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Assistant Professor - Disparities and Education Policy - Berkeley School of Education

Position overview

Position title: Assistant Professor
Salary range: The current salary range for this position is $80,800 - $128,700 (9-month academic year salary), however, off-scale salary and other components of pay, which would yield compensation that is higher than this range, are offered to meet competitive conditions.

Anticipated start: July 1, 2026

Application Window
Open date: September 29, 2025

Next review date: Thursday, Oct 30, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Thursday, Oct 30, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date.

Position description

The University of California, Berkeley seeks a tenure-track faculty member at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Berkeley School of Education whose scholarship addresses the goals of The Education Policy Cluster of the Othering and Belonging Institute. The goals of the Cluster are to: (1) Foster creative scholarship in K-12 education policy and politics research focused on pressing challenges of educational opportunity for students experiencing unequal schools, systems, and structures; (2) Devise and pilot inclusive research that engages students, families and communities; (3) Engage in strategic dissemination and contribute to local, state, and national policy discussions and decisions; and (4) Enrich the intellectual environment of the campus through fostering multidisciplinary scholarship.

We seek an Assistant Professor who has a research and teaching portfolio that examines how educational policy and political processes influence access, opportunity, and outcomes across communities of varied social and economic backgrounds. We plan to conduct an interdisciplinary search between the Othering and Belonging Institute and the Berkeley School of Education to recruit scholars whose research focuses on one or more the following areas: (1) policies and legal strategies to improve educational opportunities for minoritized and emergent bilingual and multilingual students; (2) political and systemic dynamics, and their relationship to efforts to improve school systems; and (3) the history of politics and/or policies that limit or expand education opportunity for students made vulnerable by historical and contemporary disparities in educational inputs and access. Ideal candidates will be multidisciplinary scholars with backgrounds in several fields such as education, history, sociology, philosophy, public policy, law, and political science. The successful candidate will contribute to teaching in the Policy, Politics, and Leadership cluster in the BSE, including the teaching of undergraduates and graduate students.

About UC Berkeley School of Education
In the Berkeley School of Education, we educate like democracy depends on it- because it does. In a fast-changing, polarized world where inequalities and existential threats multiply, education remains an essential lynchpin for fostering human potential, achieving generational progress, and nurturing civic engagement. Together our research, teaching, and practice supports a vision of public education that has as its goal equity and inclusion at all levels - classroom, school, community, district, state, nation, and globe. Our students arrive with exceptional academic talent and professional experience, driven to make a meaningful impact as researchers, educators, leaders, and innovators. Together, faculty and students engage with pressing questions, from how children, youth, and adults learn across varied contexts, to how schools, communities, and societies can expand opportunities and advance educational equity. Through effective and equity-informed education, the BSE helps people and communities learn to dialogue across difference, use critical thinking to make informed decisions, and advance both individual achievement and progress for the benefit of society. As a world leader in public education, guided by a commitment to excellence in scholarship, teaching, innovation, and leadership, our professional and academic programs help prepare the next generation of educators, leaders, scholars, and policymakers, while contributing to transformative knowledge creation and the public good.

The department is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit: http://ofew.berkeley.edu/new-faculty

Department: https://belonging.berkeley.edu/

Department: https://bse.berkeley.edu/

Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
PhD (or equivalent international degree) or enrolled in PhD or equivalent international degree-granting program at the time of application.

Preferred qualifications
Research expertise in several of the following areas: education policy, politics, history, law, race, and disparities. An active program of research and academic publishing, and experience with teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Statement of Research - Please discuss research accomplishments and proposed plans. This can include, for example, your publication record, awards, presentations, inclusive research practices that promote the excellence of your research, and areas for future research.
• Teaching, Mentoring, and Service Statement - Please discuss prior teaching experience, teaching approach, and future teaching interests. This can include, for example, specific efforts and accomplishments, as well as future plans to support the success of all students through inclusive curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy. Please also discuss your mentoring experiences and approach. This can include, for example, past efforts and future plans to support the success of all students.
  
  • Additionally, please discuss your academic, professional, and/or public service activities, such as participation in professional associations, committee service that advances departmental, campus, or disciplinary goals, and outreach efforts that broaden access and participation in your field.
• Authorization to Release Information - A reference check will be completed only if you are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. Download, complete, sign, and upload the Authorization to Release Information form.
• Publication (1 of 2 ) - Published or unpublished manuscript to be submitted, including dissertation chapters.
• Publication (2 of 2 ) - Published or unpublished manuscript to be submitted, including dissertation chapters.

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

References will only be contacted for those candidates under serious consideration and we will seek your permission before doing so.

Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04211

Help contact: bseap_senate@berkeley.edu

About UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, or discrimination. Consistent with this commitment, UC Berkeley requires all applicants for Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload an Authorization of Information Release form into AP Recruit as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, applicants will only be subject to institutional reference checks if and when they are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. More information is available on this website.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Job location
Berkeley, California


To apply, visit https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04211