Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers (PREDOC.org)

Name

Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers (PREDOC.org)

Legal name

Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers

Website

https://predoc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pre-Doctoral Research Career Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

University-Affiliated Pathway & Foundation Programs (EDAIAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open Courseware & Course Modules (OCW) (EDAGAJAB), Research & Lab-Based Short-Term Programs (Undergraduate/Graduate) (EDAIAIAF)

Keywords

• Pre-doctoral fellowships
• Academic research consortium
• Research career preparation
• Higher education mentorship
• Quantitative social sciences

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago, IL

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Institutional Membership/Consortium Fees: PREDOC.org operates as a consortium with member universities and research institutions. While not explicitly stated, the consortium model suggests member institutions contribute to or fund the platform's operations. The platform enables institutions to recruit pre-doctoral talent through the shared job board.
2. Pre-Doc Positions (Value Exchange): Pre-docs are paid positions. Salaries and stipends vary by institution but at least slightly (and sometimes more than slightly) exceed PhD stipends. Pre-docs come with full benefits like health insurance. Most programs provide tuition reduction or full remission for coursework taken during the pre-doc.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PREDOC.org operates a consortium-based web platform that connects undergraduate students and recent graduates with full-time pre-doctoral research assistant positions at member universities and research institutions. The platform delivers free asynchronous courses, a centralized pre-doctoral opportunities job board, mentorship programs (office hours, workshops), and an annual student research conference, supported by institutional backing from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Product overview

PREDOC.org is a consortium of universities and research institutions (primarily business schools and economics departments) that aims to remove barriers to access to research and doctoral careers. The platform operates as an informational and educational hub rather than a traditional SaaS product. Core offerings include: (1) a Pre-Doc Opportunities Platform and Part-Time RA Opportunities job boards connecting students with research positions; (2) PREDOC Asynchronous Courses including the Agentic AI Course and Data Science for Research Assistants (Python) course; (3) Programs including the Student Research Conference, EDE+ Summer Program, PRE Workshop, Office Hours with Social Scientists, and RA Award Program; and (4) Educational resources covering research areas, recommended coursework, affordability guidance, and FAQs. The consortium proactively reaches out to, mentors, and recruits individuals not typically exposed to research opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Agentic AI Course: An asynchronous course offered through PREDOC.org, moderated by Janani Sekar, Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The course equips participants with practical tools to design and implement capable agentic workflows for research.
• Data Science for Research Assistants

