17th Annual Economics Scholars Program Conference for Undergraduate Research

How can students participate in the conference?

Peer Review Board

Current undergraduates are invited to apply to be a member of the Peer Review Board. These board members are responsible for evaluating all conference submissions against a rubric to determine which students should be offered a presentation or poster session. Board members attend virtual trainings in March and April and review proposals submitted for the conference in September. Applicants should be currently enrolled or have completed intermediate macroeconomics and microeconomics courses. Exceptions do apply; please check with your professors to ensure you are able to perform the role as described. Students who serve on the Peer Review Board are encouraged to attend the conference and may also participate as presenters, discussants and session chairs. Application Deadline: Friday, March 24, 2023.

Presenters

Current undergraduates who are conducting independent or coauthored research in all fields of economics and finance are encouraged to submit a proposal for consideration. Papers can be empirical, theoretical or analytical in nature. All proposals submitted will be reviewed by the ESP Peer Review Board. If proposals are accepted, student(s) will have the opportunity to present their research in front of their peers during presentation sessions on October 20. Presenters can also participate in the conference as discussants and/or session chairs. Proposal deadline: Monday, September 18, 2023.

• Evaluation rubric

Poster session presenters

Current undergraduates who are conducting independent or coauthored research in all fields of economics and finance and encouraged to submit for a proposal for a poster session. Proposals can be research that is either completed or currently being conducted but with results to present. If poster proposals are accepted, student(s) will have the opportunity to present their research during the conference on October 20. Poster presenters may also serve as discussants and/or session chairs. Proposal deadline: Monday, September 18, 2023.

• Evaluation rubric

Session chairs

Session Chairs are the hosts of the presenter sessions. They make sure that discussants and presenters are on time and sessions run smoothly. They will introduce the overarching themes of the session, introduce presenters, manage presentation times and discussant responses, and moderate any audience questions if there is remaining time. Session Chair is a great role for underclassman who are just beginning their economic education journey. Application deadline: Monday, September 18, 2023.

Discussants

Discussants hold two important responsibilities during the conference – helping those in the audience better understand the paper by reading the paper assigned very carefully and taking the time to understand the paper’s contributions, its strengths and weakness and providing comments such as why and what can the author do to improve the paper. The discussants role is designed for undergraduate students who have completed coursework through intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics, and a background in econometrics is particularly useful. Application deadline: Monday, September 18, 2023.

Key Dates

March

• Monday, March 1: Peer review board applications open
• Friday, March 24: Peer review board applications close
• Monday, March 27: Peer review board notification

August–October

• Monday, August 28: Proposals and registrations open
• Monday, September 18: Proposals, discussants and session chair applications close
• Friday, September 29: Proposal notification
• Wednesday, October 4: Final paper submission deadline for accepted proposals
• Friday, October 6: Session chair and discussant notification
• Monday, October 16: Student and faculty registration deadline
• Friday, October 20: Conference