Assistant Professor of Sociology: Race, Theory, and Methods

The Social Sciences Department in the College of Liberal Arts at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, is seeking applications for a full-time, academic-year, tenure-track Assistant Professor of Sociology to begin approximately August 12, 2027. The faculty member will teach at the flagship Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus, as well as for Cal Poly’s Bachelor’s Pathway Program in Sociology at the Allan Hancock College campus in nearby Santa Maria.

Ability to teach in the following areas is required:
Race, Social Theory, and Research Methods.

The ideal candidate will have a combination of university-level teaching experience and research potential. We are seeking applicants with a Ph.D. in sociology or closely related discipline conferred prior to or by the time of appointment, a successful teaching record, evidence of or potential for scholarly achievement in sociological research, and experience working with students (particularly undergraduate and/or underrepresented students) in research, teaching, service, advising, mentoring and/or community engagement.

Teaching responsibilities will be balanced between the San Luis Obispo campus and the Bachelor’s Pathway Program in Sociology (i.e. the “Sociology BPP”). The Sociology BPP is a partnership between California Polytechnic State University and Allan Hancock College, a community college in Santa Maria (~35 minutes from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo). Students in the Sociology BPP apply at the end of, or after completing, their associate degree and, if accepted, complete two years of Cal Poly classes as transfer students at the Allan Hancock campus.

Many Sociology BPP students are Latinx/e, lower socioeconomic status, and/or first generation. Sociology BPP students graduate with a BA in Sociology from Cal Poly.

This position will have the following responsibilities:

• Teach, conduct research, and perform Cal Poly service responsibilities at the San Luis Obispo campus to support the overall sociology program
• Teach at the Allan Hancock College campus in Santa Maria to support the Sociology BPP
• Advise students about concentrations and supervise senior projects
• Teach core and GE sociology courses in the areas of race, social theory, and/or research methods, as well as additional elective and concentration courses, depending on program need
• Develop and teach undergraduate classes based on the candidate’s own interests
• Teach in-person and/or virtually based on program need
• Contribute to the University’s mission of “Learn by Doing”
• Develop and maintain an active research agenda that involves undergraduate students

Anticipated Hiring Range:$90,276- $98,244/year, $7,523- $8,187/month
(Note that hiring level will be commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate.)

Although Cal Poly is primarily a teaching university, our faculty are expected to balance teaching with an active program of research/professional development (including publication), student supervision and advising, and participation in service activities at the department and college/university level. The typical teaching load is 9-12 units per semester, with a reduction in course load in each of the first two years to help new faculty establish an active program of research and professional development.

Additional efforts to manage instructors’ workload include offering course release credit for advising students’ capstone senior projects and, when possible, allowing faculty to teach multiple sections of the same course in the same term and/or to teach hybrid classes in a combined face-to-face and asynchronous modality.

Subject to further planning and approval, Cal Poly anticipates a possible transition to semester-based…