Start Date: August 17, 2026
The Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture in collaboration with the Design Studies Department in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is seeking applications for a two-year (2026-28) postdoctoral fellowship in material culture and design history. The Fellow will conduct original research related to one of the center’s three pillars of Design, Material Culture, and the Study of Textiles (see the CDMC’s website for reference) and will teach three courses over two years in the Design Studies department, including at least one designed by the Fellow.
Fellows will participate in our active community of interdisciplinary material culture scholars through the Material Culture Workshop and will engage with students in design and material culture, including students pursuing the Certificate in Material Culture Studies, the PhD in Design History, and students in the new Design, Innovation, and Society major, which has a track that focuses on design and culture. Fellows will also be expected to engage with the Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture in a way appropriate to and beneficial to their research goals, whether through curating a related exhibition, studying the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, or offering public programs and workshops. The fellow will receive a research budget of up to $10,000 to support these goals. This fellowship is a pilot program funded by the Chipstone Foundation.
Position Requirements: Applicants must have a meaningful research interest in at least one of the CDMC’s three pillars of Design, Material Culture, and the Study of Textiles and have filed their PhD dissertations before August 17, 2026 and must be no more than five years past their dissertation filing date on May 1, 2026.
Salary: Starting at $63,480.00
Percent Time (FTE):100%
Application Deadline: June 12, 2026
For any questions, please contact the Human Resources Department at the School of Human Ecology.
Application Instructions: To apply please upload these four documents no later than June 12 as a single PDF file: a CV, a cover letter describing how your research in material culture and design history would fit into the teaching, research, and outreach possibilities of our programs, a one-page description of a course you would love to offer and that would serve both our program and your intellectual trajectory, and the names, titles, and contact information of two references. Please save this PDF as LastName-FirstName-CDMC. This position has an expected start date of August 17, 2026.
Contact Name: Laura Sims Peck, Senior Operations Manager
Contact Email & Phone: cdmc@wisc.edu, (608) 262-1162