Choosing a major is a significant step in your academic journey. But as an economics major, many more decisions remain.
Do you want to focus on micro- or macroeconomics? Applied or theoretical? Individual behavior or firm strategy? Public goods or markets, and if markets, formal or informal? Then there’s asset pricing, international development, industrial organization and labor economics, not to mention monetary policy and econometrics — and, of course, the history of economic thought in each of those areas, plus many more topics.
To help undergraduate students navigate those choices, Duke Economics has launched a new “Mentors for Majors” program.
Designed to help students explore the subfields of economics, it pairs undergraduates with a faculty mentor who specializes in an area of interest.
“The hope is that students will be able to gain a richer sense of how we in the department use economics — to develop new theories, better understand how the economy works, advance policy debates, et cetera,” said Professor Christopher Timmins, director of EcoTeach.
“Ideally, there will be discussions about the work that the mentors (and their graduate students) are doing, giving the economics majors a better sense of the wide variety of topics that fall under the heading of economics.”
Mentors will work alongside undergraduate advising personnel, providing additional support.
“We have a very successful advising team in the EcoTeach office within the Economics Department,” Timmins said. “That office checks in with majors before every registration window to make sure that students are meeting requirements and moving towards their graduation goals. Our advisors also meet with students when they declare the economics major to help them plan their path through our curriculum.”
This new program will only further bolster that support.
To learn more about the program and find the mentor who is right for you, visit the Mentors for Majors page.
Economics Department
