EconJobMarket®

Pre-Doctoral Program – Global Talent Common Application

Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland

The Department of Economics at the University of Zurich invites applications for pre-doc positions (1-2 years) for qualified applicants from low- and middle-income countries and/or with a refugee background (see below for details).

There are two application paths. Applicants should pursue both, they are not mutually exclusive.

• Common Application: First, qualified applicants from eligible backgrounds can apply through this common application process. This process will lead to a pool of finalists, from which professors can choose to hire pre-docs. This job posting refers to this path.
• Individual Postings: Second, many professors separately post job opportunities for their own pre-doc positions. These positions are open to all applicants, regardless of their origin or background. It is strongly recommended that interested candidates also apply directly through those postings.

What is the pre-doctoral research fellow’s role?

Pre-doctoral fellows work with a professor of the economics department to support their research, with substantive opportunities for on-the-job learning about academic research in economics. Pre-docs may be involved in all stages of research – brainstorming, literature reviews, project management, data analysis, and writing. The predoctoral position is a full-time in-person commitment (70% research, 30% on-the-job-learning).

The research fellow will become part of a vibrant community of predoctoral fellows at the department and of the wider research community at UZH. Predocs receive hands-on mentoring throughout. Previous pre-docs have worked, among others, with Professors Sandro Ambühl, Lorenzo Casaburi, Ana Costa-Ramon, David Dorn, Thomas Graeber, David Hémous, Mathias Hoffmann, Ronak Jain, Dina Pomeranz, Hans-Joachim Voth, David Yanagizawa-Drott and Ulf Zölitz.

Qualifications

The pre-doctoral positions are ideal for recent graduates who are interested in potentially going on to do a PhD in economics or a related field. We are looking for highly motivated candidates with strong quantitative, programming and analytical skills, and an interest in economic research. We particularly value curiosity, perseverance, and a demonstrated commitment to research and learning.

Specific requirements:

• Master’s or bachelor’s degree (in the last 5 years) with strong grades in economics or another quantitative social science field, including strong math skills;
• Strong knowledge of STATA, R or Python; familiarity with other statistical software or programming languages is a plus;
• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Recommendation letter from 1-3 letter writers who are familiar with academic research (professor, research supervisor, or similar).

The following qualifications are not required, but represent a plus:

• Knowledge of causal inference research methods;
• Previous experience in research, e.g. as a research assistant or a research manager;
• Top of the class, high GRE Quant score, completed MITx MicroMasters courses;
• Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines

Eligibility

This common application is open to applicants who meet any of the following criteria

• Having grown up in a low- or lower-middle income country (based on this World Bank classification).
• Having grown up in an upper-middle income country and being a first-generation university student (i.e. parents did not go to university)
• Refugee/asylum/forced migration background (having experienced flight or having had a residence status of stateless, asylum seeker, humanitarian visas, or similar).

To confirm your eligibility, please refer to the Application Checklist.

No prior work permit for Switzerland is required.

How to Apply

Please apply online here: https://www.facultyhiring.oec.uzh.ch/position/53411840. Look for “Pre-Doctoral Program – Global Talent Common Application”.

Please note that in order to submit your application through the application form, you’ll need to answer all questions and upload all documents in one go (no intermediate saving possible). Thus, please look at this Application Checklist and prepare your documents and responses in advance so that they can be copy-pasted into the application form.

For any inquiry, please contact predoc@econ.uzh.ch

Country: Switzerland

Education: Bachelor's, Master’s

Start Date (Earliest): 1. March 2026

Start Date (Latest): 1. February 2027

Length of Commitment: One or two years

Language Requirement: English

Application Deadline: Rolling applications with evaluation in batches. The next deadline is January 31, 2026.

Deadline for recommendation letters: February 7, 2026.

To apply, visit https://www.facultyhiring.oec.uzh.ch/position/53411840. (See posting for details.)

