Urban Studies Postdoc Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Position
Details
Title
Assistant or Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Design - Spatial Analysis and Technology
School
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Department/Area
Urban Planning and Design
Position Description
The Department of Urban Planning and Design at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) seeks to appoint a full-time, tenure-track assistant or associate professor whose scholarship and teaching engage spatial, geospatial, and data visualization technologies both as applied design and planning tools as well as objects of critical inquiry. We seek candidates who demonstrate hands-on experience and skill in using novel spatial and geospatial data sources, advanced analytics, and computational modeling. Areas of focus through which qualitative and quantitative data can be engaged include planning or design applications in housing, urban development, urban form, neighborhood change, infrastructure, environmental adaptation, and transportation, among others.
We seek candidates who are committed to interdisciplinary engagement in a school that hosts urban planning, landscape architecture, architecture, and real estate, as well as with related disciplines across Harvard, such as engineering, computer science, and digital humanities. GSD aims to attract and retain individuals who possess a quality of mind demonstrating clarity of expression, analytical ability, critical judgment, creativity, and initiative. We also value individuals who support free inquiry and expression by others and constructive, collegial collaborations with faculty, staff, and students.
Basic Qualifications
Candidates should demonstrate evidence of strong research productivity appropriate to their career stage, including a record of refereed publications and national and international conference presentations. They should demonstrate a willingness and potential to secure external grant funds and the ability to lead research teams of graduate students and postdoctoral associates. Candidates should also demonstrate potential for excellence in teaching, with knowledge of inclusive and engaged teaching practices.
Candidates who pursue largely scholarly research are generally expected to hold a Doctoral degree, while practitioners may have an alternative terminal degree, appropriate to support the appointment rank. In either case, candidates should have a terminal degree focused on urban design, urban planning, geography, public policy, or a related discipline concerned with urbanization. Candidates should bear in mind that Harvard grants tenure only at the full-professor level.
Additional Qualifications
Special Instructions
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in June 2026.
Applicants should submit:

• A cover letter
• A current Curriculum Vitae
• Up to 15mb of select, relevant material including publications, design work, and/or other demonstrations of spatial analysis, visualization methods, and research impact.
• Names and contact information for a minimum of three referees. (Candidates will be notified regarding requests for evaluation letters during the subsequent phase of the recruitment process. Please note that referees may or may not be asked for letters.)

Subsequent Submissions: Candidates advancing in the selection process will be asked to provide additional materials at a later date.
About the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Department of Urban Planning and Design:
In the pursuit of more productive, equitable, sustainable, and aesthetically powerful designed environments, GSD offers a dynamic setting for the exchange of ideas across the fields of urban planning, urban design, real estate, architecture, landscape architecture, design studies, and design engineering.
Composed of internationally experienced scholars and practitioners, the Urban Planning and Design Department's faculty explore the designed environment from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and points of view. The Department offers graduate degrees in urban planning, urban design, and real estate and features a pedagogically diverse array of interdisciplinary studios, lecture courses, seminars, and independent studies that consider practical and theoretical issues affecting cities and metropolitan areas around the world.
The Department is built on the conviction that both classroom and community experiences are enriched by creating space for multiple perspectives to be surfaced, understood, and valued. Such conditions produce optimal learning environments and healthy interpersonal relationships. The Department is committed to translating these values into its pedagogy, practices, policies, and methods of engagement in classroom settings, with one another, and the world outside the GSD.
If visa sponsorship is needed, Harvard retains the discretion to determine which visa status is appropriate and whether a visa sponsorship application will ultimately be submitted, including payment of any applicable fees.
Contact Information
Katherine Igoe, Faculty Search Coordinator
Contact Email
katherine_igoe@gsd.harvard.edu
Salary Range

• Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design (full-time, tenure track) hiring range: $120,000 - $140,000
• Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Design (full-time, tenure track) hiring range: $135,000 - $170,000

Minimum Number of References Required
3
Maximum Number of References Allowed
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