Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Research ideas, class-linked projects, independent student work, and opportunities around and beyond the University of Rochester.

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What this page is for

This page is a working list of research ideas and opportunities for undergraduate students. Very motivated students who can demonstrate a record of independent follow-through on projects are welcome to talk with me about possible research work.

Pr. Rizzo’s Research Ideas

Start here

Research Project Support

My interests and work are focused on the economics of higher education and various topics in environmental economics. Current or former undergraduates interested in these areas may find projects here worth developing into research assistance, independent research, class projects, presentations, or longer written work.

Higher EducationEnvironmental EconomicsStudent Research

Best fit

These ideas are best for students who can work independently, keep track of details, read carefully, and make steady progress without needing constant supervision.

Economics of Higher Education

  • Net tuition prices, room and board, and the real meaning of college affordability.
  • The sharp decline in community college enrollments.
  • A revisitation of the Bennett Hypothesis.
  • An apportionment analysis of rising college tuition, net pricing, and expenditures.
  • Grade inflation, degree inflation, and labor market outcomes.
  • University administration changes over time and student outcomes.
  • University attendance and the development of critical thinking skills.

Environmental Economics

  • A primer on the expected economic costs of climate change.
  • Real estate values and proximity to renewable-energy projects.
  • The energy transition challenge.
  • Futures contracts, betting markets, and environmental policy.
  • Does it pay for universities to go green?
  • Revisiting Julian Simon-style resource research.
  • War and the environment.
  • LEED design and environmental outcomes.

Birds, Habitat, and Environmental Policy

  • Market mechanisms, habitat banking, biodiversity offsets, and payments for ecosystem services.
  • Property-rights arrangements and governance structures for bird habitats.
  • Polycentric governance and adaptive co-management in avian conservation.
  • Zoning regulations, minimum lot sizes, sprawl, habitat fragmentation, and bird abundance.
  • Birding access, green space, mental-health benefits, and environmental justice.
  • Choice experiments and willingness-to-pay for bird habitat characteristics.
  • Hedonic pricing, urban green infrastructure, bird species richness, and property values.
  • Conservation easements, bird diversity, and spillover effects.

The Fall and Rise of Craft Beer

  • Craft breweries and local economic development, including jobs, tourism, and local business revenues.
  • The environmental footprint of craft beer production.
  • Taxes, licensing, zoning, and the growth of the craft beer industry.
  • Craft breweries, social capital, community cohesion, and civic engagement.

Birds and Brews

  • The economic and environmental interactions between craft breweries and bird conservation efforts.
  • Craft brewery location decisions, bird habitats, and local economic development.
  • Bird-friendly certification, sustainability labels, and market-based conservation incentives.
  • Ecosystem services in the craft beer supply chain.
  • Craft beer and birding events as tools for community engagement and environmental stewardship.

Sports Economics and Other Topics

  • The impact of winning or losing athletic competitions and championships on later life outcomes.
  • The comparative incidence of child abuse in Scouts, churches, schools, and society.
  • Anxiety and mental health as drivers of DI takeup increases.
  • The faculty tax.
  • Win-win government reforms.
  • Gun-control legislation and disparate impact.

Course-Linked Projects

Class work that can become research
CCE

Center for Community Engagement Partnerships

Possible classes: Environmental Economics · Money, Credit and Banking · Sports Economics

The Center for Community Engagement may create opportunities to partner with local programs, including possible student expenses or small stipends for resource-grant projects. This could fit student consulting projects in Environmental Economics, Econ 211, or Sports Economics.

Community EngagementCourse Project

CCE Partner Page
Course Design

Course Improvement Opportunities

Possible funding: Teaching Center Student Course Development Projects

Students interested in helping redesign and improve aspects of the Economic Way of Thinking course or Environmental Economics course may be able to work through Teaching Center-funded summer course-development projects.

Teaching InnovationSummer

Student-Owned Research Ideas

For students with their own questions

Independent Research Topic Template

Add student-driven research ideas here. These can begin as class papers, senior projects, data exercises, literature reviews, or independent questions that deserve more careful work.

Student-OwnedIndependent Work

What makes a topic promising?

A good undergraduate research topic usually has a clear question, some way to find evidence, and a realistic scope. The best projects are smaller, sharper, and more disciplined than students first imagine.

Research Opportunities Around the University

UR and nearby opportunities
Fall Study
Sept. 7–Oct. 31

Smash the Crash: River Campus Bird-Window Collision Study

Fall 2026 · September 7–October 31 · River Campus · No experience needed

Dr. Richard Fadok of RIT and Jiwon Heo, a University of Rochester graduate student and the project’s River Campus site coordinator, are recruiting undergraduate volunteers for the fall migration bird-window collision study.

Students may join at any point during the study. New volunteers will be paired with returning researchers to learn the study protocol.

Bird ResearchRiver CampusNo Experience Needed

Email Smash the Crash Project Website Recruitment Slide
Simon

Data-Driven RA Opportunity at the Simon School

Skills: R, Python, Stata, data cleaning, geographic data

Professor Elena Prager has looked for research assistants for data projects on job commuting patterns and tech-worker career trajectories. These projects involve data merges, geographic data, and cleaning raw CSV or JSON data into usable form.

Research AssistantDataSimon School

RA

RA Opportunity for Students, Including First Years

Example project: gangs and education in Chicago public schools

Some student research projects need undergraduate help with detail-oriented data work. One example involved categorizing gangs in Chicago and merging GIS school-location data to school outcomes such as attendance, enrollment, suspensions, and expulsions.

Research AssistantFirst-Year FriendlyGIS / Data

Outside Research Opportunities

Beyond Rochester
External

Economics Conferences and Submission Dates

Use for: student papers, posters, presentations, and conference deadlines

Add links here to conferences, undergraduate paper competitions, poster sessions, summer workshops, and external research opportunities.

ConferenceExternal

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