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Department of Economics

Applicant Mentoring Programme

Economics PhD Students Talking

Applicant Mentoring Programme

Considering applying to our PhD Economics programme, but have little access to people who have experience with the process?

Applicant Mentoring Programme (AMP)

We understand that preparing a competitive application to PhD Economics programmes can be a difficult task for applicants who have little or no access to people who have experience with the process. Some applicants benefit tremendously from the help and insights provided by family or friends who are themselves academics or who are otherwise familiar with admissions into top academic programmes. Unfortunately, access to such a network of expertise is particularly rare for applicants from groups who are underrepresented in economics.

The Applicant Mentoring Programme (AMP) is an inter-university initiative led by PhD students that aim to reduce these information barriers. Please visit the AMP website to learn more about the initiative, such as the eligibility criteria and the extent of support offered. There you will also find information on how and when to apply for mentoring.

Please note:

  • The AMP mentors provide their time on a volunteer basis.
  • Participating in AMP will not be considered by the Department’s Admission Committee and in no way forms part of the application process for the MRes/PhD programme.

For further information, you can contact the Coordinator for this programme: Immanuel Feld: immanuel.feld@warwick.ac.uk

Who is encouraged to join?

AMP welcomes applicants from all groups that are underrepresented in economics. This includes, but is not limited to, applicants who identify as minority, female, low-income, first generation (i.e. first in the family to attend university), LGTBQ+, and people with disabilities. Only students who are currently pursuing or have completed undergraduate studies should join the programme.

What kind of advice can a AMP mentor provide?

AMP mentors are economics PhD students at Cambridge, LSE, Oxford, UCL, or Warwick and they are able to answer questions about and provide advice on the application process. This may include writing a strong statement of purpose or research proposal, highlighting strengths and explaining weaknesses in the applicant’s profile, which courses to take, and how to approach professors with requests for reference letters.

Furthermore, AMP mentors can share their experiences as PhD students with applicants to give them a more accurate idea of what doing an MPhil or a PhD in economics is like.

How can I join the programme?

Please fill out our application form on the AMP websiteLink opens in a new window.

Who are you and why are you doing this?

We are a group of PhD students across five British universities: Cambridge, LSE, Oxford, UCL, and Warwick. We are all enrolled in economics PhD programmes in these universities and we are excited to share what we know about MPhil/PhD applications with people from underrepresented backgrounds in economics.

Our goal with AMP is to improve the variety of backgrounds within our very exciting, yet not very diverse field. Like many other people within economics, we are concerned about how similar people studying, teaching and researching economics are. The same sex, countries, ethnicities, levels of parental education, and income are overrepresented in our departments. We launched AMP for the first time in autumn 2020 and we have grown in strength ever since.

We come from a wide variety of countries and social backgrounds. We hope to be able to make a difference at the stage of education where we can have the greatest impact: admissions to PhD programmes. Most importantly, we hope to see you as colleagues and friends in our Department soon!

When should I join?

AMP is designed for prospective applicants who will submit their applications to MPhil/PhD economics programmes either this year or the next. It is expected that mentees are applying to one or more of the following universities: Cambridge, LSE, Oxford, UCL, or Warwick. Requests for mentorship are assessed on a rolling basis and applicants are matched to AMP mentors subject to availability.