187414 - CSAE Predoctoral Research Fellow

Department of Economics, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford

Researcher Grade 6: GBP 35,681 – GBP 41,636 per annum (with a discretionary range to GBP 46,476 per annum)

Fixed-term from 1 September 2026 (with some flexibility on start date), for 12 months, with the possibility to extend for up to a further 12 months subject to funding and performance

The postholder will join Dr Rocco Zizzamia and Professor Stefan Dercon as a predoctoral fellow at the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), an internationally renowned development economics research centre at the University of Oxford. The fellow will work primarily on a large-scale cluster-randomised controlled trial in northern Bangladesh evaluating the impact and cost-efficiency of anticipatory cash transfers in response to monsoon flooding, implemented with GiveDirectly and the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD).

By the time the postholder joins, the bulk of the project’s field operations — sampling frame construction, randomisation, intervention design, partner set-up and the main payment rounds — will be complete. The role is therefore primarily focused on the analysis of the project’s rich survey, administrative and satellite data, and on the writing-up of that analysis into academic papers, policy briefs and donor reports. The fellow will, however, also take on day-to-day management of any remaining survey activity — including instrument refinement, contracting and supervision of survey firms, and quality control of incoming data.

Applications must be made online via Econjobmarket (EJM): EJM - Econ Job Market

View the further particulars here: Job Details

The closing date for applications is midnight UTC on 19 July 2026. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held online during the week commencing 27 July 2026.

We welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds, including those under-represented within higher education. No applicant or members of staff shall be unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Employment with the University and progression within employment will be determined according to personal merit and the application of criteria related to the duties and conditions of the post. In all cases, the primary consideration will be the ability to perform the job. As stated in the University’s Equality Policy and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, our commitment to equality and diversity goes hand in hand with our commitment to academic freedom and free speech.

To apply for this position, log in and choose your Applicant role (or, if you have no account, create one).

Professor Diego Puga is seeking one or more full-time predoctoral fellows at CEMFI to assist in the research project "City buzz: Quantity, quality, and variety implications of the urban environment", funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant. This position will be for one year starting in September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. However, candidates seeking a longer appointment can mention this on their statement of purpose. The research project uses anonymized cellphone, credit card and matched employer-employee data to understand the changing landscape of cities. More information on Diego Puga's research can be found at https://diegopuga.org/

Predoctoral Fellow’s Roles and Responsibilities:

• Assisting in the collection and preparation of large and complex datasets.
• Conducting statistical and econometric analysis.
• Helping with code optimization and replicability.
• Preparing data visualizations.
• Assisting the principal investigator in other aspects of the project.

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics, social sciences, mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics, or another quantitative field.
• Excellent coding skills, good knowledge of Python is required, knowledge of Stata and prior experience with Spatial Data Analysis is strongly valued.
• Meticulous, organized, and detail-oriented.
• Proficient in English. Knowledge of Spanish is not required.
• Strong interest in academic research
• The position is an especially good match for candidates contemplating applying to a PhD program in economics or another quantitative field.

Job conditions:

• Full-time position.
• The job is based in CEMFI in Madrid.
• Duration: One year, renewable for a second year, starting September 2026.

CEMFI is one of the leading Graduate Schools in Europe. We offer highly selective Master and PhD programs in Economics and Finance. All our research and teaching activities are done in English. Our faculty conduct research subject to the highest international standards.

CEMFI recognizes the positive value of diversity and particularly encourages applications from women and candidates with underrepresented demographics regarding disability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or other characteristics.

Candidates should submit a cover letter describing their interest in the position and how it fits with their prior experience and future plans, their curriculum vitae, two reference letters, optionally a research paper or writing sample, also optionally a sample of prior code (e.g., a link to a GitHub repository) and/or a prior data visualization or map. Application deadline: 15 July 2026.

If you need any further information, you can contact jobs@cemfi.es.

To apply for this position, log in and choose your Applicant role (or, if you have no account, create one).