Matthias Staisch joined Rice as an Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science in Fall 2024. Since Spring 2026, he has served as the inaugural advisor for the new Global Affairs major, which he designed in collaboration with more than a dozen academic units across campus.

At Rice, Prof. Staisch teaches gateway and capstone courses in Global Affairs and mentors graduate students in designing their own courses and developing their teaching practice.

Before joining Rice, Prof. Staisch was Associate Director and Associate Senior Instructional Professor in the Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago. A dual German-US citizen, he earned a PhD in Political Science at the University of Chicago and a BA/MA in Political Science, Modern History, and Public Law at the Universität Tübingen.