Job Details

Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Creative Writing

Position Number: 6574932
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Position Type: Liberal Arts - English and Literature

Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Creative Writing

Position Type:
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Creative Writing

Position Type:
Regular

Salary Range:

Rank and Salary: Assistant Professor, salary and benefits competitive, includes housing assistance program

The salary range for this position is $83,771 to $93,107, depending on the successful candidate's years of teaching experience at the college level. The position comes with generous benefits (scu.edu/hr/benefits), including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, and University contributions toward retirement. Recognizing the high cost of housing in the local area, there are two University housing assistance programs: rental assistance to ease the transition into the local housing market, and housing purchase assistance for tenure-stream faculty.

Purpose:

PURPOSE:

The Department of English at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit, Catholic university, invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Creative Writing, to begin September 1, 2026. Subspecialties can be in creative new forms/digital genres. We are particularly interested in creative writing that emphasizes social justice, especially racial and environmental justice, and candidates committed to undergraduate writing and publishing, including an emphasis on mixed media and/or mixed genre writing.

Related to teaching, successful candidates must have a strong record of teaching undergraduates; experience with and commitment to inclusive pedagogical practices that advance SCU Jesuit goals of social justice; and experience teaching and mentoring a diverse population of undergraduates. For scholarship, successful candidates will have robust publications in literary magazines (print or digital), and interest in collaborating with other faculty and students (in the English Department and other departments such as Ethnic Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies) to enhance a vibrant campus creative writing presence with a commitment to justice. We especially seek candidates with publications related to environmental and/or racial justice in journals with diverse voices and readerships. Successful candidates will also show potential to contribute to one or more departmental, college, or university priorities in the form of curriculum, service, or community engagement. University and college priorities include global understanding and engagement, justice and sustainability, and work with the Centers of Distinction, Residential Learning Communities, and the Center for the Arts and Humanities.

SCU is a welcoming and inclusive community of teaching scholars whose work is grounded in the university's fundamental values. Those values, which include academic excellence, social justice, and community engagement, are infused with a culture of care that defines our community-upholding the dignity of all. The university draws on the many resources of the greater Bay Area, including Silicon Valley, where we are located.

The SCU English Department includes a community of scholars, creative writers, teachers, and students who seek to understand and engage the world by activating connections among literature, cultural studies, creative writing, rhetoric, composition, technical and professional communication, and interdisciplinary inquiry. The department contributes to interdisciplinary work in many areas, including Ethnic Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Environmental Studies and Sciences, and more. Teaching will include lower-division introduction(s) to creative writing, upper-division courses in the candidate's areas of specialization, and first-year critical thinking and writing courses; other courses may include foundation courses for the major and new courses developed to build our creative writing program. We anticipate an average of of the annual teaching assignment will be first-year writing courses. SCU is on the quarter system and tenure-stream faculty are expected to teach six courses per year (two each quarter), with a reduced teaching load of five courses in the first year.

The successful candidate will be expected to teach, engage in scholarship and/or creative work, and do service for the department, college, and university.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Terminal degree (Ph.D. or MFA) or ABD status in Creative Writing or a related field by appointment start date (September 1, 2026).

2. Expertise in creative writing, specifically in new forms/digital genres. We are particularly interested in creative writing that emphasizes social justice, especially racial and environmental justice; and in candidates committed to undergraduate writing and publishing, including an emphasis on mixed media and/or mixed genre writing.

3. Demonstrated potential for effective and inclusive teaching and mentoring of a diverse undergraduate student population.

4. Demonstrated commitment to scholarly excellence and a clear trajectory of publication in top venues as understood in the candidate's specialized field.

5. Awareness of the Jesuit educational philosophy, the social justice mission of the university, and the Department's English Studies model of teaching and learning.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Tenure-track faculty at SCU are teaching scholars who are expected to balance teaching, creative work/scholarship, and service. This is an in-person position. More specifically, duties include but are not limited to the following:

TEACHING:

1. Teach lower- and upper-division courses in the major, Creative Writing minor, and university core curriculum, as assigned by the chair, including courses such as foundation courses for the major, courses in the candidate's areas of specialization, core writing courses (first-year and advanced writing), and new courses. On average, one-third of the annual teaching assignments will be first-year writing courses.
2. Develop new creative writing courses that add to the English major and Creative Writing minor.

