Assistant Professor- Higher Education

UMass Boston • Boston, MA

6d • $80,000 - $85,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Leadership in Education in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Massachusetts Boston seeks applicants for two tenure-track Assistant Professors of Higher Education to begin September 1, 2027. The ideal candidates will be equity-minded and their teaching, research, and service should advance the college mission and the university's strategic plan. We are interested in candidates whose scholarship incorporates critical theoretical lenses to advance equity and social justice in higher education research and practice, who have experience with culturally sustaining and asset-based approaches to teaching and learning, and/or who have been involved in community-engaged scholarship. Candidates' research agendas should be grounded in the field of higher education and focus on one or more of the following areas: community colleges (focusing on practitioner experiences and/or student pathways), the development and experiences of undergraduate students from historically underserved and underrepresented communities, or organization, administration, and governance. One position will focus on candidates with expertise in survey research approaches, particularly those applying a critical lens. The second position will focus on candidates with expertise in critical and creative research methodologies across qualitative, quantitative (QuantCrit), and/or mixed methods traditions. Faculty are responsible for teaching, research, and service that enhance CEHD’s community-engaged mission. The Higher Education Doctoral Program provides a dynamic environment for faculty and graduate students to conduct nationally recognized research, particularly in areas related to access, equity, leadership, governance, organizational change, public policy, teaching and learning, and college student experiences and outcomes. UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impact is both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country—more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from historically marginalized communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. We invite applications from candidates who reflect the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

Requirements

• Scholarship that incorporates critical theoretical lenses to advance equity and social justice in higher education research and practice
• Experience with culturally sustaining and asset-based approaches to teaching and learning
• Involvement in community-engaged scholarship
• Research agendas grounded in the field of higher education and focused on one or more of the following areas: community colleges (focusing on practitioner experiences and/or student pathways), the development and experiences of undergraduate students from historically underserved and underrepresented communities, or organization, administration, and governance
• Expertise in survey research approaches, particularly those that apply a critical lens (for one position)
• Expertise in critical and creative research methodologies across qualitative, quantitative (QuantCrit), and/or mixed methods traditions (for the second position)
• A letter of interest that describes the applicant’s research agenda and how it supports the program mission, explains how the applicant’s research and scholarship contribute to theory, practice, and policy in the field of higher education, and indicates how the applicant’s teaching and advising philosophy fits with a practitioner-focused doctoral program and the mission of the UMass Boston Higher Education Program
• A current curriculum vitae
• Three samples of scholarship published in academic venues, such as peer-reviewed journals, academic books, and conference proceedings, or scholarly artifacts in the form of reports, digital publications, blog posts, policy briefs, among other products
• Names and contact information for three academic references

Responsibilities

• Teaching graduate courses in the Higher Education Program
• Conducting research that is relevant to the field of higher education and aligned with our college mission
• Advising doctoral students and serving on dissertation committees
• Contributing service to university, college, departmental, and program committees, to professional associations, and to local, national, and/or international communities

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree