The Research Associate program places recent graduates inside the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for two years. Associates work alongside staff economists on the analysis behind monetary policy, bank regulation, the payments system and financial markets, at the regional, national and international level.
The work is empirical. Associates review and analyse economic data, write programs in Stata, MATLAB, R, Python or SAS, run literature reviews, and build the charts, tables and written summaries that go into policy memos and academic papers.
The post is designed as a bridge to graduate school. The Bank trains associates in-house on the statistical tools and reimburses tuition for graduate courses at nearby universities; across the Federal Reserve, about two-thirds of research associates go on to graduate degrees in economics or a related field.
Benefits & funding
- A full-time salaried position at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, held for two years. The Bank does not publish a pay range on the program page.
- In-house training in MATLAB, Stata, SAS, R and Python.
- A tuition-reimbursement program covering graduate courses at Harvard University, MIT and Boston University.
- Weekly economics seminars with visiting researchers, plus the Bank’s library and research databases.
- Benefits package including 401(k) matching, health insurance, paid leave and fitness centre access.
Eligibility
- A bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, computer science, international relations or a related field with a concentration in economics.
- US citizens and permanent residents of the United States. The Bank’s program page lists US citizenship among its requirements, while the Federal Reserve’s research-assistant recruiting site states that Boston applicants should be US citizens or permanent residents.
- Working knowledge of statistics and econometrics, plus hands-on experience with a statistical package such as Stata, Python, MATLAB or R.
- Strong analytical, written and organisational skills. Earlier research-assistance or fact-checking work counts in an applicant’s favour.
- Aimed at recent graduates. No age limit, minimum years of work experience or gender requirement is stated.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Residence required
USA
Education required
Bachelor · Master
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Application process
- 1Write a cover letter addressed to Jeffrey Kelley, Recruiting Manager, setting out your interest in the role and how it fits your career plans.
- 2Prepare a resume covering the colleges attended, areas of concentration, GPA, computer skills and relevant experience.
- 3Choose a writing sample of three to five pages on an economics topic that shows technical work.
- 4Attach a transcript; an unofficial copy is accepted at the first stage.
- 5Arrange two letters of recommendation, at least one of them from an economics professor, sent directly to Bos.RA.Recruiting@bos.frb.org.
- 6Submit the application through the Federal Reserve System careers portal, which carries the Bank’s open positions, before the window closes on 30 September.
Program timeline
the application window opens; it repeats on the same dates each year
21 August
applications close for the current cycle
30 September 2026
Two years
the length of the appointment