Assistant Professor - Biology

Department of Biology, full-time tenure-line Assistant Professor position; begins Fall 2027.

About the Role

The Department of Biology at the University of Puget Sound, a predominantly undergraduate liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, seeks to recruit a tenure-line Assistant Professor in integrative organismal biology. We seek an animal-focused biologist whose teaching and research address how organisms develop, function, and/or evolve. We are particularly interested in candidates whose expertise would support an upper-level course with laboratory in evolutionary biology, animal physiology, developmental biology, or related integrative field.

The successful candidate will develop an active research program that provides meaningful opportunities for undergraduate participation and professional growth. We welcome diverse research questions, approaches, and study systems within areas indicated above, including research that examines animals in interaction with other organisms or their environments. Research programs should be feasible in a predominantly undergraduate setting and complement existing departmental strengths. Faculty start-up funds, student research stipends, and grant opportunities are available.

Responsibilities

• Teach Evolution and the Diversity of Life (BIOL 112) and an upper-level course with laboratory in their area of expertise.
• Contribute to the University Core through a First-Year Seminar or Connections course.
• Teach a typical semester load consisting of either one course with accompanying laboratory sections or two courses (one with and one without a lab).
• Show promise and enthusiasm to become a skilled teacher and contribute to the department's mission to develop an inclusive learning environment for students.
• Engage in departmental and university service.

Qualifications

• PhD in biological sciences by the time of appointment.
• Demonstrated commitments to undergraduate teaching, research mentorship, and inclusive pedagogy.

Benefits

Puget Sound offers a generous benefits package. Assistant Professor salaries in 2026-2027 begin at $75,820 for an assistant professor with a terminal degree in their first year of full-time post-doctorate teaching through $86,652 annualized based on experience.

About the Department

The Biology Department highly values excellence in teaching and mentoring of undergraduate research. Our curriculum emphasizes close faculty-student interaction through faculty-taught laboratories, small classes, a robust student/faculty research program, and dedication to student success and inclusive teaching.

• Faculty have dedicated research labs (~400 ft²) and access to state-of-the-art equipment in the Science Core Facility and other shared research spaces including instrument labs, a greenhouse, and an animal housing facility.
• The department is housed in the University of Puget Sound Science Center, along with Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics & Computer Science, and Environmental Studies and Sciences, offering ample opportunity for interdepartmental collaboration in both teaching and research.
• Faculty have access to the Puget Sound Museum of Natural History (PSMNH) for research or education, which has a world-class collection comprising more than 105,000 specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, plants, insects, molluscs, and fossils with strengths in tetrapod vertebrates.

The department offers majors in Biology, Molecular & Cellular Biology (MCB), and Natural Science Biology, with a breadth of courses in modern biology for science majors and courses on contemporary topics in biology for non-majors.