Undergraduate Ancillaries in the Economics Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Economics Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has had a long-term commitment to offering extra-curricular opportunities for undergraduate students to enhance their learning beyond the classroom. These opportunities include research, problem-solving, leadership development, Undergraduate Learning Assistance (ULA), peer tutoring, and networking events, among others. Given the Economics program’s substantial size within UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences—with over 1400 declared or intended majors in recent years—it is important to structure the activities in a manner that accommodates students’ diverse interests as well as their time constraints. In this paper, we introduce these different activities and discuss their scope, skill objectives, and time commitment. The benefits to students include opportunities for community, networking, exposure, application, teamwork, presentation, analysis, and research. We also discuss several challenges a department faces to successfully offer these diverse opportunities.