Job Description

Assistant Professor

Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs

John W. McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies  

College of Liberal Arts

University of Massachusetts Boston  

The Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor to join our faculty beginning September 1, 2026. 

The Department is especially interested in hiring a candidate with a degree in applied social sciences. We welcome applications from fields such as public health, health policy, sociology, political science, public policy, public administration, among others. Priority will be given to candidates with expertise in health and/or economic inequality by race/ethnicity, disability status, gender, among other key factors, as those relate to health policy, international development or a combination of health policy and international development. Appointment requires completion of a doctoral degree no later than August 31, 2026.

The Department welcomes experts in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The Department also welcomes scholars who conduct policy-relevant, publicly engaged scholarship and who collaborate with community-based organizations, nonprofits and NGOs, and/or government agencies. All candidates should have an emerging or established program of research with evidence of external funding or the potential for generating external funding.

Candidates should be prepared to teach in the well-established Ph.D. in public policy program, in the nationally ranked Master’s of Public Administration program and in the Master’s of Public Policy program. Candidates should have strong research skills that enable them to contribute to the methods training core curriculum in addition to graduate courses related to their expertise. The successful candidate will also teach undergraduate classes in their field of expertise. Experience in designing diverse course syllabi, teaching diverse groups of students and in creating a pedagogical environment that addresses systematic issues of racial disparity, gender inequality, and intersectional inequities, among others, are desirable.

The search committee will begin reviewing applications on October 1, 2025. Applicants should submit the following: a) cover letter, b) curriculum vitae, c) a research example, d) evidence of teaching effective and/or teaching statement and, e) three letters of recommendation.

The Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs provides a rich interdisciplinary, collaborative research environment and houses four graduate degree programs: the Ph.D. in public policy which has existed for almost three decades, the NASPAA accredited Master’s of Public Administration, an Master’s of Public Policy and a Certificate degree program in Gender, Leadership and Public Policy. The Department focuses on training public service professionals and future policy scholars in a wide range of social science disciplines and methods. Program graduates work in research positions in academia, governments and nonprofits in the United States and around the world.

UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impact is both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country - more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minoritized communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who engage the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

UMass Boston expects to pay within an approximate range between $80,000 and $91,350 for this position.

The specific pay for this position will be determined by the University based on the consideration of all relevant factors when and if it decides to extend an offer of employment. Exceptional candidates may be considered for salaries above the published range to ensure competitiveness within the academic market.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HR@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.

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