Student Resources

The department curates a list of economics-related workshops, events, and opportunities that may be of interest to the community. A list of upcoming dates can be found on our Events page. This information is also distributed on Fridays through our Weekly Events Listing listserv.

The Political Economy Club (PEC) is the organization run for and by graduate students in the department. The PEC oversees

• Social hours every other week as well as special events during the year, such as the skit show and the spring picnic.
• A Mentor-Mentee Program for first-years to socialize with and learn from more experienced students, especially in the context of life at UChicago as a new PhD student
• The PEC email listserv

The Deans Advisory Council (DAC) advises and informs the Division of Social Sciences leadership on administrative and academic issues that affect doctoral students. Learn more here.

The department's Graduate Student Liaisons (GSLs) expand on UChicagoGRAD's peer-to-peer mentorship model to better meet the unique and specific needs expressed by peers in the program.

The University has a Collective Bargaining Agreement with Graduate Students United – United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (GSU-UE) – Local 1103. The contract and frequently asked questions about unionization are available on the Provost’s website. Students with questions about the contract or union-related matters can email for assistance. Students can also contact the union, GSU-UE, directly.

Our graduate students have a choice of the department's compute server, Athens, and the divisional Acropolis cluster. Researchers are provided with home directory storage, accessible both on desktops and servers, and can gain access to faculty lab shares for handling large datasets when working with faculty members. 

Students may also leverage SSCS's Harbor storage system and software suite tailored for economics research, including:

• Statistical Analysis: Stata, R
• Data Management: SAS, SPSS
• Advanced Econometrics & Simulations: MATLAB, Gurobi, Knitro

A full list of software provided by SSCS is available here. For IRB approvals, URA contracts, and data use agreements support, please contact the Divisional Security Officer.

UChicagoGRAD is a dedicated resource for graduate students and postdocs to receive personalized, flexible training to complement their academic pursuits, including fellowship and communication support, career development, housing and financial wellness resources, and international student initiatives. 

The Dean of Students Office provides administrative support for graduate students in the Division of the Social Sciences. Students should contact the Dean of Students office with questions about funding, billing, enrollment status, course registration, graduation, disability accommodations, and Divisional policies. The Dean of Students office also creates important initiatives and programming to further diversity and enhance equity and inclusion within the Division. Students can also contact the Dean of Students office to have a conversation about any issue that's troubling them—academic or non-academic—and to discuss the Division's grievance policy.

UChicago Student Wellness offers a range of services to support students through the duration of their program. Find a list of services and eligibility here.