Job Information
Hampshire College Visiting Assistant Professor of Game Design in Amherst, Massachusetts
Visiting Assistant Professor of Game Design Search:#1331 Date Posted: 03/25/2025 Type/Department:Faculty in Dean of Faculty Office Search Status:Searching for Candidates - Accepting Applications Apply Now:Would you like to apply for this position?
Hampshire College
Job Title: Visiting Assistant Professor of Game Design & Game Studies
Type: Full Time
Pay Range/ Status: $65,399
Anticipated Start Date: July 1, 2025
Hampshire College, an experimenting institution with a mission to advance social justice and transform higher education, is accepting applications for a full-time visiting assistant professor of game design & game studies for the 2025-2026 academic year. This one-year position begins July 1, 2025. The ideal candidate for this position will have substantial experience as a game designer, will situate that work within the context of social justice, and will have a dedication to innovation in undergraduate education. The successful candidate should have a demonstrated ability to work synergistically across disciplinary boundaries, connecting game design with other disciplines such as computer animation, critical media studies, experimental media, and creative writing. We particularly invite applications from candidates who center race, gender, and sexuality in their work, encouraging students to grapple with the operation of power and privilege in the gamescape.
Hampshire’s academic program is unique within higher education in the United States. Students draw from multiple disciplines and methodologies to develop their own concentrations, and every student completes a year-long substantial project synthesizing their course of study as a condition of graduation. Students are provided narrative evaluations of their work instead of grades. Our student community is distinctively diverse: this year 39% are BIPOC or international, 37.5% receive Pell Grants, approximately a third are neurodivergent, and a substantial majority identify as LGBTQIA+. Hampshire is a member of the Five College consortium (Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts), and located in Amherst, MA.
Building on its student-driven approach, Hampshire is implementing a radically new academic program that emphasizes urgent challenges, transdisciplinary, antiracism, community engagement, and project-based skills. We convene Learning Collaboratives (https://www.hampshire.edu/academics/our-academic-program-0/learning-collaboratives) that assemble faculty, students, and staff to address urgent questions developed by and voted on by the community. Additionally, Hampshire has implemented a “Race and Power” requirement that ensures students, staff, and faculty alike will engage in critical reflection on racial justice and equity throughout their Hampshire careers. In the letter of application, candidates are encouraged to explain how their teaching and scholarly/artistic work does or could contribute to this curricular and pedagogical vision.
The successful candidate will:
Teach two-three courses totaling 48 students during each semester (Fall and Spring)
Connect at least half their normal teaching course load with one or two of the urgent challenges described here (https://www.hampshire.edu/academics/our-academic-program-0/learning-collaboratives)
Work in individual or group settings to advise and mentor an increasingly diverse body of Hampshire students
Participate in events and forums organized by one of the Learning Collaboratives
Be eager to participate in continuous pedagogical experimentation
For this position, the terminal degree (MFA) is required by the time of appointment. Qualified candidates must have demonstrated teaching, and ideally, advising, experience at the undergraduate level and an active artistic practice. An ability to communicate and work effectively within a culturally diverse and multi-disciplinary campus community is essential.
Hampshire College is an equal opportunity employer and deeply committed to a community of excellence, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We're particularly committed to revealing and combating the social and institutional structures that support racism and white supremacy in all phases of employment and college life. We believe that the educational and employment environment is enhanced when diverse groups of people with diverse ideas come together to work and grow. We encourage applications from women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, sexual minority groups, veterans, and other candidates who will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives. Hampshire College is committed to removing barriers to employment faced by equity-seeking groups and encourages (but does not require) members of these groups to self-identify in their application materials. Applicants whose work incorporates a global perspective and a demonstrated commitment to issues of diversity in the work environment are particularly encouraged to apply.
Candidates should submit the following to apply:
A cover letter describing your teaching (including titles of specific courses at the introductory, intermediate and advanced levels) artistic/scholarly interests, and how you will contribute to addressing one or more of Hampshire’s urgent challenges (https://www.hampshire.edu/academics/our-academic-program-0/learning-collaboratives)
A statement addressing your approach to justice, equity and antiracism (JEA) in teaching philosophy and practice
A curriculum vita
Names, titles, and contact information for three referees
A portfolio and/or any other materials that could support the application (sample syllabi, evidence of teaching excellence, work samples, etc.)
Please submit your cover letter, statement, CV, references, and work samples via our website: https://jobs.hampshire.edu. No hard copies will be accepted.
If you have general questions about this search, please email dof@hampshire.edu.
Review of applications will begin immediately, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity and inclusion in education and employment.