Assistant or Associate Professor, Architectural Design

Posting Details

Position Information

Title Assistant or Associate Professor, Architectural Design Department Department of Architecture Division Architecture & Design Employment Type Full-Time Critical Review Track (similar to tenure track) Yes Position Description

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Architecture department invites applicants for a full-time, critical review track faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor to commence Fall 2027. Rank will be dependent on professional status and teaching experience.

RISD recognizes principles of social equity, inclusion, and diversity as fundamental to its mission as an art and design school. These principles require sustained attention to a multiplicity of differences and call for an expansion of the forms of knowledge that shape our curricula and pedagogy. RISD is committed to the collective work of institutional transformation and values applicants whose teaching, pedagogical and professional experiences have prepared them to foster and sustain equitable learning environments. We especially welcome faculty whose pedagogy engages diverse perspectives, expands forms of knowledge, and helps foster a culture of belonging where all students, staff, and faculty can thrive.

The department seeks qualified individuals to offer graduate and undergraduate-level instruction in architecture and design. This is a design position. Design studio teaching is central to every full-time faculty member's load, at the introductory, core, advanced or thesis level; seminar and course assignments are shaped by curricular needs and each faculty member's expertise. The department is particularly interested in candidates with knowledge and curricular leadership in drawing and representation, or architecture and technology, including building assembly and construction systems. The department is committed to making racial, social, and environmental justice foundational to an architect's education, and welcomes candidates who teach representation and construction not only as technical skills but as cultural practices with consequences for communities, labor, and the environment.

RISD is a teaching-centered institution, and the effectiveness and ability of a candidate's teaching are primary considerations in the critical review process (RISD's version of the tenure process). As such, the department seeks a colleague whose practice or scholarly agenda works in tandem with their teaching. Candidates should demonstrate how their work and/or research impact their teaching methods broadly beyond evidence of teaching a particular topic or specialization. Alongside teaching, critical review-track faculty are expected to sustain an impactful creative, professional, or scholarly practice through public engagement that carries their thinking beyond the institution. Full-time faculty are also expected to participate in the department's curriculum development, and contribute to the life of the school through service, student advising, and participation in school-wide committees.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated commitment to fostering equitable learning environments through inclusive, culturally responsive, accessible, and universally designed pedagogies that support the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and learning needs of RISD students.
• A terminal degree in architecture (M.Arch or equivalent) or an allied discipline.
• A minimum of two (2) years of post-graduate teaching architecture courses at the college level or higher.
• Evidence of an active creative and/or professional practice (e.g., licensure) in architecture, or contributions to one's area of expertise (e.g., built work, exhibitions, publications, lectures, and/or criticism).
• Ability to broaden the department's intellectual and curricular perspectives through diverse areas of expertise, methodologies, and architectural practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated record of teaching coursework (introductory, core, and advanced) in the area of architecture and drawing/representation.
• Demonstrated record of teaching coursework (introductory, core, and advanced) in the area of architecture and technology and/or building construction.
• Demonstrated collaborative experience teaching, developing, and/or coordinating core curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate level.
• Evidence of Leadership capacity in academic, non-academic, or community environments.

RISD/ Department Description

RISD is a nonprofit college and museum of art and design founded in 1877 in the city of Providence, RI. Today, 2,606 students from 62 countries engage in more than 40 full-time bachelor's and master's degree programs, supported by a committed faculty and worldwide network of more than 33,000 alumni.

By cultivating expansive and elastic thinking, RISD equips artists, designers, and scholars to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our world.

RISD has a critical review process, which is very similar to the tenure process at other institutions. RISD supports faculty professional practice with sabbaticals, pre-critical review leave, conference funds, and professional development grants. For more information about RISD, please visit www.risd.edu.

Faculty Responsibilities

The full-time faculty teaching load is five teaching units a year. One teaching unit equals three weekly contact hours for a seminar and five weekly contact hours for a studio. Two teaching units equal ten weekly contact hours for a core or advanced studio. In the Architecture department, this generally correlates to teaching three or four courses per year, spread across fall, wintersession, and spring semesters. In addition to teaching, full-time faculty are expected to maintain a dynamic professional and/or scholarly practice, serve on college committees, advise students, participate in curriculum development and other departmental and/or divisional activities and projects, and contribute to the vibrancy of the intellectual life of the college.

Union Yes Salary Information

For information about base pay for this position, please refer to Article XII "Salaries" (p. 19-22) in the Faculty Association Collective Bargaining Contract 2025-2028. The contract indicates the minimum base salary for each rank.

Pre-employment Requirement

The successful candidate will be required to meet our pre-employment background screening requirements.

Special Instructions to Applicants

RISD Faculty Search Committees comprise colleagues from within and outside of the hiring Department.

Please attach the following to to the appropriate links in the section labeled "Documents Needed to Apply":

• A letter of intent that addresses the qualifications and responsibilities listed above and includes the curricular area(s) to which you would contribute (2 pages maximum).
• Curriculum vitae including list of academic positions/roles and courses taught.
• A teaching philosophy that articulates your approach to inclusive pedagogy, provides examples of how you have put it into practice, and explains how your creative, professional, or scholarly practice informs your teaching. (2 pages maximum).
• Two self-authored syllabi, one for a required (core or comprehensive) architecture studio, and one for an elective design studio at an advanced level. If desired, the candidate can choose to include a third syllabus for a focused course (studio or non-studio) in the areas of drawing/representation or architecture and technology.
• A portfolio of recent creative, professional, and/or scholarly work (20 images maximum, in one PDF).
• Examples of student work (20 images maximum, in one PDF).

Applications may not be edited once they are certified and submitted.

Only materials that have been requested will be considered.

Names and contact information for three references are requested as part of the application process at the finalist stage.

Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled. Candidates who submit their materials by December 1, 2026 are assured full consideration.

EEO Statement

RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

Posting Detail Information

Posting Number F00132P Open Date Close Date Open Until Filled Yes

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Documents Needed To Apply

Required Documents

• Cover Letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Portfolio of Professional Work
• Portfolio of Student Work
• Teaching Philosophy
• Sample Syllabi

Optional Documents