APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

• CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

• If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.

 

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

 

POSITION SPECIFICS

The Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications seeks an outstanding faculty member for an Assistant Teaching Professor in Data Journalism position in the journalism department starting in August 2026.

We seek candidates with deep professional expertise in data journalism and a demonstrated record of data-driven reporting in professional newsroom settings. The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience exploring, cleaning, analyzing and documenting data — and translating that work into stories that inform and engage a public audience. Areas of teaching interest may include (but are not limited to): computational methods for investigative reporting; data analysis, statistical literacy and visualization for storytelling; working with large datasets, APIs and public records; data journalism workflows and systems in professional newsrooms; algorithmic accountability and transparency reporting; or related areas that advance the ethical and effective use of data in journalism.

Strong candidates will be fluent in tools common to data journalism practice — such as Python, R, or SQL for data analysis; and structured, well-documented code workflows. They will model a critical and constructive relationship with data, approaching datasets with skepticism rather than cynicism, and integrating data analysis with traditional people-reporting across diverse communities. We are especially interested in candidates who bring a track record of teaching data skills across skill levels — from introductory data literacy to advanced computational methods — and who have experience helping colleagues and students develop their own practice.

Candidates should have a Master's degree or higher in a relevant field by August 2026 and demonstrate significant professional experience as a data journalist, including reporting, editing, or leading data teams in a newsroom environment.

Our department's award-winning programs in sports journalism and news create an ideal environment for research and teaching at the intersection of data and journalism practice. In addition to teaching and research responsibilities, there are opportunities to