Assistant or Associate Professor in Educational Policy Studies

impacts of environmental change and climate policies on individual, familial, or societal outcomes across the lifespan, domestically or internationally, or education policy and practice responses to environmental change, such as those related to governance, technology, sustainability, migration, rurality, and more. This position will begin August of 2027.

We are especially interested in scholars with strong disciplinary training in the social sciences and who explicitly consider dimensions of inequality in their work. Scholars who use mixed or advanced quantitative methods are particularly encouraged to apply.

Applicants should have experience or the capacity to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels and to develop new courses. Candidates should have earned a Ph.D. or terminal degree in education or a related field (such as demography, geography, economics, public health, sociology, or political science) with a strong focus on education. 

Principal Duties: The individual hired for the position is expected to conduct original research and generate scholarly publications sufficient for tenure at a major research university; participate in interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts with other departments, schools, and colleges; develop and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Educational Policy Studies; supervise and serve on the committees of Master’s and Doctoral candidates; serve on departmental, School of Education, and university committees; and engage in professional service at the university, local, regional, national, and/or international levels commensurate with appointment. Salary is commensurate with experience. 

Departmental Information: The Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of the nation’s highest-ranked programs in educational policy and practice. We examine educational policies, practices, movements, outcomes, dilemmas, and controversies — as well as the forces shaping them — through the lenses of international and comparative education, anthropology, economics, geography, history, sociology, philosophy, policy analysis, and politics. We value a collegial interdisciplinary environment for research and teaching. 

Additional Information: The Department of Educational Policy Studies resides in the UW-Madison School of Education, which was ranked as the top School of Education in the nation for the last three years. The School is proud of the outstanding breadth of its programs, with departments in Education, Health, and the Arts. The School views this broad range of programs as a tremendous strength.

The UW-Madison School of Education is dedicated to maintaining and growing a culture of belonging, wellbeing, and equal opportunity, believing these values are foundational elements of our excellence and fundamental components of a positive learning/working environment for students, faculty, and staff. This position is part of the Wisconsin Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Initiative. Through accelerated and strategic faculty hiring, research infrastructure enhancement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and increased student and educational opportunities, RISE addresses complex societal challenges of importance to the state, nation and world. Building on UW–Madison’s strengths, RISE expands the University’s successful track record of connecting with communities and industry on collaborative solutions.

EPS has substantially increased the size of its faculty over the last few years. Candidates hired through RISE will join a community of scholars working across disciplines, schools and colleges at UW-Madison focused on research, teaching and outreach endeavors. The community will engage regularly in venues such as seminar series and colloquia to share ongoing projects and identify opportunities to work together. The University will support the community, facilitating access to research infrastructure, and funding to support broad and rich collaboration. Further information regarding RISE can be found at: https://rise.wisc.edu/

This position is part of the Wisconsin Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Initiative. Through accelerated and strategic faculty hiring, research infrastructure enhancement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and increased student and  educational opportunities, RISE addresses complex societal challenges of importance to the state, nation and world. Building on UW–Madison’s strengths, RISE expands the University’s successful track record of connecting with communities and industry on collaborative solutions.

Over the next three academic years, UW–Madison will substantially increase current hiring levels, bringing 150 new RISE faculty to campus. Candidates hired through RISE will join a community of scholars working across disciplines, schools and colleges on research, teaching and outreach endeavors. The community will engage regularly in venues such as seminar series and colloquia to share ongoing projects and identify opportunities to work together. The University will support the community, facilitating access to research infrastructure, and funding to support broad and rich collaboration. 

Further information regarding RISE can be found at: https://rise.wisc.edu/.

Land Acknowledgement: The Department of Educational Policy Studies occupies land in Teejop, the ancestral territory of the Ho-Chunk nation. Information about UW-Madison's commitment to Our Shared Future may be found at: https://oursharedfuture.wisc.edu/

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Conduct original research and generate scholarly publications sufficient for tenure at a major research university

• Engage in professional service at the university, local, regional, national, and/or international level commensurate with appointment level

• Participate in interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts with other departments, schools, and colleges

• Develop and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in educational policy studies

• Serve on departmental, School of Education, and university committees

• Supervise and serve on the committees of Master’s and Doctoral candidates

Department:

School of Education / Educational Policy Studies

Compensation:

Negotiable

Commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.

Required Qualifications:

• Candidates must have earned a PhD or terminal degree in education or a related field by the start date of the appointment.
• Expertise in education, broadly construed, with an emphasis on the relationships (e.g., social, cultural, economic, political, geographical) between education and the environment.
• Evidence of established or potential research and scholarly excellence as exhibited by peer-reviewed publications or other forms of academic scholarship.
• Evidence of success or professional promise in securing external funding to support research and scholarship.
• Evidence of excellence in teaching and mentorship, including through direct instruction and other forms of advising and support at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Experience working successfully with diverse students and colleagues.

Candidates at the rank of Associate Professor must possess all of the above qualifications commensurate for appointment with tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Education:

Earned doctorate or terminal degree in education or related field. Degree must be conferred by start date.

How to Apply:

Please complete the online application at jobs.wisc.edu and follow the instructions. From the job posting you can begin by selecting either selecting "I am a current employee" or "I am not a current employee" in the upper right corner of the page.

You will be asked to create a profile and upload the following documents: (a) letter of interest with a description of current and future research, as well as relevant teaching experience, (b) curriculum vitae, and (c) two samples of scholarly writing. Applicants will be asked provide references during the recruitment process.

To ensure consideration, application materials must be received by November 1, 2026.  This position will remain open, and applications may be considered, until the position is filled.

Note:

• There is one upload area in Workday, but you can upload multiple documents to your application. Incomplete application packages that do not include all of the requested documentation will not be considered.

Contact Information:

Jacob Leonard

jacob.leonard@wisc.edu 

608-265-5956

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
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