Job: Assistant Teaching Professor, Interactive Media and Game Development, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Published: Thu, 06/30/22

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Job: Assistant Teaching Professor, Interactive Media and Game Development, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

June 30, 2022


Call for Applications

Assistant Teaching Professor
The Interactive Media and Game Development (IMGD) program
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Worcester, Massachusetts
https://wpi.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WPI_External_Career_Site/details/Assistant-Teaching-Professor_R0001988

Application review will begin on July 8, 2022 and continue until the position is filled.

Dear colleagues,

Interactive Media & Game Development at WPI is searching for an Assistant Teaching Professor! The start date is as soon as August 2022, with a January 2023 start possible. We especially welcome candidates with a background in experience design, interactive storytelling, narrative design, interactive theater, alternate reality games, live-action roleplaying, tabletop games, and/or escape rooms and other interactive experiences.

IMGD is an interdisciplinary program at WPI, one of the oldest game degree programs in the United States, and we have a thriving undergraduate (BS and BA) and graduate (MS, MFA, PhD) program. Teaching faculty at WPI have full participation in faculty governance and secured contracts.

Since we have a start date as soon as August, we will begin reviewing applications in early-mid July. We will continue reviewing applications until the position is filled.

Learn more and apply here: https://wpi.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WPI_External_Career_Site/details/Assistant-Teaching-Professor_R0001988

See below for a copy of full job ad, and please do feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

Gillian

Gillian Smith (she/they)
Director, Interactive Media & Game Development Program
Associate Professor, IMGD/CS
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
gmsmith@wpi.edu

The Interactive Media and Game Development (IMGD) program is hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor, with a focus in interactive storytelling, narrative design, and experience design. We especially welcome candidates with a background in interactive theater, alternate reality games, live-action roleplaying, tabletop game design, or escape rooms and other interactive media experiences. The position can begin as early as August 2022, with the potential to start January 2023.

The candidate will teach existing courses in writing and narrative design, analog game design, and interactive experience design including undergraduate courses in Interactive Storytelling in Interactive Media and Games, and Board Game Design, and a graduate-level courses in Designing Interactive Experiences, with an expected teaching load of 5 courses per year.

The candidate will also have the opportunity to develop new courses and curricular initiatives in topics related to their expertise. The candidate will advise undergraduate students in their senior-year projects and graduate students in their projects and theses. The position has service expectations related to IMGD (e.g. event planning). The position includes opportunities to collaborate with faculty and students on creative projects and research efforts. Candidates should hold a terminal degree in an area closely related to IMGD (MFA or PhD) and provide evidence of their potential for successful teaching and project advising experience with undergraduates and/or graduate students.

We are especially interested in candidates who align with our program’s goals for fostering an inclusive community of creative practitioners who address social and environmental challenges. IMGD celebrates and supports our students in the LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and multi-ethnic/racial communities, and candidates should speak to their capacity to support a diverse and inclusive academic environment. Candidates whose teaching, scholarship, and/or service already demonstrates a commitment to addressing diversity and anti-racism are especially encouraged to apply.

IMGD is a multidisciplinary program with faculty from the departments of Computer Science, Humanities and Arts, Social Science and Policy Studies, and Business. IMGD offers degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate level: a BS focused in technical development, a BA in artistic development and design with an option for a concentration in writing, an MS focused on the science and technology of IMGD, a design-focused MFA, and a PhD in Computational Media. The project-based curriculum at WPI requires extensive writing in junior- and senior-year projects at the undergraduate level, which are often tied to the university’s nationally-known global studies program.

Applicants should submit:

  • Curriculum Vitae / Resume
  • A letter of application that speaks to teaching and/or project advising experience, and research and/or professional work as it relates to the union of technology, art, and design. This statement should also describe how your scholarship, teaching, and/or service contributes to diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning and working environments.
  • Optional: Selections of creative works supporting your application (for example, a portfolio, with an online link preferred)
  • The names and contact information of at least three references. We will ask for letters for short-listed candidates only.

Founded in 1865, WPI is one of the nation’s first technological universities. A highly selective private university located within an hour of Boston, WPI is consistently ranked among the top 70 research institutions by US News & World Report. The university is home to an innovative and intensive project-based curriculum that empowers students with the knowledge and skills to address real-world problems around the globe. WPI employees have competitive and comprehensive benefits, including health insurance, long-term care, retirement, tuition assistance, flexible spending accounts, good work-life balance, and much more. WPI has a strong commitment to supporting the careers of teaching-oriented faculty, including secured contracts, full participation in faculty governance, and a new and award-winning process for supporting a teaching-track to tenure.

Application review will begin on July 8, 2022, and continue until the position is filled.

WPI requires employees to be fully-vaccinated (including a booster shot) for COVID-19. For additional information on WPI’s response to COVID-19, refer to https://www.wpi.edu/we-are-wpi


 
 

Managing Editor: Matthew Lombard

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