Coleman achieved renown with two studies on problem solving: "An Introduction to Mathematical Sociology" (1964) and "Mathematics of Collective Action" (1973). He taught at Stanford University and the University of Chicago. In 1959, he moved to Johns Hopkins University, where he taught as an associate professor. In 1965 he became involved in Project Camelot, an academic research project funded by the United States military through the Special Operations Research Office to train in counter-insurgency techniques. He eventually became a full-time professor in social relations until 1973, when he returned to Chicago. While in Chicago he engaged in a professorship opportunity at Chicago University.