Open Rank Faculty Positions in Artificial Intelligence, Social Work, & Social Policy

As part of a university-wide initiative led by the WashU Office of the Provost, the Brown School invites applications from faculty at all ranks, whose research engages or considers the intersection of artificial intelligence and social work or social policy. This university initiative in Artificial Intelligence spans four thematic hiring areas across the university, and we welcome applicants working in any of them whose work is highly aligned with the mission of the Brown School:

• Agentic AI: AI Governance, Society, and Institutions — modeling how AI agents behave at scale in complex social and economic systems, and the legal, regulatory, and institutional structures needed to oversee them, including the reshaping of labor, decision-making, and accountability across firms, markets, and organizations.
• Human Values, Creative Practice, and AI — scholarship and creative practice exploring what it means to be human in a world shaped by generative AI, spanning critical/humanistic and studio-based creative work.
• AI-Driven Imaging Science: Imaging from Molecules to the Universe — foundation models, generative modeling, and inverse problem methods applied across scales, including population health and food security.
• AI for Science and Engineering: Modeling the Physical World — AI and computational methods to model, simulate, and reason about physical systems, from climate and materials to structural biology and astrophysics. While applications engaging any of these four areas are welcome, the Agentic AI: AI Governance, Society, and Institutions track — with its focus on institutions, accountability, labor, and the social systems that oversee emerging technologies — is likely the closest fit to the Brown School's mission, and we particularly encourage applicants whose work speaks to that intersection. To learn more about this initiative from the WashU Office of the Provost, click here . About the Brown School The Brown School is a top-ranked school of social work and social policy, consistently rated among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report - most recently holding the No. 2 position among the nation's schools of social work. Faculty who join us will become part of a productive, collegial, and exciting research community committed to social change through the education of graduate students (master's and doctoral) and advanced research. Brown School faculty are widely published and cited, and recognized nationally and internationally for rigorous, evidence-based scholarship aimted at addressing pressing social issues and eliminating health and economic disparities. Set within Washington University in St. Louis, new faculty will be encouraged to pursue research and teaching collaborations across the university, including the Schools of Medicine, Business, Law, Art & Architecture, Engineering, Public Health, and Arts & Sciences. New faculty will join a university committed to academic distinction, cutting-edge scholarship, transdisciplinary and community collaboration, and an educational mission aimed at strengthening society. Top students come to the Brown School from the St. Louis region and from across the nation and globe. Both students and faculty share a commitment to improved individual, family, community, and societal well-being and equity through education and scholarly activity. The school offers dedicated administrative support and leadership in resrearch, faculty affairs, education, student affairs, and library science along with experience pre- and post-award teams that support the schook's siginificant external funding portfolio. The Brown School has built strong and lasting community partnerships and encourages new partnerpships in both educational settings and research and evalution to help faculty and students engage in research and activities tied to real-world imapct. Resources such as the Clark-Fox Policy Institute help faculty translate new knowledge rapidly into action. The Brown School is also proud to be home to the Harvey A. Friendman Center for Aging and the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, two endowed centers focused on research and education, as well as multiple active centers and labs, including the Sexuality, Health, & Gender Center; Center for Social Development; Social Stytem Design Lab; Forced Migration Initiative; and more.

Candidates with a PH.D. in Social Work or allied disciplines will be considered. We are particularly interested in candidates with a Master of Social Work and at least two years of post-MSW practice experience who can teach social work practice courses in addition to conducting relevant research.

Interested applicants should send a CV and brief cover letter indicating which AI thematic initiative they are applying to. In addition, applicants should provide a teaching statement, research statement, and contact information for three references. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; however, priority will be given to applications received before October 15, 2026 .

For questions about the application process, please contact Paz Galupo, Chair of the Personnel Advisory Committee and Audre Lorde Distinguished Professor of Sexual Health and Education (paz@wustl.edu), or Dean Dorian Traube, Neidorff Family and Centene Corporation Dean of the Brown School (traube@wustl.edu).