Ongoing Recruitment for Part-Time Lecturer position (open Rank) for the USC Roski School of Art and Design

Part-Time Position, Part-time Lecturer for the USC Roski School of Art and Design

The Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California invites applications for a rolling pool for part-time non-tenure-track faculty positions in the school’s three divisions, Studio Art, Critical Studies and Design. This is an ongoing posting for a pool, and we will be hiring intermittently, for openings starting Spring semester or Fall semester, or at other times. The pool will be purged every two years on even years.

IMPORTANT: Since the school is seeking to create a pool from which one or multiple positions may be filled, applicants should not contact the school to check on their application status. Applicants will be notified if additional information is required.

We are seeking artist- or scholar-educators with professional and teaching experience commensurate with a leading school of art and design located within a major research institution. The school offers a range of coursework in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital media, ceramics, sculpture, design, critical studies and curatorial studies. Artists, curators and scholars working in all disciplines or areas of study may apply, however preference will be based on the needs of the school.

Preference will be shown to candidates who hold a Master of Fine Arts, Ph.D., or other relevant terminal degree. Candidates must be able to show demonstrated success in teaching at the college or university level, in particular at peer institutions, and a record of exhibiting work, publishing, designing, curating, or other related activities in the field that evidence a strong professional profile. The ideal candidate(s) will have an established reputation among peer artists or scholars, and a strong desire to work in a community of diverse and world-class artists, scholars, and curators at the Roski School and across USC.

The Roski School is at the forefront of art pedagogy, with evolving programs in which teachers rethink the interface between art and its public from a making and interpretive or curatorial point of view. Roski professors work in a range of media from photography to printmaking and ceramics; from painting, sculpture, and drawing to digital media, installation, performance, and 3-D design; as well as in a broad curriculum of critical studies in art history and theory, and curatorial practice. Our faculty ask not only what art means and what it is for, they continually explore links among art, aesthetics, and politics; viewing art in relation to other modes of creative engagement and innovation. Accordingly, candidates must be interested in challenging existing ideas and in developing new models for studio or scholarly practice and education on the undergraduate and graduate levels, reflecting a deep understanding of current modes of contemporary art and design practices and global perspectives.

Founded in 1887, the USC Roski School of Art and Design is noted for its richly varied and innovative programs that emphasize studio art, design and critical and curatorial studies. The school provides a distinctive environment that allows undergraduate and graduate students to move fluidly across media and disciplines. 

The Roski School offers BFA and BA undergraduate degrees in Art and Design. Roski graduate programs include the MFA Art, MFA Design, the MA in Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere, and a joint Master of Arts/Master of Planning degree with the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. Our programs are constructed with powerful areas of overlap, and offer students a unique ability to explore broader definitions of making, curating, research and teaching. 

The University of Southern California is one of the nation’s leading research universities, boasting a world-class faculty of artists, scholars and researchers. The vibrant downtown campus is host to hundreds of events each year in the visual, performing, and other creative arts. Additionally, through its Visions and Voices series, USC brings dozens of world renowned artists, scholars, ensembles, and collectives from around the globe each academic year to present their work to USC faculty and students and the broader Los Angeles arts community. 

USC is the only major research university whose commitment to the arts is expressed in a wide spectrum of six arts schools, as well as two art museums, two classical radio stations, and an arts and humanities residential college. USC includes the world-renowned School of Cinematic Arts, and other top-ranked liberal arts departments and professional schools, offering 70 undergraduate programs in the arts and humanities. Roski students benefit from USC’s deep commitment to the arts and humanities across the university. 

Situated adjacent to Los Angeles’s ever-expanding Arts District, the Roski School makes full use of the riches of the Los Angeles art world, its artists, curators, scholars, famed museums, and vibrant gallery scene.

All USC students are admitted on a need-blind basis: ability to pay, or a student’s interest in financial aid, has no bearing on admissions decisions. Roski School graduate students benefit from a very generous program of financial aid appropriate for the individual, including eligibility for teaching assistantships for those intending academic careers, research assistantships, or grants, that meet all or almost all the cost of tuition for every student with financial need. USC undergraduate students benefit from one of the largest financial aid programs in the nation. Grants and scholarships from USC’s own funds total over $275 million annually. USC works with families of undergraduates to meet the full demonstrated financial need for students who satisfy all deadlines and eligibility requirements: more than two-thirds of the USC entering first-year class receives some form of financial assistance.

Instructions to the applicant:

Applicants should submit the following: a cover letter discussing their professional profile, teaching and pedagogical philosophy; a curriculum vitae; and names and contact information of three references, letters will be request only at the final stages of each search. We reserve the right to request additional materials at a later time. 

This is an ongoing posting to create a pool of candidates for future positions, applicants should not contact the school to check on their application status. Applicants will be notified if additional information is required.

USC is an equal-opportunity educator and employer, proudly pluralistic and firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for outstanding persons of every race, gender, creed and background. The University particularly encourages women, members of underrepresented groups, veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply. USC will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship. Further information is available by contacting uschr@usc.edu.

The annual base salary range for this position is $2,304 - $9,216 per semester (depending on the amount of units assigned for each class).  When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Minimum Education: MFA, Ph.D, or other relevant terminal degree Minimum Experience: 2 years of teaching experience. Candidates must be able to show demonstrated success in teaching at the college or university level, in particular at peer institutions, and a record of exhibiting work, publishing, curating, or other related activities in the field that evidence a strong professional profile. The ideal candidate(s) will have an established reputation among peer artists or scholars, and a strong desire to work in a community of diverse and world-class artists, scholars, and curators at the Roski School and across USC.