Lecturers in Computational Social Science

The Division of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago invites applications for a position as Lecturer in Computational Social Science (macss.uchicago.edu). This is a full-time, career-track teaching position beginning in the 2019-20 academic year. The initial two-year appointment is renewable with opportunity for promotion. Salary and benefits are competitive with tenure-track positions for computational researchers.

The Lecturer is responsible for teaching in the MA program in Computational Social Science (MACSS), providing academic and career guidance to students, and contributing to the academic administration of the program.

Requirements: PhD in sociology, economics, political science, psychology, data science, computer science, or a related discipline; experience conducting social scientific research using machine learning or computational methods; programming experience using R and/or Python. Industry experience is also valued. Lecturers must have the PhD in hand by September 1, 2019.

The Lecturer will teach five graduate courses per year in the MACSS curriculum. At least three will cover important computational methods or questions of research design. The possibilities include a graduate introduction to social scientific inquiry; digital surveys and experiments, including A/B testing; machine learning and statistical modeling; neural networks and deep learning; Bayesian statistical inference; large-scale data storage and processing such as Spark and Hadoop; or research ethics and digital privacy. The successful applicant will also design and teach courses in their discipline or substantive area of expertise, tailored to the interests of master's and doctoral students in the Division of Social Sciences.

In addition to teaching, the Lecturer will advise master's students; evaluate occasional master's theses; hire and manage teaching assistants; participate in program admissions, staff hiring, and student recruitment; help train doctoral-student Preceptors; attend the Computational Social Science Workshop; and contribute to the intellectual life and administrative needs of the master's program.

The Lecturer position includes support for professional development, and the Lecturer will participate in a dynamic community of social science researchers.

Applicants must apply on the University of Chicago's Academic Career Opportunities website at https://tinyurl.com/y9ovtljm. The following materials must be submitted: 1) a cover letter, outlining the applicant's prior computational training, prior teaching and/or mentoring experience, and suggested course offerings in our MA program; 2) a curriculum vitae; 3) an article-length writing sample, applying a computational research design; 4) at least one course syllabus, from prior teaching or with an eye to future offerings, 5) course evaluations or other evidence of past excellence in teaching and/or mentoring; and 6) three letters of reference.

We will begin reviewing applications January 2 and will continue until the positions are filled. Later applicants are welcome to contact our Managing Director, Chad Cyrenne (cmcyrenn@uchicago.edu), for updates on the status of the search.

This position will be part of the Service Employees International Union.  

 

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination at http://www.uchicago.edu/about/non_discrimination_statement/. Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-0287 or email ACOppAdministrator@uchicago.edu with their request.