Pre-Doctoral Fellow

University of Chicago • Chicago, IL

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Professor Bruce D. Meyer, the McCormick Foundation Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School, is seeking to hire two full-time Pre-Doctoral Fellows to join the Comprehensive Income Dataset (CID) Project for a two-year term starting in Summer 2026. The CID links government surveys with an unprecedented set of tax records and administrative program data, with the ultimate goal of being the most comprehensive and accurate income-related dataset ever created for the United States. The CID Project’s research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, cited in influential government publications such as the Economic Report of the President, and featured in media outlets such as the Economist, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Post. Pre-Doctoral Fellows will collaborate on research projects that further build the CID and use it to transform our understanding of economic well-being in the United States. Pre-Doctoral Fellows work closely with Professor Meyer and a core team of Ph.D. researchers – Derek Wu (University of Virginia) and Angela Wyse (Dartmouth College) – in all stages of the research process. Other researchers you may work with at the CID Project include Nikolas Mittag (CERGE-EI), James Sullivan (University of Notre Dame), and graduate students at the University of Chicago. As a fellow, you will link large and novel datasets to the CID; use cutting-edge statistical techniques to create more accurate measures of income and material deprivation; conduct sophisticated empirical analyses that have the potential to transform our understanding of economic well-being, poverty and highly vulnerable populations; prepare presentations and manuscripts; interact with outside academic experts and policy leaders involved with CID projects; and ultimately, coauthor papers submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. The Pre-Doctoral Fellow position is ideal preparation for top Ph.D. programs in economics and related fields. Previous fellows have gone on to attend Ph.D. programs at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, the University of California Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin, as well as obtain a Rhodes Scholarship. We seek Pre-Doctoral Fellow candidates who not only have exceptional technical skills and a proven ability to creatively tackle difficult empirical problems, but who are also passionate about advancing our understanding of some of the most deprived segments of the U.S. population and the programs that serve them. Furthermore, because our work is both highly challenging and necessarily collaborative, it is imperative that Pre-Doctoral Fellows be able to thrive in a team-based environment.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Statistics or related disciplines.
• Willingness and ability to obtain Special Sworn Status (requires 3 years of US residence within past 5 years) from the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Previous research experience.
• Proficiency in Stata; ability to use other statistical software packages (e.g., SAS, R, or Python).
• Significant coursework or experience in programming.
• Strong interest in understanding poverty and issues affecting vulnerable populations.
• Proven ability to work effectively in small teams, demonstrating a strong desire to both learn from and mentor other team members.
• Drive and ability to develop a detailed understanding of areas ranging from cutting-edge econometric techniques to institutional details related to marginalized populations.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• High attention to detail and quality in data analysis and written material.
• Significant knowledge of statistics and/or empirical economics research.
• Demonstrated ability to review and prioritize work independently and effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to be resourceful and creative in problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Pre-Doctoral Fellows will collaborate on research projects that further build the CID and use it to transform our understanding of economic well-being in the United States.
• Perform routine assignments related to scientific research projects.
• Assists in drafting presentations on research findings.
• Analyzes possible solutions using standard procedures.
• Ensures compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates.
• Writes articles, reports and manuscripts.
• Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
• Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens.
• Conducts literature reviews.
• Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Benefits

• The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees