Assistant Professor In Psychology

Job Requisition Number: R19700 | Proposed Start Date: August 16, 2027 | 9-month, full-time faculty position

About the Role

The Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in cognitive psychology. We seek candidates with a record of research excellence in cognitive psychology and related disciplines, particularly those who bring distinct expertise beyond the program’s existing strengths in learning and long-term memory, spatial cognition, legal psychology, and judgment and decision making.

Areas of particular interest include attention, perception, working memory, cognitive control, psycholinguistics, and quantitative modeling, though other areas that add breadth will also be considered. Applied work advancing understanding of cognitive processes in real-world contexts is welcome.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain an active program of research
• Pursue external funding
• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in cognitive psychology
• Mentor undergraduate students and provide doctoral training in cognitive psychology
• Contribute service to the department, college, university, and profession

Requirements

• PhD in psychology or a closely related field, conferred by the start date of the appointment

Preferred Qualifications

• Record of excellence in research/scholarship in cognitive psychology using behavioral methods
• Evidence of or potential for securing external research support
• Research expertise in cognitive psychology that adds breadth beyond the program’s existing strengths in learning and long-term memory, spatial cognition, legal psychology, and judgment and decision making
• Evidence of or potential for effective undergraduate and graduate teaching and mentoring

About the Department

The psychology department at Iowa State University offers thriving Ph.D. programs in social, cognitive, and counseling psychology and is home to the largest number of undergraduate majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Consistent with the university’s land-grant mission, research builds psychological theory through empirical investigations and applies scientific findings to benefit individuals, communities, and society.

The cognitive psychology doctoral program has strengths in learning and memory, spatial cognition and navigation, and judgment and decision making, with applications in AI, education, virtual environments, and legal psychology. Faculty and students collaborate across interdisciplinary programs in human-computer interaction, neuroscience, statistics, gerontology, and psychology and law.

The department provides a research-friendly teaching load (3 scheduled courses per year), outstanding doctoral students, and extensive support for research and grant writing. The environment is highly collegial, supportive, and collaborative.

Location

Iowa State University is located in Ames, a vibrant community of approximately 66,000 in central Iowa, about 30 miles north of Des Moines. Ames offers extensive parks and trails, strong public schools, a comparatively low cost of living, and convenient access to the cultural and recreational opportunities of the state’s largest metropolitan area.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health and work-life benefits, including medical and dental
• Retirement benefits, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Generous leave plans
• Onsite childcare (Ames, Iowa)
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various voluntary benefits and discounts
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellbeing program