Assistant Professor of Statistical & Data Sciences and Government

Position description

The Department of Government (GOV) and the Program in Statistical & Data Sciences (SDS) at Smith College invite applications for a joint, tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, to begin July 1, 2026. 

By time of appointment the applicant must have a Ph.D. in Political Science or a closely-related discipline (e.g., public policy) — as well as advanced training in statistics, data science, or a closely-related field at the graduate level. Candidates specializing in American political institutions, state and local politics, and/or public policy are preferred. Statistical and Data Science specializations might include, for example, the public policy implications of data storage and mining, machine learning and public health, modeling of legislative behavior, surveillance and data privacy policy, or computer algorithms for law enforcement and sentencing. 

The position has a teaching load of 2:2 — i.e., four semester-long courses over the academic year — and will have a joint teaching commitment to GOV and SDS, split evenly. In GOV, we anticipate that the person would teach introduction to public policy, introduction to American Government, and upper-level courses related to their area of expertise in which students analyze data. In SDS, the person would teach introductory and intermediate statistics and/or data science, as well as advanced-level courses in their area of interest, for example, machine learning, causal inference, social network analysis, or text mining. Candidates from groups underrepresented in STEM or quantitative political science are encouraged to apply.

Application instructions

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