Assistant Professor of Teaching of Urban Planning

Position description

The Department of Urban Planning in the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin School of Public Affairs seeks an Assistant Professor of Teaching who will contribute to the Department’s teaching mission, including a new Master of Global Public Affairs.
We seek scholars from urban planning, sociology, geography, political science, public policy, economics, and related fields whose work relates to Global Public Affairs, broadly defined. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to comparative urbanization, land use, public finance and taxation, environment and climate, infrastructure, transportation, social policies, labor, social movements, innovation and technology, human rights, and immigration. Applicants’ research should be policy relevant, and applicants should be prepared to teach core and elective courses to master’s and undergraduate students. The standard teaching load for this position is six courses across three quarters. The successful applicant’s teaching and research should primarily focus on contexts outside of North America, for example in Asia, the Middle East, or Africa.
The Professor of Teaching is a Senate Faculty position series that is used for appointees who are members of the faculty of an academic or professional college, school, division, department, or program of the University whose primary responsibility is teaching and teaching-related tasks and secondary responsibility is professional and/or scholarly achievement and activity, including creative activity, especially as they relate to instruction and pedagogy. The faculty in this series also have responsibility for University and Public Service. “Intellectual attainment, as evidenced particularly in excellent teaching and secondarily in professional and/or scholarly achievement and activity, is an indispensable qualification for appointment or promotion to Associate or Full Professor of Teaching.” (). Although this is primarily a teaching position where promotion is determined primarily by teaching quality, the department does prefer a candidate who also has an established research agenda, and that research be a secondary aspect of promotion.
UCLA’s Urban Planning Department currently hosts 21 tenured/tenure-track planning faculty, 6 affiliated tenured/tenure-track faculty, 3 active professors emeriti, 35 PhD students, and 150 master’s students. We are a multidisciplinary department with a tradition of intellectual leadership in urban studies and planning, and our students and alumni have long been known for their passionate commitment to progressive planning ideals. The Department offers a Master of Urban Planning degree, a PhD program, undergraduate courses, a Master of Real Estate Development, and the new position will contribute courses to a new Master of Global Public Affairs (MGPA) to be launched in Fall 2027. The MGPA is a two-year interdepartmental program that emphasizes rigorous training in problem formulation, policy design, and impact evaluation for students planning to work at the intersection of local and global issues across the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
Los Angeles is a global city renowned for its dynamism, robust economy, rich cultural diversity, and spectacular climate. The generously endowed Luskin School of Public Affairs is home to the departments of Public Policy, Social Welfare, and Urban Planning, and undergraduate program in public affairs, and three minors, as well as twelve research centers. UCLA is a leading global university and among the top-ranked public universities in the US.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications

A PhD in a relevant field (e.g., urban planning, sociology, geography, political science, etc, or a related discipline) is required by the time of appointment.

Additional qualifications

Formal training/specialization and demonstrated expertise in a field related to Urban Planning and Global Public Affairs.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

• Cover Letter - Cover Letter briefly summarizing your teaching experience, research background, and its academic and planning relevance and describe teaching experience and qualifications.

• Statement of Teaching - Teaching statement describing your teaching philosophy, past teaching experience and evaluations, and courses you are prepared to teach.

• Syllabus - Syllabus from a course you have taught or would plan to teach.

• Statement of Research - Research statement that synthesizes completed and ongoing research and its contribution to your field (less than 500 words).

• Writing Sample

• Reference check authorization release form - Complete and upload the

• UCLA Mission Statement - As the nation's premier public research university, UC's mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. We have a particular responsibility to the people of California which we express in the excellence of the education we provide, the impact of the research we do, the comprehensive, life-saving medical services we provide, and the public service mission we are devoted to. The University of California promotes the social mobility of its students, equips them with the tools and experience that furthers their ambitions, and regards their accomplishments across the life span as evidence of the profoundly positive impact of higher education.

  The UCLA campus has expressed these goals in its strategic plan as follows:

  Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles
  Expand our reach as a global university
  Enhance our research and creative activities
  Elevate how we teach
  Become a more effective institution

  Prompt for candidates for recruitment:

  Reflecting on your personal and professional experiences, highlight your past contributions and future commitments to advancing UCLA's mission as embodied in the 2023-28 strategic plan. These accomplishments and ambitions may be discussed in the context of describing your teaching, scholarship, and service

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

Applicants must provide the names and contact information of their references. The hiring unit will request confidential letters from the references of those applicants who are under serious consideration.

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About UCLA

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.

Job location

Los Angeles, CA