Postdoctoral Scholar, Criminal Justice Research Center
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. This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.
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
Benefits
- Competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being
- Postdoctoral benefits
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