Products and services

• Agentic AI Course Free asynchronous 8-module video course teaching participants to design and implement agentic AI workflows for research, covering AI agents, prompting strategies, coding agents, vibe coding, and custom agent development. Moderated by Janani Sekar, Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Targeted at students and researchers seeking to apply AI tooling to research tasks.
• Data Science for Research Assistants Course Free asynchronous course teaching data science skills for research assistants, available in Python. Covers Python, Git version control, GitHub, and Jupyter Notebooks, with knowledge-checks throughout modules and an AI-powered Study Buddy assistant for content-related questions. Accessible via browser with GitHub account authentication. Targeted at students preparing for pre-doctoral research roles.
• Student Research Conference Annual conference where undergraduate students enrolled at U.S.-accredited institutions present poster presentations on research. Held at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with PREDOC.org covering domestic travel costs including flight, lodging, and incidentals for student participants.
• EDE+ (Expanding Discovery in Economics+) Summer Program 9-week summer program hosted by Chicago Booth School of Business that exposes early undergraduate students to leading researchers in quantitative social science fields and develops research abilities and technical skills through an interdisciplinary approach. Applications accepted through PREDOC.org.
• Pre-Doc Opportunities Platform Comprehensive listing of full-time pre-doctoral research assistant positions from academic institutions and industry research groups. Jobs are open to recent graduates and those who will graduate with their BA. The platform attracts thousands of monthly visitors seeking pre-doctoral positions.
• Part-Time RA Opportunities Catalog of part-time research assistant jobs and internships for current students and individuals seeking part-time work, including summer research programs, curated as a secondary talent pool for the consortium.
• PREDOC RA Award Program Matching program connecting students with research assistant opportunities and providing awards recognizing outstanding research assistant work.
• Office Hours with a Social Scientist Virtual office hours series connecting students with working social scientists for mentorship, career guidance, and discussion of pre-doctoral and doctoral pathways.
• Pre-Doctoral Research in Economics (PRE) Workshop Workshop series for pre-doctoral researchers in economics, providing professional development, skill-building, and networking opportunities within the research community.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Chicago Booth School of BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPREDOC.org is hosted by and operated in partnership with The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Booth provides institutional backing, administrative infrastructure, and access to faculty and resources. The platform is part of the university's broader mission in business and social science research.
• Consortium Member Universities and Research InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPREDOC.org operates as a consortium of universities and research institutions. Member institutions actively recruit and mentor pre-docs, establish academic and professional development opportunities, and collaborate on best practices. While primarily business schools and economics departments, the consortium welcomes individuals from various academic backgrounds including computer scientists, statisticians, psychologists, engineers, and sociologists.
• The Sadie CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a resource for nascent researchers. The Sadie Collective develops the next generation of leaders in economics and related fields, furthering the legacy of Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander. Both organizations aim to dismantle barriers and foster inclusive excellence.
• PhD Excellence InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a resource partner. The PhD Excellence Initiative is a two-year pre-doctoral program that identifies high-achieving students whose research promises to bring new perspectives to economics and prepares them for PhD studies.
• Expanding Discovery in Economics+ (EDE+)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDE+ is a 9-week summer program hosted by Chicago Booth that fosters a path toward a research career through interdisciplinary exposure to leading researchers in quantitative social science fields. Applications are accepted through PREDOC.org.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Posse Foundation: Targets high-achieving students from underrepresented backgrounds for college and graduate pathways, with structured cohort support; thematically aligned with PREDOC.org's diversity-focused mission in the PhD pipeline.
• Mathnasium: Adjacent supplemental education provider focused on quantitative skill development; shares PREDOC.org's interest in building quantitative proficiency but operates in K-12 retail tutoring rather than pre-doctoral pipeline.

Emerging players

• INSIGHT Summer Research Program: An industry-oriented research preparation program for undergraduates; shares PREDOC.org's model of structured research internships and skill-building workshops that bridge undergraduates to graduate-level research roles.
• The Sadie Collective: Develops the next generation of leaders in economics and related fields and is listed as a resource partner on PREDOC.org; both organizations share the goal of dismantling barriers to research careers, making it a directly aligned peer in pre-doctoral pipeline development.

Broad incumbents

• Leadership Alliance: A national consortium of research institutions running summer research programs and graduate prep pathways for underrepresented students; comparable to PREDOC.org as a multi-institution consortium targeting PhD pipeline diversification.
• McNair Scholars Program: Federal TRIO program preparing undergraduates for graduate study through research opportunities and mentorship; overlaps with PREDOC.org's mission of expanding access to doctoral research careers.
• Khan Academy: Large-scale free educational content platform offering open courseware and tutoring; overlaps with PREDOC.org's free asynchronous course strategy and educational content marketing, though at a much broader scope.
• Coursera: Global online learning platform partnering with universities to deliver courses and credentials; comparable as an institutional-content and asynchronous-course delivery model, though at scale and across many disciplines.
• American Economic Association (AEA) Summer Program: Long-established summer program at the AEA aimed at increasing diversity in economics PhDs through research training; directly comparable to PREDOC.org in mission and target population within economics.

Direct peers

• PhD Excellence Initiative: A two-year pre-doctoral program identifying high-achieving students for economics PhDs and listed as a PREDOC.org resource partner; operates a directly comparable pre-doctoral pathway model targeting the same student segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChicagoBooth
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ChicagoBoothMBA
• Facebookfacebook.com/chicagoboothbusiness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pathways-to-research-and-doctoral-careers-predoc
• Instagraminstagram.com/chicagobooth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers (PREDOC.org)