Predoctoral Scholar

Department

Harris School Pre-Docs, Temps and Non-Student Research Assistants

About the Department

Why Policy? For a better world. Why Harris Public Policy? Because when it comes to better policymaking, evidence matters. We work at the frontiers of data collection and analysis, using the latest technology and social science methods to design policies that work for society. We conduct rigorous inquiry in an environment of innovation and risk taking. We collaborate across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, adopting new methodologies to drive better solutions.

We engage with our city, our world, and our leaders every day to evaluate and test our ideas. And we lead with our passion for driving social change, knowing that passion alone does not equal impact.

Job Summary

The Harris School of Public Policy invites applications for a one-year Pre-Doctoral Scholar position.

The successful candidate will work closely under the supervision of Professor James Robinson and will contribute to ongoing research at the intersection of policy, behavior, and organizations. Ideal applicants will be intellectually curious, analytically strong, and interested in deepening their research experience before pursuing a PhD or related academic and policy career.

This position offers a valuable opportunity to engage in rigorous scholarship, support high-impact research projects, and develop skills in research design, data analysis, literature review, and academic collaboration within a dynamic interdisciplinary environment.

Responsibilities

• Assists in managing the research effort.
• Assists in planning, conducting, and analysis of semi-structured interviews.
• Prepares, cleans, and analyzes interview and survey data.
• Contributes to the preparation of high-quality journal articles and presents results at conferences and stakeholder events.
• Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
• Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Installs, sets up and performs experiments; interacting with students and other laboratory staff under the direction of the principal investigator.
• Maintains recruiting and scheduling research subjects; assisting with developing or amending study protocols; assisting with developing data collection tools; assisting with building databases; and providing general administrative support. Has general awareness in research techniques or methods, regulatory policies and procedures, and relevant scientific field.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• Certifications: ---

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline by the time the position begins, including but not limited to psychology, marketing, behavioral economics, decision science, organizational behavior, management studies, business.
• Master’s degree in the above fields and/or relevant work experience.
• Experience: Conducting interviews and survey research.
• Analyzing the resulting data.
• Familiarity conducting randomized survey experiments.
• Creating compelling data visualizations of information and results, and using econometric methods.
• Technical Skills or Knowledge: Proficiency in leading statistical packages (e.g., STATA, R, SPS).
• Programming qualtrics surveys.
• Preferred Competencies
• Professional/academic level English language skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with meticulous attention to detail.
• Work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team.
• Working Conditions
• Position will be located in Chicago, IL.
• Application Documents
• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter summarizing your qualifications, areas of expertise, research interests, career goals, and a statement of how you meet the qualifications described above (required)
• Two References Contact Information (required)
• The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.
• When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
• Job Family
• Research
• Role Impact
• Individual Contributor
• Scheduled Weekly Hours
• 37.5
• Drug Test Required
• No
• Health Screen Required
• No
• Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
• No
• Pay Rate Type