Lecturer/ Teaching Specialist - Department of Geography, Environment and Society

About the Role

The Department of Geography, Environment and Society in the College of Liberal Arts occasionally needs teaching specialists or lecturers to teach courses on a variety of topics that cannot be staffed by regular faculty or graduate students. Openings may occur for teaching evening, summer session, day courses, and courses offered through Independent and Distance Learning. This posting establishes a pool of applicants for potential openings during the 2026/27 academic year. Applicants will be selected from this pool on an as-needed basis. Appointments are part-time and may be renewable based on need, funding, and performance.

The teaching specialist or lecturer may be responsible for all aspects of teaching, including course design, lectures, laboratory exercises, and grading.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• BA/BS in Geography or related field
• Knowledge of Geography principles and technology
• Specialized knowledge related to Geography, Urban Studies, and/or GIS

Preferred Qualifications:

• M.A. or Ph.D. in Geography or related field
• Teaching experience (e.g., training workshops, short courses, college/university) and/or professional experience

Applicants with a B.A. or M.A. will be appointed at the Teaching Specialist level; those with a Ph.D. will be appointed at the Lecturer level. Candidates must possess excellent oral and written communication skills and be capable of delivering high-quality instruction to a diverse student body.

About the Department

The Department of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota is a top-ranked, nationally and internationally recognized department with programs in Geography, Urban Studies, and Geographic Information Science. Studies in Geography offer an integrative perspective on social, political, economic, and physical phenomena in space and place, with a methodological emphasis in Geographic Information Science.

Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program focusing on conceptual and analytical frameworks and specialized skills for professions in public agencies, non-profits, private business, or graduate study in urban planning, law, social welfare, public affairs, or social and environmental sciences.

The MGIS program, the first of its type in the U.S., is a professional degree program providing a comprehensive GIS degree that balances theoretical, technical, and application domains. It delivers coursework at times convenient for full-time employed students and emphasizes societal impacts of GIS technologies.

The Department provides up-to-date computing, cartography/GIS, and physical geography laboratories, support for tree-ring analysis, soil characterization, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and access to one of the nation's finest libraries supporting undergraduate, graduate, and professional research and training programs.

About the College of Liberal Arts

The College of Liberal Arts (CLA) is the largest college at the University of Minnesota, comprising 31 academic departments and over 20 interdisciplinary research centers and administrative/support units. CLA has over 1,300 faculty and staff and enrolls nearly 13,000 undergraduate students and 1,400 graduate students. CLA is committed to increasing enrollment of underrepresented and under-resourced students, diversifying faculty across all disciplines, and promoting the expression and exploration of diverse perspectives and viewpoints.

Pay

• Teaching Specialists: $2,400 - $11,000 per undergraduate credit/course, depending on education, qualifications, and experience
• Lecturers: $2,400 - $14,000 per undergraduate credit/course, depending on education, qualifications, and experience

Retirement plan options are available for various classifications.