Creating Quality Undergraduate Research Programs in Economics: How, When, Where (and Why)

While undergraduate research (UR) has been growing across the academy for decades, economics has been relatively slow to adopt it as pedagogy. We argue for the development of comprehensive UR programs that not only require capstone research experiences, but integrate the development of foundational research skills throughout the curriculum. Fundamentally, there is a hierarchy whereby students learn basic research skills in lower-level courses, develop ability integrating content knowledge and research skills in upper-levels, and produce independent or collaborative research projects in later semesters. Successful UR programs depend on understanding this developmental model, integrating it into the curriculum, and taking advantage of resources to support it. To facilitate such improvements, we make six recommendations for departments to consider when building or strengthening their UR environment.