Tobin Undergraduate Research Assistantships
Projects for Spring 2021 will be posted in late January, and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis from Monday, January 25, 2021 until Friday, February 5, 2021.
Have questions? Join the Economics Peer Mentors for a Q&A about the Tobin RA program from 7-8pm on Tuesday, February 2. More info here.
The Tobin undergraduate RAs are named after James Tobin, a prominent member of the Department of Economics at Yale from 1950 to 2002 and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1981. He was an avid supporter of involving undergraduates in research in economics and was the leader of “Tobin’s ‘army’ — generations of undergraduates [who] became part of an intellectual adventure … and were instilled with the desire to devote knowledge and reason to the betterment of society” (quoted in “Remembering James Tobin: Stories Mostly from His Students,” by Robert Goldfarb, Eastern Economic Journal, 2003).
The purpose of the Tobin Research Assistantships (Tobin RAs) is to give undergraduates in economics at Yale an opportunity to learn about conducting research in economics by working as a research assistant for a professor. Tobin RAs typically begin in the fall of each academic year and are renewable, upon mutual agreement of the professor and the research assistant, for up to one additional term. In each term, each Tobin RA requires approximately 10 hours of work per week for 12 weeks and pays $12.75/hour.
To apply for a project, students should submit an application form along with an uploaded curriculum vita (or resume). The relevant professor will receive an email of your application and curriculum vita, as will Qazi Azam (Undergraduate Registrar in the Department of Economics). Students may apply to at most three projects (one application per project), but accept no more than one position. Students who have participated in the Tobin RAs in the past are no longer eligible to participate. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis from Monday, January 25, 2021 until Friday, February 5, 2021. Projects may be able to accommodate more than one RA. Projects that have been completely filled are marked “Closed to further applications”.
Note: the Student Employment Office has implemented new undergraduate hiring policies for Academic Year 2020-21. Priority will be given to enrolled students who are receiving financial aid and are “in residence” (accepted the invitation to live on or near campus). You will be asked to supply information on these attributes in the application. Projects that are eligible for remote work are indicated in the project description.
Tobin Research Projects
Spring 2021
Fall 2020
Award: Caitlin Chun, Julia Wu
Spring 2020
Award: Andre Costa , Charles Barton
Award: Josh Purtell , William Arnesen , Ephraim Sutherland
Award: Naasey Kanko Arthur
Award: Derek Chen , Graham Hardcastle
Award: Katherine Kushner , Rohan Angadi
Award: Nikita Joshi, Jonathan Michael Schwartz
Award: Larissa Nguyen , Jessica Xu
Award: Karina Franke , Jorge Colmenares-Miralles , Joon Lee
Award: Alex Kane, Annie Fang, Robel Mulugeta
Fall 2019
Spring 2019
Fall 2018
Spring 2018
Fall 2017
Award: Declan Kunkel '19, Joseph (Joe) Doran '20, Catherine Peng '19
Award: Michael Mei '18, David Rubio '19, Andrew Sparkman '19, William Smith '19