Assistant Professor - Law, Crime, and Punishment Jurisprudence & Social Policy Program School of Law

Position Overview Position title: Assistant Professor of Law Salary range: The current salary range for this position is $203,900 - $333,600 (9-month academic year salary); however, off‑scale salary and additional pay components may be offered to meet competitive conditions. Anticipated start: July 1, 2027 Application Window Open date: June 26, 2026 Next review date: Friday, Aug 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time). Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee. Final date: Friday, Aug 14, 2026 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time). Applications will continue to be accepted until this date. Position Description The Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP) PhD Program in the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley invites entry‑level and early‑career lateral applicants for a full‑time, tenure‑track faculty position with a primary research and curricular focus on the criminal legal system in its practical, institutional, historical, social, economic, and political contexts. We seek applications from scholars versed in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods with a demonstrated record of and/or potential for outstanding scholarship that contributes to the interdisciplinary development of the field. Possible areas of specialization might include, but are not limited to, criminal courts; policing and civil rights; mass incarceration; race and the carceral state; abolition and reform; punishment and society; the economics of crime; and the politics of law and order. We welcome applicants who engage with social impact, public engagement, and social justice in their scholarship. Our search is open to comparativists and scholars whose work is primarily on a non‑U.S. legal system; however, we are particularly interested in applicants who will have at least a substantial comparative interest in the U.S. criminal legal system. JSP represents disciplinary and interdisciplinary training across the social sciences, history, and philosophy/political theory, and takes primary responsibility for directing a diverse student body in our PhD program. JSP faculty also are primarily responsible for and teach core courses in Berkeley's interdisciplinary undergraduate Legal Studies major. The JSP Program encourages scholars who are willing and able to mentor graduate and undergraduate students whose research uses a range of methods and theoretical traditions. The program is committed to addressing faculty family needs, including dual‑career couples and single parents, and to supporting candidates with non‑traditional career paths or time off for family reasons. The law school strives to educate responsible, effective, and forward‑thinking advocates who will serve the public through legal practice, public policy, academic scholarship, and related fields. In doing so, the school addresses pressing challenges by leveraging its strengths in teaching and research to improve law, policy, and public institutions. At the heart of Berkeley Law's public mission is a commitment to access, affordability, and empowering students from all backgrounds to pursue impactful careers across a wide range of professional paths. Qualifications Basic qualifications (required at time of application) Hold a Ph.D. or equivalent international degree, or have advanced to candidacy status for a Ph.D., or equivalent international degree. Preferred qualifications Primary research focus is on law, crime, and punishment in the United States, and/or comparative research in which law, crime, and punishment in the United States is a component. Open as to the field. We particularly welcome scholars versed in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods and theories. Ability to teach at least one introductory graduate course on law, crime, and punishment. Ability to work with students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Ability to mentor a diverse student body, including those from non‑traditional and underrepresented minority backgrounds. Ability to contribute to building an equitable, diverse, and interdisciplinary learning environment for all students, including those with nontraditional backgrounds. Ability to teach within the undergraduate Legal Studies program and potential to contribute to the JD program. Application Requirements Document requirements Curriculum Vitae – Your most recently updated C.V. Statement of Research, Teaching, and Service – Please provide a statement discussing your scholarship, teaching and mentoring, and service. Discuss scholarly research related to law, crime, and punishment, accomplishments, future plans, and relevance to our public mission. Discuss teaching experiences or plans regarding crime and punishment subjects, pedagogical approach, and alignment with our mission. Discuss service activities related to law, crime, and punishment and alignment with our public mission. Representative and recent scholarship – Please provide a recent sample of your scholarship, published or unpublished (e.g., articles, book chapters, dissertation chapters). No more than one (1) sample per individual upload. Authorization to Release Information Form – An institutional reference check will be completed only if you are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. Download, complete, sign, and upload the form. Reference requirements 3 letters of reference required Apply link: Help contact: View email address on click.appcast.io About UC Berkeley – EEO Statement UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1‑d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring, and humane environment in which these values can thrive. The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California's Anti‑Discrimination Policy. In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter. As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements. The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, or discrimination. Consistent with this commitment, UC Berkeley requires all applicants for Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload an Authorization of Information Release form into AP Recruit as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, applicants will only be subject to institutional reference checks if and when they are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. More information is available on this website. As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct. "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer. 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