Welcome to Economics

Ryan Malenczak, the new Assistant Director of Admissions and Student Engagement for the MA Statistics Program here at Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York is sharing a list of upcoming events for prospective students.

Weekly Open Houses:
Every Wednesday, we host in-person Open Houses where students can meet the MA Statistics Program Director, the student support team and current students. Register here for available dates.

Virtual Information Sessions:
For students who are unable to attend in person, we also offer virtual information sessions throughout the admission season. They can view available dates and register here.

Brief Overview

The Econometrics Game is an annual competition jointly organized by Oeconomica, the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics, and the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics. It is a fast-paced competition that takes place over a weekend: On Saturday, teams of one to four undergraduates from across the U.S. and around the world are given a dataset and tasked with devising an answer to a question of economic importance in the next 13 hours in the form of a research paper. On Sunday morning, the finalists are selected and present their findings in front of a panel of judges, who determine the final placement. In previous years, judges included Nobel Prize-winning economists such as James Heckman and Lars Peter Hansen.

Prizes for top-performing teams include iPads, top range Bluetooth speakers, and economics-themed merchandise. We also provide opportunities to network with our sponsors, which include top economic consulting firms such as Cornerstone Research and Analysis Group.

Event Logistics

The 2026 Econometrics Game will begin with a remote preliminary round in January or February. The preliminary round will be an asynchronous take-home task testing the teams’ ability to apply econometric techniques to real-world problems. The qualifiers will be invited to the in-person final round, held in person from Friday, April 10 to Sunday, April 12, 2026. 

Registration for the preliminary round is now open and will close at 5 PM Central Time on February 17. The registration form can be found here.

For the final round, we will cover hotel arrangements for teams based outside of Chicago. Travel is not covered, so please contact your department for assistance. For Chicago-based teams, we will not cover hotel arrangements but will reimburse teams for any travel expenses incurred. 

Additional Resources

Additional information about the Game, including the competition rulebook and prompts from previous years, can be found on our website or in the registration form. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team at oeconomica.uchicago@gmail.com or through our website. We look forward to hearing from you and having you with us at this year's Econometrics Game. 

Program Description

SJU in Peru is an international, community service learning experience involving a 10-day learning tour with Fair Trade coffee co-operative Café Femenino. Students engage in pre-departure programming and an on-campus course (RS 291) to prepare for travelling together to Peru from October 9-18, 2026 (Reading Week). During this experience we explore how Fair Trade supports ethical production and consumption practices, environmental stewardship/climate adaptation, women’s empowerment, Indigenous rights, and more. We see and experience first-hand the complete farm-to-table process of growing coffee and participate in building a sustainable water management project alongside a rural farming community in northern Peru. Join us and be a part of this 18-year story of international friendship and solidarity through service learning. Any UW undergraduate student is welcome and encouraged to participate. Applications are open until February 22^nd 2026! For more information and to apply visit our website. You can also learn more from our partners and alumni in this video, or you can contact Michelle at michelle.metzger@uwaterloo.ca with any questions.