Northwestern Science in Human Culture Program Post-Doctoral Fellowships
We are accepting applications.
The Science in Human Culture Program (SHC) at Northwestern University invites applications for two-year postdoctoral fellowships in the contextual study of science, technology, or medicine, to run September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2025.
Applications are welcome from scholars who study science, technology, or medicine in any region of the world and from any of a range of historical, philosophical, sociological, anthropological, or literary perspectives. Each Fellow will be affiliated with the SHC program and an appropriate disciplinary department in Weinberg College (History, Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology, etc.). Fellows will pursue a program of independent scholarship under the guidance of a faculty mentor identified after selection.
They will also design and teach two undergraduate courses each year, over the course of the three-quarter-long teaching year. Typically these will be one seminar and one lecture course to be listed by the affiliated departments. Fellows will also help organize and run the SHC visiting lecturer series. They are expected to be active participants in intellectual activities in both SHC and their affiliated departments and to deliver one public lecture each year.
Applicants with a Ph.D. (or equivalent doctoral degree) must have completed their degree after September 1, 2018. Applicants without a Ph.D. (or equivalent doctoral degree) must complete all the requirements for the degree before September 1, 2023. At time of application, the applicant must be available for the full two-year term. The annual stipend will be in the environs of $60,000. In addition, the Fellow is eligible for $3,500 per year to fund research and conference travel, and up to $1,500 for allowable relocation expenses in the first year. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position.
To ensure full consideration, all application materials other than letters of recommendation must be received before December 2, 2022. Letters of recommendation are due no later than December 9, 2022. Because your references will not receive submission instructions until you submit your completed application, we recommend that you submit your application well before the deadline.
Northwestern University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and does not discriminate against qualified individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, marital status, age, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected class. Individuals from all diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States. For more information, please see the University’s policy on Discrimination and Harassment at: https://www.northwestern.edu/equity/documents/discrimination-harassment-policy-resources-procedures-final.pdf
- Applications will only be accepted through the online portal. Please make sure all documents are prepared in advance, as partial applications cannot be accepted and are not saved. Also, please be sure all information is entered completely and accurately (especially names and email addresses), as online revisions cannot be made once the application has been accepted.
- All uploaded files should be in Adobe PDF format. Files in another electronic format (e.g., MS Word) should be saved or "printed to" PDF format before uploading. Paper versions of a particular document should be scanned and saved as a PDF. However, the first method is preferred, because it retains text recognition capabilities.
- Two names and email addresses for external references are required, three maximum. One letter should be from your dissertation chair. It is helpful if at least one letter comments specifically on your teaching experience and abilities. If you have not defended and submitted your dissertation yet, please advise your chair that their letter must specifically discuss what work remains to be completed and when you will complete all the requirements to receive your degree.
- The following materials are all required:
- Cover Letter: A letter that briefly situates your work in relation to the field and identifies the proposed departmental affiliation.
- Curriculum vitae.
- Research Statement. This should be a two-page summary of your dissertation.
- Research Proposal. Please submit a two-page research plan for the fellowship period. This may include, but should extend beyond, revisions to the dissertation.
- Teaching Statement. This document should consist of titles and short descriptions of at least two undergraduate courses of your design that you could teach under the auspices of a relevant program or department within the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences—see the list here: http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/departments/index.html). We are not requesting a statement of teaching philosophy or full syllabi.
- Writing Sample. The size of the writing sample should be equivalent to a single journal article, book chapter, or dissertation chapter; it may be published or unpublished. Only one sample may be submitted. It must be in English. The MAXIMUM PAGE LENGTH is 50 pages.
- Graduate Transcript. A transcript from your doctoral-degree-granting institution. An unofficial transcript is acceptable. The transcript may be omitted if your doctoral program did not include formal graded classes; if that is the case, please instead submit a statement to that effect.
1) After you submit your complete online application, your references will automatically be emailed instructions for uploading a letter of recommendation. If you are using a professional placement or dossier service (e.g., Interfolio) to submit recommendations, please use the service's address instead of your reference's address in the appropriate space. Once again, please be sure all addresses are entered correctly with no spelling errors, otherwise your reference or dossier service will not receive the instructions.
2) Some things to remember when uploading your application documents:
- Please note that no document may exceed 4 MB in size, so be sure to minimize the size of any large PDF files before uploading.
- File names should not contain parentheses, quotation marks, or other such characters; the system will likely not accept such documents.
3) When you have assembled all your PDF files and are ready with your list of references, you may proceed to the Online Application. All required fields must be filled in before you click on the "Submit Application" button. The system will not accept incomplete applications. Applications that are complete by December 2, 2022, will be ensured full consideration. References will be accepted through December 9, 2022. You will receive an email confirmation after your application has been received.
