Postdoctoral Scholar, Criminal Justice Research Center

Penn State University•Benner Township, PA

10d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC) and Department of Sociology and Criminology at The Pennsylvania State University invite applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar position to begin in the Fall of 2026, with flexibility. The CJRC supports innovative criminal justice research focused on the connections between research, policy, and practice. The successful applicant will collaborate with Dr. Miranda A. Galvin in the Department of Sociology and Criminology on an ongoing mixed method study pertaining to pretrial detention, charge bargaining, racial and contextual disparity, and sentencing. Applications are encouraged from both current Ph.D. candidates and scholars who have completed the Ph.D. within the past two years. Note that an earned doctorate in the social or behavioral sciences by the time of appointment is required.

Requirements

Earned doctorate in the social or behavioral sciences by the time of appointment

Nice To Haves

Advanced training in statistics
Experience working with large administrative datasets
Exemplary interest in applied research
Research interests in prosecution, pretrial, courts or sentencing
Knowledge of, or practical experience with Stata, multilevel modeling, decomposition analysis, and/or semi-structured interviews

Responsibilities

Collaboration with faculty across multiple universities
Descriptive and multilevel analysis
Performing site visits and conducting interviews with stakeholders
Preparation of local summary briefs and policy outreach
Assisting in data collection and data management
Preparing grant proposals, manuscripts, and conference presentations
Participating in graduate student mentoring
Conduct independent research related to pretrial, prosecution, and sentencing
Access to data and opportunity to develop relationships and opportunities for research collaboration with Penn State faculty