School Harvard Graduate School of Design
Department/Area Urban Planning and Design

Position Description

A faculty position for a distinguished scholar and/or practitioner at the full professor level, or a candidate with superior attainment or strong promise at the associate or assistant professor levels (tenure track) is available in the Department of Urban Planning and Design at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD). We are particularly interested in candidates who are committed to innovative thinking about topics that relate to contemporary issues on urbanization and the design of the city, and who are willing to engage in constructive dialogue with colleagues in all of the disciplines at the GSD, as well as across the university.

The successful candidate will be expected to engage in conceptualizing and developing cross-disciplinary academic and research initiatives that help reshape contemporary urban environments through innovative contributions to the current debates on urbanization. In addition to exhibiting excellence in the application of design skills to the city and the built environment, we seek applicants with a capacity to promote and reflect upon the challenges of our times: more sustainable mobility; climate change & environmental stewardship; and the changing nature of work and living environments, mitigating economic and social inequalities and other such pressing socio-spatial challenges. In addition, we seek individuals willing to push the methodological boundaries of the discipline through such applications as digital design platforms, emerging smart technologies, and novel forms of representation. We will prioritize candidates whose work demonstrates sensitivity to urban history, to the distinctions of place, and to the social implications of design practice. Finally we encourage applicants who show a willingness to use their design research to explore new connections with the fields of planning, landscape architecture, architecture, the social sciences, and the humanities.

Basic Qualifications

Candidates should have significant experience in integrating studio or classroom teaching with applied research, and hold an advanced degree in urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, and/or other fields concerned with cities and urbanization. While all candidates with significant scholarly or professional achievement in a broad range of fields related to cities and urbanization will be considered, a background of commitment to the design of exemplary physical environments should be demonstrated through research and/or practice, and peer review.

Additional Qualifications

The committee will prioritize applications for the position of full-time professor, associate professor, or assistant professor. We will also consider applications for part-time positions at all ranks (assistant, associate, or professor in practice). Part-time positions are normally half-time and require the maintenance of an active outside practice or research activities.

Special Instructions

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting on October 1, 2019.

Contact Information

Lauren O’Brien
Faculty Affairs Coordinator

Contact Email lobrien@gsd.harvard.edu

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. The GSD is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion within its community and especially welcomes applications from candidates with experience teaching and working with diverse communities and students.

Minimum Number of References Required 3
Maximum Number of References Allowed 5