High-quality teaching is prioritized at SCU; therefore significant faculty-student interaction is expected. The university offers many different opportunities to develop teaching skills through Faculty Development, including regular lunchtime workshops on pedagogy, teaching and technology grants, communities of practice, teaching mentors, and a scholarship of teaching and learning faculty group.

Teaching will be evaluated according to the Teaching Effectiveness Standards and Evaluation (TESE) document developed by each department. Ignatian pedagogy, a hallmark of Jesuit, Catholic universities, is based on the principle of cura personalis, that is, teaching the whole person. At Santa Clara University we define effectiveness in teaching as respectful, challenging, inclusive, engaging, and evidence based. Teaching Expectations and Academic Policies at SCU can be found here.

CREATIVE WORK AND SCHOLARSHIP:

The successful applicant will develop a program of creative work and publication at SCU that will result in meeting the English Department's established scholarship/creative standards. Each department has collectively created a document that outlines the standards for scholarship or creative work that lead to tenure and promotion in that department. The English Department strongly values the involvement of undergraduate students in faculty creative work and research.

SCU offers significant support to early career faculty in the development of their creative work and scholarship. All new faculty will be assigned mentors, placed into a cohort learning community with other new faculty, and offered faculty retreats, workshops and numerous professional development opportunities to build their programs of scholarship.

SERVICE:

The successful applicant will provide effective service to the English Department, the College of Arts and Sciences, the University, and the profession through contributions other than teaching and scholarship, such as service on committees, participation in professional organizations and activities, leadership, and community service performed by virtue of professional expertise or association with the university, as appropriate to rank and experience.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Applicants should submit electronic copies of the following materials through Santa Clara's Workday HR portal. Applications must be received by midnight on October 22, 2025.

1. letter of application
2. curriculum vitae
3. personal statement(s) covering teaching philosophy, research plan that could be implemented at an institution that serves only undergraduate students in English, and experience practicing inclusive pedagogy that promotes access and academic success.
4. unofficial graduate transcripts
5. 3 letters of recommendation
6. sample syllabi
7. recent teaching evaluations

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Inquiries may be sent by email to jgopp@scu.edu, Attention: English Department Search Committee.

Telecommute

Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform their work within one of these states.

Work Authorization:

A foreign national who is appointed to a tenured or tenure-track faculty position is eligible for visa sponsorship assessment by Santa Clara University together with its legal counsel.

EEO Statement

Equal Opportunity/Notice of Nondiscrimination

Santa Clara University is an equal opportunity employer. For a complete copy of Santa Clara University's equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies, see https://www.scu.edu/title-ix/policies-reports/

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Santa Clara University does not discriminate in its employment practices or in its educational programs or activities on the basis of sex/gender, and prohibits retaliation against any person opposing discrimination or participating in any discrimination investigation or complaint process internally or externally. Information about Title IX can be found at www.scu.edu/title-ix. Information about Section 504 and the ADA Coordinator can be found at https://www.scu.edu/oae/, (408) 554-4109, oae@scu.edu. Inquiries can also be made to the Assistant Secretary of Education within the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Clery Notice of Availability

Santa Clara University annually collects information about campus crimes and other reportable incidents in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. To view the Santa Clara University report, please go to the Campus Safety Services website. To request a paper copy please call Campus Safety at (408) 554-4441. The report includes the type of crime, venue, and number of occurrences.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Santa Clara University affirms its' commitment to employ qualified individuals with disabilities within the workplace and to comply with the Americans with Disability Act. All applicants desiring an accommodation should contact the Department of Human Resources, and 408-554-5750 and request to speak to Indu Ahluwalia by phone at 408-554-5750 or by email at iahluwalia@scu.edu.

To view the full job posting and apply for this position, go to https://wd1.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recruiting/scu/scu/job/Santa-Clara-CA/Tenure-track-Assistant-Professor-in-Creative-Writing_R6545