Position Snapshot

Detail	Information
Organization	Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) — Architecture Department
Location	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Position Type	Full-Time, Critical Review Track Faculty
Rank	Assistant or Associate Professor (dependent on professional status and teaching experience)
Start Date	Fall 2027
Application Deadline	Open Until Filled (materials submitted by December 1, 2026 assured full consideration)
Salary	Per Article XII “Salaries” (pp. 19–22) of the Faculty Association Collective Bargaining Contract 2025–2028 (minimum base salary by rank)

---

Role Overview

The RISD Architecture department invites applicants for a full-time, critical review track faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, commencing Fall 2027. 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, with seminar and course assignments 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). It 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 teaching effectiveness is a primary consideration in the critical review process (RISD’s version of tenure). Candidates should demonstrate how their work and/or research impact their teaching methods broadly. Alongside teaching, critical review-track faculty are expected to sustain an impactful creative, professional, or scholarly practice through public engagement.

---

Key Responsibilities

• Teach graduate and undergraduate-level courses in architecture and design, with design studio teaching central to the load.
• Maintain a dynamic professional and/or scholarly practice.
• Participate in curriculum development and serve on college committees.
• Advise students and contribute to departmental/divisional activities.
• Contribute to the vibrancy of the intellectual life of the college.

Teaching Load

Five teaching units per year (one unit = three weekly contact hours for a seminar, five for a studio; two units = ten weekly contact hours for a core/advanced studio). This generally correlates to three or four courses per year, spread across fall, wintersession, and spring semesters.

---

Qualifications

Required

• Demonstrated commitment to fostering equitable learning environments through inclusive, culturally responsive, accessible, and universally designed pedagogies.
• Terminal degree in architecture (M.Arch or equivalent) or an allied discipline.
• Minimum 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

• Demonstrated record of teaching coursework (introductory, core, and advanced) in architecture and drawing/representation.
• Demonstrated record of teaching coursework in 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.

---

How to Apply

Required Application Materials

1. Letter of intent addressing the qualifications and responsibilities, including curricular area(s) of contribution (2 pages maximum).
2. Curriculum vitae including list of academic positions/roles and courses taught.
3. Teaching philosophy articulating approach to inclusive pedagogy, examples of practice, and how creative/professional/scholarly practice informs teaching (2 pages maximum).
4. Two self-authored syllabi — one for a required (core or comprehensive) architecture studio, and one for an elective design studio at an advanced level. Optional: a third syllabus for a focused course in drawing/representation or architecture and technology.
5. Portfolio of recent creative, professional, and/or scholarly work (20 images maximum, one PDF).
6. Examples of student work (20 images maximum, one PDF).

Only requested materials will be considered. Names and contact information for three references are requested at the finalist stage.

Application Link

Rhode Island School of Design Employment Site | Assistant or Associate Professor, Architectural Design

---

Additional Notes for Applicants

• Review Timeline: Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled. Candidates submitting materials by December 1, 2026 are assured full consideration.
• Search Committee: RISD Faculty Search Committees comprise colleagues from within and outside the hiring department.
• Faculty Support: RISD supports faculty professional practice with sabbaticals, pre-critical review leave, conference funds, and professional development grants.
• Equal Opportunity: 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.
• About RISD: A nonprofit college and museum of art and design founded in 1877 in 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 faculty and a worldwide network of more than 33,000 alumni.