Job Description

University of Southern California

Sol Price School of Public Policy

Adjunct Instructor of Public Policy and Management

Department of Public Policy and Management

The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy is seeking a working professional or academic with expertise to teach in public policy and policy analysis. The successful candidate should possess a strong background in economics, cost-benefit analysis, and/or statistical methods in policy analysis with a Ph.D. (or currently enrolled in a doctoral program) in public policy, economics, or a related field; a master’s degree may be acceptable with appropriate experience. The candidate will be able to teach the undergraduate course PPD 373: Public Policy and Planning Analysis (“Applied analytic modeling and data manipulation; visual presentation; interpretation of data; needs assessment and market failure analysis; indexing; extrapolation and simple forecasting; simple risk analysis; benefit-cost analysis.”) in the Fall 2025 semester. Preference will be given to candidates with prior teaching experience and excellent teaching evaluations.

Course Description: This course applies economic and statistical methods to develop a toolkit of practical methods for analyzing policy issues. Students will develop skills in applied data analysis using Excel spreadsheets. Areas of coverage will include market failure analysis; indexing, extrapolation and simple forecasting; visual presentation and interpretation of data; risk and decision analysis; and cost-benefit analysis and related tools.

Adjunct instructor responsibilities include delivery of course content, scheduling office hours and being accessible to students as appropriate, and grading. Each instructor is expected to provide students with a syllabus outlining the course goals, schedule and all requirements for the course under the direction of the Department Chair.

The hourly rate range for this position is $29.06/hr. - $38.89/hr. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

Ranked among the foremost schools of public policy in the nation, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy generates uncommon knowledge for the common good. The school is composed of overlapping disciplines that generate innovative approaches to critical issues ranging from health-care policy to homelessness, and sustainability to congestion – to name a few. A wide-ranging curriculum, including extensive experiential learning, prepares our graduates to navigate problems that demand multi-layered solutions driven by critical, informed thinking.

The Price School, founded in 1929, is anchored by four departments: Public Policy and Management, Health Policy and Management, Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development, and Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis. The School’s rigorous academic programs provide students with the knowledge and distinctive opportunities to make meaningful contributions to their professions. Integrating classroom instruction with real-world experience and led by some of the world’s most renowned faculty in their fields, our students establish a clear pathway to successful careers.

Our academic programs are augmented by numerous research centers, institutes and initiatives that provide additional research expertise and experiences, notable among them are: The Judith and John Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public; The Center for Philanthropy and Public Policy; The USC Lusk Center for Real Estate; The METRANS Transportation Consortium; The Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics; and The Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. Together, they account for over $100 million in externally funded research grants and contracts.

Together, these departments and research enterprises provide unmatched breadth and depth to tackle an enormous range of challenges facing our country and the world. Price graduates hold leadership positions across diverse sectors – public, private, and nonprofit – championing the advancement of the common good. They come from around the world and from a variety of cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to create a rich intellectual environment that celebrates, supports and benefits from a variety of backgrounds and opinions.

For additional information, see our website: .

Apply for this Position: Applicants should submit a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, one or more sample syllabi, and one or more sets of sample teaching evaluations.

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