Senior Thesis
A senior honors thesis is a chance to investigate an idea, theoretical issue, policy problem, or historical situation of keen economic interest. All economics senior thesis writers are required to take an ECON 985 Senior Thesis Seminar.
Class of 2027 thesis writers: We're excited you're interested in thesis-ing! Please check out the Thesis Canvas page (linked below) and reach out to Kiran if you have any questions!
Resources for Writing an Economics Thesis
- Ec Thesis Canvas page
- Senior Thesis Guide, 2026-27
- Ec Thesis Registration Form, 2026-27
- Non-Ec Thesis Registration Form, 2026-27
- Thesis Formatting Guidelines, 2025-26 (updated 2/18/26)
- Check out Why to Write a Senior Thesis in Economics by Professor Benjamin Friedman.
- Our Writing Economics guide is a great reference for thesis writers, as well as for anyone doing any writing in economics (course paper, RAship, etc.).
- Sortable Thesis Advisor List, 2026-27 (updated 9/1/26)
- Advice from former thesis writers
- Advice for juniors thinking about a thesis
- Economics Senior Thesis Titles through 2026, available in Harvard Archives
- Ec Dept Thesis Blog, launched May 2020!
- Ec Thesis Prize Winners, 2026!
- General (not ec-specific) thesis support from the Academic Resource Center
Research Resources
- Undergraduate Research at Harvard, a source of info on research funding, research opportunities like BLISS, PRISE, PRIMO, and more.
- Harvard Libraries Resources
- For help with finding and accessing data, please consult Harvard Library's many data and research resources available here. For questions or further support, please reach out to govdocs@fas.harvard.edu.
- HBS Baker Library: Financial Data FAQ. HBS library contact: Austin Haley, auhaley@hbs.edu (was previously Mallory Stark)
- Sources for research funding on our website and through the College
- GIS Resources (for geographic data)
- For one-on-one help with GIS methods and data, you can make an appointment with the Harvard Map Collection librarians.
- To see when the library is hosting weekly, drop-in GIS hours each semester, search 'GIS' in the Harvard Library events calendar.
- Interested in a hands-on map-making workshop? Submit a request here!
- Human Subjects research and the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Any research that involves experiments, surveys, human subjects, or uses previously gathered data on human subjects containing identifying information must seek IRB approval.
- Apply through Harvard's Committee on the Use of Human Subjects (CUHS).
- Human Subject Training Seminars for undergraduates: details here.
- Guidance about research that may need IRB approval and steps to follow for approval.
- FAQs about human subjects research.
- If you have questions, please reach out to the econ IRB contact person at CUHS.