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Fall 2017 Internships and Research Assistantship

Internships

Voices for Utah Children

Every year economics graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Utah sign up for the Voices for Utah Children internship. These interns work on original research projects that are distributed widely within the state, often generating press coverage and influencing public policy discussion.  Past projects have included The State of Working Utah Report, the Children’s Budget Report, analysis of the gender gap in Utah, and the quantity and quality of new jobs in Utah

Internship Goal

Complete a 20-40 page report, including charts, graphs, and footnotes, by the end of the semester.  The specific projects will be chosen based on the interests of the internship candidates and the current needs of Voices for Utah Children.

Qualifications

Students (ideally graduate economics students or possibly junior/senior undergraduates) should be prepared to commit roughly 8 hours to the internship each week. With support from Voices for Utah Children staff and University of Utah Economics Department faculty, they will access the data, analyze it, and prepare and format it in Excel and Word for presentation in charts and graphs while also drafting the accompanying text explaining the data in language understandable to the media, policymakers, and the general public. Students may also use R or Stata to analyze Census Bureau ACS, CPS, Supplemental Poverty Measure, and other microdata.

Stipends may be available. Economics elective credit may be earned. 

To apply, please submit by JUNE 30 DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 17

  1. A copy of your Degree Audit or transcript
  2. A letter providing a little more detail on your interest in the internship and any past experience in research, especially data-based research involving use of Excel or similar software. 

Please submit these documents by e-mail to Prof. Thomas Maloney.  For more information about earning academic credit, contact CSBS Internship Coordinator Dom Blanc.

For more information about Voices for Utah Children and about the expectations for these internships, contact Matthew Weinstein, MPP, State Priorities Partnership Director.

Utah Foundation

The Utah Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan, public policy research organization that is seeking research assistance during the Fall 2017 semester to assist with a project on Utah taxes. Specifically, the project will examine the state's options for its income tax reform efforts, but will also seek to understand certain sales and property tax change efforts. This research will result in three research publications that will cite the lead author and research assistant. This project may be partially funded through the University of Utah Program of Undergraduate Studies.

Economics elective credit may be available; contact CSBS Internship Coordinator Dom Blanc for more information on that process. For more information about Utah Foundation internships, contact Shawn Tiegen, Research Director.

Emperitas

Want to gain experience in one of the most explosive fields of the last decade? Want to learn valuable skills in a fun, empowering environment with other young ambitious professionals? Emperitas is a Salt Lake based data analytics and market research startup that’s changing the way companies use data in their decision-making. While traditional methods are failing, our unique approach to solving problems, boosting revenue, and making companies more efficient has quickly set us apart as a leader in applied research and analytics.

Emperitas is expanding its team of highly motivated individuals focused on learning valuable skills and accelerating their professional careers. Our team will teach you the most successful methods of conducting market research and data analytics while giving you the opportunity to apply what you’re learning on real projects. One of our core values is to “always be learning,” and our ideal candidate is someone who constantly challenges their own limitations.

This is an unpaid internship running from August 21 to December 8.  The expected work commitment is 15 hours per week (only 10 hours are expected in the office). Economics elective credit may be available; contact CSBS Internship Coordinator Dom Blanc for more information on that process.

To apply, please submit your resume to Cameron Lantz. Our intern positions fill up fast, so carpe diem.

Research Assistantship

Dust, Snow and the Ski Industry

Researchers in the Departments of Atmospheric Science, Geography, and Economics are developing a new project examining how the local snow pack, and the local ski industry, are affected by the incidence of dust and dust storms.

We are looking for a research assistant to collect and analyze data for this project. The work will entail compiling data from US Forest Service and interviewing ski resort operations managers in Utah & Colorado. Familiarity with primary and secondary data collection and analysis methods is desirable. $3000 is available to cover for the time, effort, and logistics for this part of the project. The proposed time frame for this research activity is Fall 2017-Spring 2018.  Contact Prof. Haimanti Bhattacharya for more information.

Last Updated: 11/15/22