AST/ASO PROF

Candidates for Assistant Professor shall hold the highest degree appropriate to their field or possess equivalent qualifications based on professional experience. A candidate shall be expected to demonstrate successful experience pertinent to the position they are being recommended and have demonstrated qualities relevant to the goals of the academic unit in which they will be employed.

Candidates for Associate Professor shall hold the highest degree appropriate to their field or possess professional qualifications above those equivalent to the highest degree relevant to their field. They are expected to have produced creative work, professional writing, or research and successful teaching or professional experience. A candidate for this rank must have a distinguished record of achievement beyond the assistant professor level.

The University of Florida has pioneered the effort to integrate AI education in every major and every college. The College of Education seeks a tenure track Assistant or Associate Professor in AI-based Quantitative Research Methods in Education. This faculty member will join a productive and collegial community of scholars committed to high quality teaching, research, and service. In addition, this faculty member will have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers in a variety of units centered around AI and technology-enhanced learning, such as the Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies (https://ialt.education.ufl.edu).

Successful applicants for the tenure track Assistant or Associate Professor position are expected to develop and maintain a clear, systematic line of research; vigorously pursue external research funding; publish in top-tier scholarly journals; present research findings at meetings of professional associations; and contribute to advising and teaching graduate students. Additionally, candidates will engage in service to the program, school, college, university, and profession in general. The nine-month, tenure-accruing faculty appointment begins August 2026. Salary is negotiable, highly competitive, and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Potential areas of expertise and scholarship may include:

• AI-enhanced psychometrics, Computational Psychometrics, Digital-based assessment, and related areas
• Causal machine learning for designing and analyzing experimental and quasi-experimental studies
• Reinforcement Learning (RL) in educational research
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)-based methods in educational assessment, measurement, and quantitative analysis
• Issues of validity, reliability, and heterogeneous impacts in AI-enhanced quantitative methodology
• Advancements to educational quantitative research methodology through AI

Responsibilities:

• Conduct scholarly activities commensurate with expectations of a tenure-track assistant or associate faculty member at a research-intensive university
• Build a collaborative and diverse community of scholars among colleagues within and outside of the college, especially within UF’s AI research community
• Vigorously pursue external funding opportunities with the support of the College’s Office of Educational Research
• Publish in top-tier refereed scholarly journals
• Advise, engage, and mentor graduate students in teaching, research, and outreach activities
• Design and teach courses (face-to-face, blended, and/or online) for graduate students and, optionally, undergraduate students
• Provide service to the university and the profession

ABOUT THE COLLEGE: The College of Education at the University of Florida, founded in 1906, has consistently been ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in Online Graduate Education for the last nine years, No. 2 nationally for undergraduate education and 6th nationally among public and private education schools (U.S. News & World Report). Three of the College's academic programs occupy top-20 spots in the U.S. News rankings: Counselor Education (1st), Special Education (4th), and Elementary Education (14th). Cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and public scholarship—often conducted in partnership with other UF colleges, school districts and communities across the state and nation—are yielding powerful learning systems and models that are helping to transform education in today’s changing world, starting with our youngest learners. Faculty researchers last year garnered more than $150.3 million in external awards supporting studies and projects addressing education’s most critical issues. With both on campus and online options, the college offers 29 bachelor’s and advanced degree programs and concentration areas, within nine academic specialties. To sustain the college's innovative edge, heightened emphasis on emerging technologies, student experience and interdisciplinary research will effectively prepare tomorrow's leaders in all education disciplines. The College's educator preparation programs have been continuously nationally accredited since 1954. Follow us: @UF_COE (X), @uf_coe (Instagram), @university-of-florida-college-of-education (LinkedIn), and @UF.COE (Facebook)

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY: The University of Florida, founded in 1853, is a public land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant research university and one of the most academically diverse universities in the nation. U.S. News & World Report ranks UF 7th among public universities. National rankings such as 1st by the Wall Street Journal and 4th by Forbes in their respective lists of Public Universities are a result of UF’s commitment to provide the highest quality education at the best value. UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 200 research, service and education centers, bureaus and institutes, and boasts more than 6,600 faculty members, 60,000 students and 405,000 living alumni. Faculty scholars last year generated more than $1.26 billion in research awards. UF recently launched a $70 million AI partnership with NVIDIA, taking the first step toward ensuring equitable access to bringing AI to students and faculty from across campus and the state. The Florida Legislature designated UF as a “preeminent'' state university in 2013. 

ABOUT THE AREA: UF is situated in Gainesville in North Central Florida, a vibrant college town that blends big-city cultural and athletic offerings with small-town friendliness and charm, along with excellent schools. Gainesville, located about halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, is often recognized as one of America’s best college towns and is easily accessible to three major metropolitan areas (Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa). The National Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Gainesville as a “Tree City USA” every year since 1982. USA Today ranked Gainesville as the number one place to move in the Sunshine State. Add the allure of Florida’s famous sunshine, tropical breezes, and abundant wilderness, springs, rivers and seashores nearby, and it is little wonder that top-caliber faculty and students find our College and University to be the perfect balance of premier academics and a fulfilling lifestyle.

Salary is negotiable, highly competitive, and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

• Doctorate in relevant academic discipline. ABD candidates will be considered if the degree is conferred prior to August 15, 2026.
• Record of scholarship as demonstrated through publications and presentations at national conferences (commensurate with experience)

• Experience in teaching face-to-face classes as well as blended or online classes
• Evidence of success in proposing, securing, and managing externally-funded projects
• Evidence of commitment to collaboration with faculty and students
• Evidence of commitment to and experience in mentoring students
• Commitment to active engagement with and/or leadership in professional organizations of educational research methodology

Application Procedures: Applicants for the faculty positions should send: (1) a letter of application addressing area and record of scholarship, philosophy and/or experiences of teaching, and other relevant information to the required and desired qualifications above, (2) curriculum vitae, (3) up to three sample publications, and (4) contact information for at least three references who may be contacted and asked to send a letter of recommendation through the online application system. Applicants should reference requisition 537861.

All candidates should submit application materials electronically at https://jobs.ufl.edu. Inquiries about the position can be addressed to Search Committee Chair Wei Li at wei.li@coe.ufl.edu. Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2025. Applications received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the search committee and hiring authority.

The selection process will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Florida’s “Government in the Sunshine” and Public Records laws. Search Committee meetings and interviews are open to the public and all applications, resumes, and other documents related to the search will be available for public inspection. Final candidates will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by the National Association of Credentialing Evaluation Services (NACES), which can be found at http://www.naces.org.