Assistant Professor

The successful candidate will be affiliated to the Center for Research on Social InequalitieS (CRIS) located in the city center of Paris.

Knowledge of French is not required for this position.

The center is committed to theory-driven empirical research on social inequality, drawing on a diversity of qualitative and quantitative methods, adopting a variety of lenses (micro, meso, macro) and promoting interdisciplinarity for an integrated approach to the study of inequality in the social sciences. Our research program seeks to measure patterns and trends of inequality, analyze their underlying mechanisms, inform public debates and contribute to policy analysis. Our faculty members are international experts on central social inequality domains, such as education, life course dynamics, labor market and economic inequalities, social mobility, welfare states, urban segregation, migrations, discriminations, cultural consumption and environmental inequalities.

This Assistant Professorship position is designed to reinforce our expertise in the study of digital inequalities. We welcome applications from candidates with a recent PhD, a solid theoretical and methodological background and an ambitious research agenda on social stratification and inequality, targeting publications in leading disciplinary and interdisciplinary journals. All disciplinary backgrounds, connecting to social sciences, are welcome.

The rapid proliferation of digital technologies has transformed modern societies. Social inequalities both shape and are shaped by digital technologies. Moreover, recent advancements in digital data and methods, ranging from digital ethnographies to computational approaches, have significantly expanded our understanding of how social inequalities are produced in the digital era.
Several key areas of inequality research are essential for understanding the relationship between digital technologies and society. These include digital inequalities in access to and use of digital technologies, as well the consequences of digital technologies for individual’s life chances, for instance in terms of education and labor market outcomes, mobility, civic and political engagement. Another crucial area involves the use of computational methods, qualitative or mixed-methods approaches to measure and understand various patterns of social inequality. We are especially interested in research on artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, and the impact of algorithmic recommendation systems on social inequality.

This position will contribute to strengthening research and teaching on digital technologies in the context of the Sciences Po TIERED project (Transforming Interdisciplinary Education and Research for Evolving Democracies). Within TIERED, the Open Institute for Digital transformations of Sciences Po aims at mobilizing  its expertise in the social sciences to help decisionmakers and the citizens of tomorrow better understand, grasp, and use digital technologies.

The successful candidate will be expected to play an active role in its collective activities: seminars, academic events, participation in research networks. The candidate should also engage in responding to national and international calls to fund research projects.

The successful candidate will teach in Sciences Po’s undergraduate programs (in Paris and other campuses) as well as in graduate programs, in particular for the master on Social Policy and Social Innovation of the School of Public Affairs.

For 2025-2028: 2 courses with 24 contact hours each per year, 40 hours/year of other academic duties.

From 2028-onwards: 3 courses with 24 contact hours each per year, 56 hours/year of other academic duties.

Applications are due by March 15th, 2025. Candidates should have a PhD (or complete it before June 30th 2025). The position is expected to start on the 1st of September, 2025.

Advert information