He taught for thirty-seven years at Arizona State University and is Regents' Professor Emeritus of the School of Justice and Social Inquiry there.
After receiving his bachelor's degree, he was awarded a Title IV National Defense Education Act (NDEA) Fellowship to attend the University of Washington, where he graduated in 1969 with an M.A.
Altheide continued his graduate studies in Sociology, receiving a fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health (N.I.M.H) to attend the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
[citation needed] While studying toward his doctorate at the University of California, San Diego, Altheide held several teaching positions as well as administrative appointments.
The Regents' Professor title "is conferred on ASU faculty who have made pioneering contributions in their areas of expertise, who have achieved a sustained level of distinction, and who enjoy national and international recognition for these accomplishments.
And, lastly, Altheide devotes his research to the development of qualitative methodology, specifically Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA).