Assistant Professor of Housing & Community Development

Description

The School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position in the Community and Regional Planning program, beginning in Fall 2026. The successful candidate will join the program as an Assistant Professor (though exceptional candidates at higher ranks may be considered) and will contribute to the School's mission through teaching, research/creative practice, and service.

This position focuses on addressing critical urban issues such as housing precarity and insecurity, and their implications for urban policy and planning. The individual will play an integral role in shaping a dynamic, interdisciplinary curriculum that emphasizes the intersection of housing access, community development, and participatory decision-making. The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in qualitative research methods and the range of historical and theoretical perspectives on housing and community development.

We seek an individual with a focus on how we "read" the city and understand the lived experiences of those most impacted by urban housing problems. This position invites candidates who are committed to understanding the complex dynamics of urban spaces-particularly how planners can engage with communities to facilitate fair access to resources and decision-making processes. We are particularly interested in candidates who engage these critical housing issues through qualitative, community-based research and teaching.

We seek a scholar who will create and teach housing- and community development-focused electives, and who will contribute to CRP's core courses in Planning Theory, History and Ethics, or Qualitative and Participatory Methods. We welcome applications from candidates who also bring a commitment to international research or experiences that broaden our understanding of urban issues across different cultural and geopolitical contexts.

Faculty in the School of Architecture are expected to pursue scholarly or practice-based work that contributes to the advancement of their field and to mentor students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The successful candidate will work primarily within the Community and Regional Planning program but will also be hired into the School of Architecture as a whole, which is non-departmentalized.

This structure ensures that all faculty participate in dialogue and collaboration across programs, strengthening the interdisciplinarity that characterizes the School.

The School of Architecture offers professionally accredited and post-professional degree programs in Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, and Community and Regional Planning, as well as advanced research degrees in Architectural History, Historic Preservation, Sustainable Design, and Urban Design. With approximately 700 students across its programs, the School benefits from a strong studio culture, research-oriented initiatives, and an engaged community of faculty and students.

Faculty across the School conduct community-oriented research, drawing in expertise from non-profit partners to develop collective projects that address housing, environmental, and community development priorities. Our faculty's close and productive working relationships with City of Austin departments and other partners advance praxis-oriented research. Examples of projects that bridge theory and practice include the Cañada Project, Donde Corre el Agua, and Planning with the Future.

Faculty members in the School of Architecture are also involved in crucial university-wide and external research initiatives related to housing and community development, including the Texas County Judges Forum, The Uprooted Project, and the St. John neighborhood's neighborhood development project. These initiatives offer robust platforms for faculty collaboration and interdisciplinary research, supporting the school's overarching mission to address pressing housing and community development challenges.

University Context:

The School of Architecture is home to two internationally recognized research centers. The Center for Sustainable Development (CSD)…