring/Summer 2013 CSWEP Newsletter, titled “Where are the Women Economics Majors?” followed up with current statistics and pedagogical ideas for increasing representation.

CSWEP encourages undergraduate economics majors to continue in the field of economics by engaging in research early in their careers and by learning about the profession – from familiarization with application to and success in a Ph.D. program to exploration of the diverse career paths available to economists both in and out of academia. We also strongly encourage undergraduates to pursue economics mentoring opportunities available at your home institutions. Ask if your department has a mentoring program or peer mentoring program, visit with your faculty advisor and seek associations and clubs that support study in economics.

The American Economic Association maintains a list of Summer Study, Research, and Presentation Opportunities. The list includes invitations from several economics associations for undergraduates to present essays at their annual meetings with some awarding prizes for the best essay. Other listed organizations invite participation by undergraduates and provide summer and other opportunities for college students to pursue their interest in economics.

Some other resources that may be of interest include:

Many of the above links are courtesy of the University of Washington’s Mentor Resource Library.