Back to jobs
New

Research Professional | Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab

Chicago, IL

Job Title: Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab 

Location: Chicago, IL: Hyde Park Campus

Expected Start Date: 7/1/2025

Compensation: $55,000 - $62,000 annual salary with additional $2,000 professional development fund

Job Summary

Ariel Kalil is the Daniel Levin Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the College and directs the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy. Susan E. Mayer is professor emeritus at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the College, served as dean of Harris from 2002 to 2009. Together professors Kalil and Mayer co-founded the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab (BIP Lab).  

 

The Pre-Doctoral Fellow will work directly with Professors Ariel Kalil and Susan Mayer as well as post-doctoral and graduate student researchers at the BIP Lab to make intellectual and analytical contributions to our research. Work at the lab focuses on young children’s skill development and how parents invest in their children’s development in the home environment. We are especially interested in income-based parenting gaps and designing and testing interventions to close these gaps. To do so, we focus on the factors that shape parental decision-making and the behavioral tools that help close the intention-action gap.  

 

Some examples of current and upcoming projects at the BIP Lab include field experiments and RCTs on the role of education technology and parent engagement in early math learning and on a program designed to increase two-way parent-child conversations to boost early language and curiosity development; an RCT of a parent engagement program designed to mitigate chronic absenteeism in subsidized preschools; and large-scale surveys designed to assess educator practices and beliefs around ed tech use to support children’s learning at home and another designed to identify SES-based differences in parental investments in children’s early skill development. 

 

Professors Kalil and Mayer are seeking to hire a full-time Pre-Doctoral Fellow to join the BIP Lab for a one-year term subject to renewal starting summer or fall 2025. Tasks the fellow may work on include, but are not limited to, informing the research design of field experiments, informing implementation methodology, data cleaning, data analysis, and academic writing. The Pre-Doctoral Fellow will be jointly appointed at the Harris School and the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) which will provide numerous opportunities to participate in the intellectual life of the university. The fellow will have the opportunity as a BFI research professional to attend BFI’s week-long orientation, professional development retreat, weekly events with other pre-doc research professionals, and participate in BFI’s mentorship program. The fellow will also be invited to attend seminars and local conferences. 

 

The lab conducts field experiments, randomized control trials (RCTs), program evaluations, surveys, and secondary analysis of existing data. The research team works with organizations serving families in Chicago, Illinois, and nationally. We frequently consult with national and international organizations seeking to put our work into practice at scale and we present our work regularly at national and international conferences.  

 

The BIP Lab’s work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, The Economist, AP News, Brookings, The Hill, and others. 
 
Pre-Doctoral Fellows work closely with Professors Kalil and Mayer, Post-Doctoral fellows, student researchers, and professional research staff at the BIP Lab in all stages of the research process. As a fellow, you will contribute to research project ideation and design; conduct and present literature reviews; design surveys and research instruments, create pre-analysis plans; conduct statistical power analyses and randomization procedures for experimental studies; use cutting edge statistical techniques to measure experimental and survey outcomes; manage and audit large datasets, conduct robustness and sensitivity analyses, conduct sophisticated empirical analyses that have the potential to transform our understanding of behavioral tools and parent behavior in relation to child skill development in highly vulnerable populations; prepare presentations and manuscripts; interact with outside academic experts and policy leaders involved with BIP Lab projects; and ultimately, coauthor papers submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. 
 
The Pre-Doctoral Fellow position is ideal preparation for top Ph.D. programs in economics and related fields. This is the second year of the Pre-Doctoral Fellows program at the BIP Lab.  

Responsibilities

  • Pre-Doctoral Fellows will collaborate on research projects that build the BIP Lab research portfolio and use it to transform our understanding of children’s skill development, parental decision-making, and effective social policy in the United States.
  • Perform routine assignments related to scientific research projects.
  • Assists in drafting presentations on research findings.
  • Analyzes possible solutions using standard procedures.
  • Ensures compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates.
  • Writes articles, reports and manuscripts.
  • Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
  • Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
  • Performs other related work as needed. 

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in relevant field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

 

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

    • Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Statistics or related disciplines.

Experience:

    • Previous research experience

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

    • Proficiency in Stata required; ability to use other statistical software packages (e.g., SAS, R, or Python)
    • Significant coursework or experience in programming, quantitative analysis, and program evaluation
    • Exceptional technical skills and a proven ability to creatively tackle difficult empirical problems but also passionate about advancing our understanding of some of the most deprived segments of the U.S. population and the programs that serve them

Preferred Competencies

    • Strong interest in understanding human capital development, parental investments, and solutions to closing income-based gaps in parenting and children’s outcomes.
    • Proven ability to work effectively in small teams, demonstrating a strong desire to both learn from and mentor other team members
    • Drive and ability to develop a detailed understanding of areas ranging from cutting-edge econometric techniques to institutional details related to marginalized populations
    • Excellent oral and written communication skills
    • High attention to detail and quality in data analysis and written material
    • Significant knowledge of statistics and/or empirical economics research
    • Demonstrated ability to review and prioritize work independently and effectively
    • Demonstrated ability to be resourceful and creative in problem-solving

Working Conditions

    • The Pre-Doctoral Fellow will work in person at the Harris School of Public Policy in Chicago Illinois. A hybrid work arrangement is possible.  

Application Documents

    • Resume (required)
    • Cover Letter (required)
    • References (required)

About the Department

Why policy? For a better world. Why Harris Public Policy? Because when it comes to better policymaking, evidence matters. We work at the frontiers of data collection and analysis, using the latest technology and social science methods to design policies that work for society. We conduct rigorous inquiry in an environment of innovation and risk taking. We collaborate across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, adopting new methodologies to drive better solutions. We engage with our city, our world, and our leaders every day to evaluate and test our ideas. And we lead with our passion for driving social change, knowing that passion alone does not equal impact. This is Harris Public Policy: Social impact, down to a science.

The University of Chicago provides equal employment opportunities to all employees, applicants, and job seekers. No person shall be discriminated against in employment or harassed because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status, parental status, ancestry, source of income, or other classes protected by law. This policy includes the commitment to maintaining a work environment free from unlawful harassment.  

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Academic Transcripts*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago (BFI)’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.