Advice for PhD Students in Economics

Welcome! This site is a curated collection of resources and advice for economists at every stage of the academic pipeline — from undergraduates considering a PhD to students navigating the job market.

Who is this for?

Undergrads exploring the PhD path. The Pre-PhD sections cover whether a PhD is right for you, how to prepare your application, and what pre-doctoral opportunities exist.

Current PhD students. The During the PhD sections cover everything from finding research ideas and writing papers to presenting your work, managing your mental health, and surviving the job market.

What you’ll find

Pre-PhD

• Undergrad resources — deciding whether a PhD is right for you, building your profile, pre-doctoral programs, and math preparation.
• Applying to grad school — application strategy, statement writing, and choosing programs.

During the PhD

• Research — finding ideas, turning them into papers, writing, and presenting.
• Tools — datasets, coding resources, and using AI in research.
• Professional development — the job market, conferences, funding, mentoring, and refereeing.
• Well-being — mental health resources and support for research assistants.

Origins

This collection was originally created by Chris Roth and David Schindler as a Google Sites page. It has been migrated to this open-source Quarto website so the community can contribute and keep it up to date.

Contributing

Found a great resource? Spotted a broken link? Contributions are welcome! Visit the GitHub repository to open a pull request or file an issue. See the contributing guide for details.