Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Game Design - University of Utah Division of Games - Salt Lake City, UT

The Division of Games at the University of Utah is seeking to hire a teaching faculty member at the rank of assistant professor (lecturer) with an interest in and knowledge of the design aspects of game development. This position will begin in Fall 2024 and is a Career-Line Faculty position (research optional, non-tenure track) within the University’s established promotion structure intended to be a long-term position with a renewable contract and multi-year appointments.

Candidates must hold a terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D., MFA) in a field related to game design. The successful candidate will share our vision of the power that games hold to transform players, groups, and society. The Division values candidates who have a clear interest in helping to build the division as an academic community as we grow in size and breadth of disciplinary strength in games. We seek candidates prepared to contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion, especially those with experience in teaching or working with diverse populations.

Responsibilities include teaching broad-based undergraduate classes, design-oriented graduate courses, as well as project-based studio courses, often in collaboration with other Games faculty. Experience in game design with industry-standard processes, tools, and platforms, is highly desirable. Successful candidates are expected to support the teaching mission of the Division through excellence in teaching, curriculum development, and advancement of teaching approaches in games. The faculty member is also expected to perform service at the program, university, and professional level.

The Division of Games is a world leader in games education, with consistently top-ranked programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Utah Games faculty includes artists, computer scientists, designers, games studies scholars, and social scientists who all work together to design and teach our courses. To advance our mission, we have received significant new support from the Office of the President and are in the process of building major new program strengths in both teaching and research/creative scholarship. Interested applicants can visit https://games.utah.edu/pressplay/ for more information on all our current positions and the role they will play in the growth of our program on campus and beyond.

The Division is committed to recruiting, welcoming, and supporting a diverse community of undergrad and graduate students, postdocs, scientists, staff, and faculty. We are also committed to addressing lifestyle priorities and will work with candidates to develop opportunities for partners and family members. If you are interested in joining us to build a culture of academic excellence, to create ideas that advance our understanding of games, to share those ideas with our students, our community, and society, and to apply those ideas to change society for the better, we strongly encourage you to apply.

The University of Utah is a Carnegie Research I institution located in Salt Lake City nestled in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. With thriving arts and food scenes, and an exploding high technology sector, Salt Lake City offers a unique mix of urban life juxtaposed with access to remarkable national parks, ski resorts, hiking and climbing, some just minutes away from downtown.

 

Candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV, contact information for 3 references, and a teaching statement. We also require a one- or two-page statement that describes ways their background, experience, and commitments relate to our values and goals (see https://games.utah.edu/equity-diversity-inclusion/), and will foster collaboration, inclusivity, and excellence in games teaching within the Division (uploaded as “Applicant Document – Other”)