Postdoctoral Fellow

The Poverty and Inequality Research Lab (PIRL) at Johns Hopkins University is seeking applicants for one or more Postdoctoral Fellows to work with Director Stefanie DeLuca and the PIRL team on two mixed methods projects: one focusing on post-secondary trajectories at a community college, and another on understanding the mechanisms underlying the HAIL financial aid intervention at the University of Michigan. Both of these projects focus on post-secondary transitions and college and career decision-making. For the community college project, the Fellow will lead a team in conducting follow-up interviews, qualitative coding and analyses of our administrative dataset to describe community college student trajectories, and the mechanisms that lead to degree completion and employment. For the HAIL project, the post-doctoral fellow will conduct interviews with high-achieving, low-income students that received the HAIL scholarship at the University of Michigan. The Fellow will also conduct analyses of the interview data to learn what financial aid and other interventions need to provide to support the college transitions of low-income degree aspirants, as well as to understand the transitions of those students who may delay or forgo four-year enrollment in favor of sub-baccalaureate degrees or work experience.

The Postdoctoral Fellow(s) will conduct quantitative, qualitative and archival analyses, as well as lead a team of undergraduate and graduate students on fieldwork trips to conduct in-depth, open-ended interviews.

The Poverty and Inequality Lab is a collaborative, interdisciplinary mixed-methods research center focused on policy-relevant scholarship in the areas of family, education, housing and neighborhoods. PIRL's other research projects include: studies of housing policies that increase neighborhood opportunity; a project qualitatively studying the determinants of social mobility in counties across the US; and a project examining how family, work and neighborhood conditions shape postsecondary educational plans.

The position is a one-year appointment with the possibility of a second year pending funding and work scope. The position has an anticipated start in July 2024, is full-time and fully funded with no teaching requirements. The fellows will be in residence at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

The post-doctoral fellow will work under the advisement of Stefanie DeLuca and will have the opportunity to coordinate research and collaborative projects through the assistance of managing a group of pre-doctoral fellows and graduate and undergraduate research assistants to conduct coding and analyses of interview data. For more on PIRL, see ~~~.

The postdoctoral fellowship is open to applicants who are up to three years post-PhD in sociology or related fields. Applicants with experience with qualitative or mixed methods are preferred, although some quantitative data analyses will be expected. Applicants should have strong research skills and a substantive background in areas of education, neighborhoods, social networks and social policy. Must have excellent communication skills and be able to work well as part of a team.

Each application will be evaluated on the following criteria

• The degree of fit of research interests

• Demonstrated record of scholarly work and quality of writing

• Strength of letters of support

Job Type: Full Time Johns Hopkins University is committed to active recruitment of a diverse faculty and student body. The University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer of women, minorities, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities and encourages applications from these and other protected group members. Consistent with the University's goals of achieving excellence in all areas, we will assess the comprehensive qualifications of each applicant.