Assistant Teaching Professor: Communications Design

About the role

The School of Design within the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University invites applications for a three-year renewable appointment at the rank of Assistant Teaching Professor in the Communications Design program. This is a teaching-focused position, and the faculty member will be instrumental in working with the current team of practicing educators in delivering the program’s core curriculum, advising students, and actively participating in service to the program and school. This position begins Fall 2027.

About the Communications Design Program

The Communications Design Program seeks to integrate a broad academic and studio-centered curriculum with the highest standards of professional practice through project-based learning. The program encourages exploration into all aspects reflective of the wide array of opportunities in our professional industry: branding and graphic identity, advertising, packaging, retail, environmental and exhibition design, direct response marketing, publication design, interactive media and web design and other related interests. Students are prepared for careers in the field of communications design, either as specialists or generalists and advised about their ethical responsibilities as shapers of public opinion and behavior, and as citizens of the world. We encourage entrepreneurial thinking and creative problem solving in search of the big idea. Our program has a strong national reputation and is proud of the success of its graduates around the world and the leadership roles they play in a multitude of creative endeavors.

Qualifications

• A graduate degree in communications design or a related discipline (i.e. graphic design)
• Some professional and/or academic experience
• Expertise in Adobe Creative Suite, modern studio processes, and procedures
• Strong conceptual and design-based principles applied to communication and advertising design as they pertain to traditional and evolving media
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• The ability to contribute to the excellence of the academic community through teaching, advising, and service
• Interest and temperament to work within a NASAD-accredited curriculum
• A desire for cross-disciplinary collaboration – to be someone who can advance and advocate for design across campus
• Evidence of communication abilities and cross-cultural competencies to maximize their effectiveness with many different groups of students, colleagues, and community members

Responsibilities

• Teach the equivalent of 4, 3-credit classes per semester
• Provide academic advising to students in the program
• Participate in curriculum development
• Develop and support relevant programmatic initiatives, such as exhibitions, field trips, lecture series, and projects that enhance the curriculum
• Contribute to recruiting and admissions activities
• Engage in appropriate service to the program, school, college, and/or university, such as committee work

Primarily on-site, in-person instruction for studio and experiential courses, standard delivery in current curriculum. Some hybrid or online instruction may be explored, depending on program needs and strategic goals.