Assistant Professor - Energy and Resources Group
Position overview
Position title: Assistant ProfessorApplication Window
Open date: August 18, 2026
Next review date: Monday, Oct 12, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Monday, Oct 12, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date.
Position description
The Energy and Resources Group (ERG) at the University of California, Berkeley is conducting an open search to fill a tenure track Assistant Professor faculty position in the social sciences. This is an open search with particular emphasis on institutional, community and/or historical orientations, and research that is methodologically, conceptually or theoretically innovative. We will consider a wide range of disciplines, approaches, and areas of focus in the social sciences, but this search is not intended to fill a position in economics.
ERG, a graduate group within the Rausser College of Natural Resources, has an education and research mission to promote a sustainable environment and a just society and we value scholarship that foregrounds issues of equity and justice. Its faculty and students embrace the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to address society’s most complex problems using approaches that span four pillars: economics, energy systems and engineering, environmental science, and social science. While ERG organizes itself into these pillars, interdisciplinary and collaborative research that crosses domains is encouraged and nurtured.
We welcome applicants with a record of teaching and research in mixed-method or qualitative social science approaches to studying energy systems or natural resources, with a focus on sustainability and equity. Scholars who cross methodological boundaries to build interdisciplinary collaborations and who bridge theory and policy and/or practice in their work, producing research that is impactful outside of academia, are encouraged to apply. The ability to train graduate students in qualitative methods is preferred. We are interested in all research topics concerning society, climate, natural resources or related areas; all geographies; and all scales of analysis from the local to the national to the global.
ERG embraces open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development. An inclusive curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy are essential to address critical environmental and societal challenges, and to create impactful solutions. Our excellence can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share our commitment to these values.
UC Berkeley values the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples, single parents, or those who may have taken time off for family reasons. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit the Office for Faculty Equity and Welfare's website.
Department: https://erg.berkeley.edu/
Qualifications
PhD (or equivalent international degree), or enrolled in PhD or equivalent international degree-granting program at the time of application.
The ideal candidate will:
- Hold, or be enrolled in, a doctoral degree in a relevant field.
- Expertise in the social sciences (e.g. geography, development studies, anthropology, history, sociology, environmental studies, urban studies, political science, public policy and related fields)
- Demonstrate potential, commensurate with career stage, to develop an internationally-recognized research program in energy and resources within mixed-method or qualitative social sciences
- Have an outstanding record, commensurate with career stage, of teaching, including supporting the success of all students through inclusive curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy
- Demonstrate potential for excellence in student mentoring, including in qualitative methods
- Demonstrate potential for institutional, professional and/or public service
- Demonstrate potential for interdisciplinary collaboration in research and/or teaching
- Demonstrate commitment to research translation, including engagement with decision-makers and/or broader public.
Application Requirements
Cover Letter
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Statement of Research - Please discuss research accomplishments and proposed plans. This can include, for example, your publication record, awards, presentations, inclusive research practices that promote the excellence of your research, and areas for future research
Statement of Teaching and Service - Statement describing prior teaching and mentoring experience, teaching philosophy, and future teaching interests. In addition, a description of prior and proposed academic, professional and/or community service experience. This can include, for example, your accomplishments and future plans to support the success of all students through inclusive curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy. This may also include, for example, participating in professional or scientific associations, serving on committees that advance department, campus or discipline goals, and conducting outreach activities that can remove barriers and increase participation of academics in your field.
Publication One - Publications can include journal articles (accepted or submitted), book chapters (accepted or submitted), dissertation chapters, or other relevant products.
Publication Two - Publications can include journal articles (accepted or submitted), book chapters (accepted or submitted), dissertation chapters, or other relevant products.
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 Authorization to Release Information form.
- 3 required (contact information only)
References will only be contacted for those candidates under serious consideration.
Help contact: yasasha@berkeley.edu
About UC Berkeley
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.
- UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
- UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
- APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment