Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Architecture

University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA); Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 84,000 - 109,000; Full time

Job summary

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Architecture. The position emphasizes rigorous inquiry, experimental practice, and contributions to architectural education, with opportunities to shape pedagogy and research directions across undergraduate and graduate programs.

Expected start date July 1, 2027. A Master of Architecture degree or higher is required.

Qualifications

• Master of Architecture degree or higher required.
• Strong record of teaching and scholarly work in architecture.

Responsibilities

• Teach design studios and seminars across undergraduate and graduate programs.
• Develop a distinctive research agenda and contribute to pedagogical initiatives and new directions for architectural education.
• Engage in scholarly activities and service within UCLA Architecture and Urban Design.

Education

Master of Architecture degree

Job description

Position Overview

Position title: Assistant Professor in Architecture

Salary range: The posted UC salary scales [Academic salaries | UCOP] set the minimum pay determined by rank and/or step at appointment. See Table 1 (T1). The salary range for this position is $84,100-$108,900. "Off-scale salaries" and other components of pay, i.e., a salary that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.

Open date: October 1, 2026

Next review date: Friday, Dec 4, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Friday, Dec 4, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications will continue to be accepted until this date.

Position Description

The UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Architecture. We seek exceptional candidates whose work advances architectural design through rigorous inquiry, experimentation, and creative practice, with a sustained contribution to the discipline and a strong commitment to academic scholarship. The department welcomes candidates developing new questions, methods, and forms of practice that expand the boundaries of architectural knowledge while remaining grounded in the intellectual, technical, and cultural rigor of the discipline. The successful candidate will bring a distinctive research agenda to the department, broaden its current areas of inquiry, and play a central role in shaping forward-looking pedagogical initiatives as well as new directions for architectural education. The new faculty member will teach design studios and seminars across undergraduate and graduate programs, spanning foundational through advanced levels, while contributing to the broader intellectual life and future direction of the department. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2027. A Master of Architecture degree or higher is required for this position.

Recognized nationally and internationally, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design is well-known for its excellence in design, scholarship, and research. Degree programs in the department include a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (B.A.), a professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch.I), a post-professional Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design (MSAUD), and a Master of Arts/Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture (M.A./Ph.D.). Under the umbrella of UCLA School of Arts and Architecture, our department maintains a valuable proximity to multiple creative disciplines housed in UCLA Departments of Art, Design Media Arts, and World Arts and Cultures/Dance, and UCLA's public arts institutions-UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance and the Hammer and Fowler Museums. This broader coalition of creative cultural production enriches our everyday collective experience within the University and reinforces the intellectual expansion of our community beyond our own discipline.

As part of UCLA, the nation's #1 public university, the Department of Architecture and Urban Design is committed to advancing the discipline and profession in response to environmental, civic, and spatial challenges. Across all degree programs, the department embraces architecture's capacity to foster greater equity, diversity, and inclusion while contributing to a more just, resilient, and beautiful built environment. The primacy of design as a response to environmental and social contexts remains central to our pedagogical philosophy and informs every aspect of our architectural curriculum.

Our exceptional faculty explore a broad range of research topics in their teaching and creative practices. We are immersed in the areas of contemporary architectural mediation, advanced digital fabrication, augmented and virtual reality protocols, sustainable material explorations, potentials of industry partnerships, new urban policies, speculative near-future scenarios, alternative housing typologies, climate change resiliency strategies, emerging ecologies in the Anthropocene and more. We collectively embrace the notion that architectural discipline must expand on multiple trajectories to generate new, productive, and meaningful discourse.

The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture is committed to fostering a dynamic academic community responsive to the evolving educational and demographic landscape of Los Angeles, the State of California, and the Nation. The Department of Architecture and Urban Design values intellectual rigor, cultural engagement, and creative inquiry. Personal qualities such as originality, initiative, and collaborative leadership are highly valued and will contribute to a successful application. We welcome candidates whose perspectives, research, and professional experience will enrich the department's intellectual community, strengthen its curriculum, and contribute to meaningful discourse within the discipline.

Department

Department: https://www.aud.ucla.edu/

Qualifications

A Master of Architecture degree or higher is a requirement for this position.

Application Requirements

Document Requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

• Letter of Intent with a Statement of Research and Teaching

• Reference check authorization release form - Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form

• UCLA Mission Statement - As the nation's premier public research university, UC's mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. We have a particular responsibility to the people of California which we express in the excellence of the education we provide, the impact of the research we do, and the comprehensive, life-saving medical services we provide, and the public service mission we are devoted to. The University of California promotes the social mobility of its students, equips them with the tools and experience that furthers their ambitions, and regards their accomplishments across the life span as evidence of the profoundly positive impact of higher education.

  The UCLA campus has expressed these goals in its strategic plan as follows:

  Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles

  Expand our reach as a global university

  Enhance our research and creative activities

  Elevate how we teach

  Become a more effective institution

  Prompt for candidates for recruitment:

  Reflecting on your personal and professional experiences, highlight your past contributions and future commitments to advancing UCLA's mission as embodied in the 2023-28 strategic plan. These accomplishments and ambitions may be discussed in the context of describing your teaching, scholarship, and service

• Portfolio - Portfolio of creative work, pedagogical materials and teaching samples; please include a description of each project

• Syllabi - Two recent syllabi (in which you are the sole author)

• Writing Samples - Two or more writing samples

Reference Requirements

• 6 required (contact information only)

Applicants will be asked to name references to complete their application. The references will not be asked to provide letters unless the analyst requests them.

Help contact

Help contact: [e-mail]

About UCLA

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• APM - 035: Affluent Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Job Location

Los Angeles, CA