Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor of Music

WPI • Worcester, MA

11h • $70,000 - $78,000

About The Position

The Department of Humanities and Arts (HUA) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) invites applications for a Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor in Music beginning August 2026. We seek a music scholar–practitioner whose work engages the diversity of American musical cultures through interdisciplinary perspectives such as musicology, ethnomusicology, history, sociology, cultural studies, and performance practice. The successful candidate will help students examine not only the mechanics of music, but also music as a site of social, racial, gendered, and political meaning. We welcome applicants who can connect scholarship and creative practice, and who are eager to explore musical traditions through courses, research projects, performance, and other innovative pedagogical approaches. The ideal candidate will demonstrate excellence in teaching, intellectual versatility, and active engagement in art-making or scholarly practice, which may include musicology, historical research, composition, production, or performance.

Requirements

• Ph.D. or D.M.A. in Music is preferred; terminal degree in a relevant field considered
• Successful classroom teaching at the university level
• History of professional accomplishments in the form of publications and / or creative work

Responsibilities

• To teach eight 7-week courses (two courses per term), including offerings such as: MU 1000: Music and Its Makers An introduction to interdisciplinary music studies centered on the individuals who create musical meaning—composers, performers, listeners, patrons, critics, and communities. The course situates musical works within their broader cultural and historical contexts and foregrounds contributions often marginalized in traditional music histories.
• MU 2020: History of American Popular Music A study of the origins and development of American popular music, with particular attention to African diasporic traditions, European folk influences, blues, early popular music, and the emergence of rock ’n’ roll and its cultural impact.
• MU 3202: Music, Gender, and Power An exploration of how gender functions as a vector of political and social power across musical traditions. The course engages feminist, queer, and trans theoretical frameworks and includes research-based student projects.
• HU 3900: Inquiry Seminar (Writing About Music / Music and Society) Advanced seminars that serve as the capstone of WPI’s Humanities and Arts requirement. These courses emphasize sustained critical inquiry, research, writing, and engagement with diverse perspectives.
• Participate in initiatives conducted by the Humanities and Arts Department and the University

What This Job Offers

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