Research Opportunities
UCLA Economics offers undergraduate Research Assistant (RA) opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in academic research.
UCLA Economics offers undergraduate Research Assistant (RA) opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in academic research. RAs assist faculty with tasks such as data analysis, literature reviews, programming, and drafting research materials. These roles help students develop practical skills, build faculty connections, and prepare for graduate school or careers in economics. Applications are open to Economics, Business Economics, and Math Economics Majors.
Students typically need strong academic performance, relevant coursework (e.g., Econometrics), and programming skills to qualify. Applications involve submitting resumes and academic details, which faculty review to match with research needs.
UCLA’s Premier Economics Organization
In collaboration with UCLA’s Economics Department, our student-run organization strives to actively connect students with faculty for academic and professional opportunities.
Find a research pathway.
Faculty-Guided Research
Undergraduate students at UCLA may wish to do research under the guidance of a faculty member in UCLA’s Department of Economics. The websites for each faculty member can be found here.
In addition to contacting the faculty member(s) that you’d like to work with, please contact the staff in the Undergraduate Research Center for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (URC). The staff in this office serves all students in the humanities, the arts, the social sciences, and behavioral science disciplines.
For more information, please visit the two websites below:
Research Fellows Program
The Economics Undergraduate Research Fellows Program is an opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in economic research. With the support of the Economics Board of Visitors, the program supports talented undergraduates to work side-by-side with a faculty member on the professor’s research team.
Research and Writing Support
Undergraduate students may also use this website below as a resource:
UCLA’s Department of Economics Research Courses
Below are the undergraduate research courses in the Department of Economics that our students can take.
Economics 99 — Units: 1 to 2
Tutorial (supervised research or other scholarly work), three hours per week per unit. Entry-level research for lower-division students under guidance of faculty mentor. Students must be in good academic standing and enrolled in minimum of 12 units (excluding this course). Individual contract required; consult Undergraduate Research Center. May be repeated. P/NP grading.
For student eligibility and enrollment information, please visit UCLA Undergraduate Research.
Economics 199A — Units: 4
Tutorial, three hours. Requisites: courses 11, 101, 102. Limited to juniors/seniors. Supervised individual research or investigation under guidance of faculty mentor. Culminating paper or project required. May be repeated twice but may be applied only once toward major requirements. Individual contract required. P/NP or letter grading.
Economics 198A & 198B — Units: 4 each
Economics 198A
198A: Tutorial, three hours. Requisites: courses 11, 101, 102. Limited to senior departmental honors program students. First term of two-term sequence in which students develop honors thesis or comprehensive research project under direct supervision of faculty member. Individual contract required. In Progress grading (credit to be given only on completion of course 198B).
Economics 198B
198B: Tutorial, three hours. Requisite: course 198A. Limited to senior departmental honors program students. Second term of two-term sequence in which students complete honors thesis or comprehensive research project under direct supervision of faculty member. Individual contract required. Letter grading.
