Description

Position Type:
Assistant Professor in Narrative or Non-Fiction Filmmaking - Tenure Track

Position Type:
Regular

Salary Range:

The salary range for this position is $85,947 to $95,410, 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:

The Department of Communication at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit, Catholic university, invites applicants for a full-time tenure-track position in Digital Filmmaking. 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.

Digital filmmaking constitutes a central part of the Communication major and is one of two minors offered by the Department. This position focuses on narrative or documentary filmmaking. We are particularly interested in applicants whose creative work and teaching focuses on Black and/or Latiné experiences and/or the representation of people of color, and whose teaching addresses one or more of the following, ideally through a social justice lens: screenwriting, editing or cinematography.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced teacher and filmmaker with demonstrable knowledge about a vast range of forms, approaches, and sensibilities of filmmaking in all phases of the production process from screenwriting to post-production, and who can connect her/his work to the social justice mission of the University. The faculty member will primarily teach production courses in digital filmmaking and her/his area of specialty, with a preference for one whose
teaching and creative scholarship focuses on the Latiné or Black experiences.

We especially seek candidates who are interested in qualifying one or more of their specialty courses for the following areas of the University's core curriculum: diversity, civic engagement, cultures and ideas 3, or another core area consistent with the candidate's preparation. We encourage applications from candidates who share this understanding and whose research, teaching and
service connect with the university's mission and values. Candidates must have an MFA or Ph.D. (or ABD status) in film/television production or a related field by appointment start date.

The successful candidate will start on September 1, 2026 and be expected to teach, engage in creative work, and do service for the department, college, and university. SCU is on the quarter system and tenure-stream faculty are expected to teach six courses per year (two each quarter), assuming they are actively engaged in creative work. The incumbent may be eligible to be appointed as a Sinatra Assistant Professor during their probationary period, which carries
additional salary and research funding.

Email queries:
Co-chair Nico Opper ([email protected]) or Co-chair Mike Whalen ([email protected]).

Required Qualifications
1) Terminal degree (MFA or Ph.D.) or ABD status in Filmmaking or a related field by appointment start date.
2) Demonstrated potential for effective and inclusive teaching and mentoring of a diverse undergraduate student population.
3) Demonstrated ability to complete films or television shows that are accepted to film festivals, broadcast on television or streaming services, or released in theaters.

Special Instructions: Applicants should provide: 1) Cover letter that summaries qualifications, addresses experience, and describes how their creative work and teaching connect with the university's mission and values; 2) Curriculum Vitae; 3) Creative Work Statement, which should include a discussion of how candidate's program will be implemented at an undergraduate institution like SCU and how their creative work may fit with other faculty members in the Communication Department; 4) Teaching Statement, which should include teaching philosophy or approach, and courses interested in teaching; 5) Online links to creative work. The candidate should include at least one sample of a film or television project that was screened, broadcast, or peer reviewed that she or he considers representative of recent scholarship. The candidate should also arrange to have three letters of reference available upon request by the search committee chair. Applications must be received by October 31, 2025.

Responsibilities

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

Teaching
Teach lower- and upper-division courses in the major and university core curriculum, as assigned by the chair, including courses such as Introduction to Digital Filmmaking, Screenwriting, Cinematography, Documentary Production, Short Fiction Production, and/or Film/TV History. SCU is on the quarter system and a typical load is two courses per quarter assuming active engagement with creative work. 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.

Research/Creative Work
Develop a program of creative work at SCU that will result in meeting the Communication 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 Department of Communication strongly values the involvement of undergraduate students in faculty creative work.

SCU offers significant support to early career faculty in the development of their program of research or creative work. 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 research/creative work.

Service
Provide effective service to the Department of Communication, 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.

Special Instructions: Applicants should provide: 1) Cover letter that summaries qualifications, addresses experience, and describes how their creative work and teaching connect with the university's mission and values; 2) Curriculum Vitae; 3) Creative Work Statement, which should include a discussion of how candidate's program will be implemented at an undergraduate institution like SCU and how their creative work may fit with other faculty members in the Communication Department; 4) Teaching Statement, which should include teaching philosophy or approach, and courses interested in teaching; 5) Online links to creative work. The candidate should include at least one sample of a film or television project that was screened, broadcast, or peer reviewed that she or he considers representative of recent scholarship. The candidate should
also arrange to have three letters of reference available upon request by the search committee chair. Applications must be received by October 31, 2025.

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, [email protected]. 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 [email protected].