Postdoctoral Scholar

Written By Sonia Huq

The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work focuses on poverty and social policy issues in the United States. The center is seeking a postdoctoral scholar with a PhD in economics, public policy, demography, social work, sociology, or a related discipline.

The postdoctoral scholar will help lead a new project on the intersection between policy design, poverty measurement, and quantifying the impact of changes to policies on poverty and related outcomes. The postdoctoral scholar will conduct analyses of the effects of social policies on the poverty rate, as well as advances in poverty measurement. Candidates should be familiar with the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), as well as improvements and alternatives to the SPM, including the National Academies of Sciences’ recent report on an Updated Measure of Poverty. Experience with large Census datasets such as the Current Population Survey, American Community Survey, and Survey of Income and Program Participation is strongly preferred.

The postdoctoral fellowship is for one to two years. Start date is flexible but ideally would be in Summer/ Fall 2024.

We highly encourage candidates from groups that are historically underrepresented in academic research to apply.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, starting immediately. 

Please submit the following materials:

  • CV or resume

  • Cover letter

  • Sample paper or publication

  • List of three references (who will be contacted for letters of recommendations for finalists)

Each application will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  • The degree of fit of research interests

  • How the postdoctoral training will help to further the postdoctoral scholar’s research trajectory

  • Demonstrated record of work with quantitative data, in particular poverty measurement and/or policy analysis

  • Demonstrated quality of writing

Sonia Huq