Assistant Professor of Design Anthropology

Atlanta, with extended campuses in Atlanta, Griffin, Gwinnett, and Tifton. UGA employs approximately 3,100 faculty and more than 7,700 full-time staff. The University’s enrollment exceeds 41,000 students including over 31,000 undergraduates and over 10,000 graduate and professional students. Academic programs reside in 19 schools and colleges, including our newly established School of Medicine.

About the College/Unit/Department:

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the heart of UGA’s learning environment, advancing knowledge, research, and creative activity across more than 40 departments, schools, and institutes. With a vision for high-impact research and education, Franklin College prepares students for leadership and global engagement in a sustainable future. The College has a strong commitment to multidisciplinary research, collaboration and academic innovation.

College/Unit/Department website: https://anthropology.uga.edu/

Posting Type: External

Employment Type: Employee

Benefits Eligibility: Benefits Eligible

Anticipated Start Date: 08/01/2027

Job Posting Date: 10/01/2026

Open until filled: Yes

Special Instructions to Applicants:

To apply, electronically submit application materials that will include 1) cover letter, 2) curriculum vitae, 3) a 1-2p statement of prior research accomplishments and planned research directions and 4) a 1-2p combined teaching/mentorship statement that includes relevant courses previously taught and proposed courses at UGA. Applicants should also provide names for three references from whom letters of recommendation will be requested later in the search process. For questions about this faculty position, please contact Dr. Meredith Welch-Devine (mwdevine@uga.edu). Applications received by December 15, 2026 will receive full consideration and review will continue until the position is filled.

Location of Vacancy: Athens Area

EEO Statement:

The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or veteran status or other protected status. Persons needing accommodations or assistance with the accessibility of materials related to this search are encouraged to contact Central HR (hrweb@uga.edu).

USG Core Values Statement:

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning, as well the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 08.02.18.01.02.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 06.05 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom.

Classification Title: Assistant Professor

Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor

Contract Type: Academic (9 mo.)

Tenure Status: Tenure Track

Minimum Qualifications:

The applicant must possess a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in Anthropology or a related field.

Position Summary:

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia (UGA) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Design Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology, beginning August 1, 2027. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of design anthropology as an area of research and teaching within the Department of Anthropology while creating opportunities for interdisciplinary connections across UGA, including with the interdisciplinary Museum Studies Program.

Areas of specialization within design anthropology are open and may engage material, visual, digital, or multimodal forms; technologies and infrastructures; museum anthropology, exhibition practice, and collections; or other designed environments and systems. Relevant work may employ ethnographic, participatory, collaborative, or experimental approaches to investigate the social, cultural, political, and ethical dimensions of design and to engage processes of making, intervention, community engagement, and imagining possible futures.

The successful candidate will have opportunities to collaborate with faculty across anthropology and to develop research and teaching connections with UGA’s museums, collections, laboratories, public-facing institutions, and community partners, including the interdisciplinary Museum Studies Program, Georgia Museum of Natural History, Laboratory of Archaeology, Georgia Museum of Art, Lamar Dodd School of Art, College of Environment and Design, and other relevant programs and units across campus. These settings offer opportunities to approach museums, collections, and other public-facing environments not simply as repositories or sites for presenting knowledge, but as spaces of encounter, ethnographic inquiry, collaborative experimentation, design, imagination, and public engagement. The successful candidate will be expected to develop an independent research program with strong potential for extramural support.

The successful candidate will contribute to the Department of Anthropology’s undergraduate and graduate programs and develop courses in design anthropology and the candidate’s areas of expertise that can also create interdisciplinary connections with Museum Studies and other programs across UGA. Teaching will include one large-enrollment undergraduate course per year as well as upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses.

This position is for a tenure-track Assistant Professor. This is a full-time equivalent position with a 50% instruction (12 credit hours), 45% research, and 5% service effort expectation per academic year.

Additional Requirements:

The qualifications and academic expectations for ranks as well as the guidelines for promotion and tenure at the University of Georgia can be found at https://provost.uga.edu/faculty-affairs/promotion-tenure/.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and/or Competencies:

We seek an anthropologist whose research and teaching explore relationships among people, culture, design, and material, visual, digital, spatial, or experiential forms of knowledge and practice.

We welcome candidates whose anthropologically grounded research examines how people imagine, make, use, experience, and transform objects, technologies, environments, institutions, and systems, and how anthropological knowledge and methods can contribute to processes of design, representation, experimentation, and public engagement. We seek scholars who approach design not only as an object of anthropological analysis but also as a mode of inquiry and collaboration.

Applicants should demonstrate potential for excellence in teaching and mentoring and for engaging students in anthropological approaches to design, ethnography, material and visual culture, museums, technology, environments, and public-facing scholarship.

Is this a Position of Trust?: No

Does this position have operation, access, or control of financial resources?: No

Does this position require a P-Card?: No

Is having a P-Card an essential function of this position?: No

Is driving a responsibility of this position?: No

Does this position have direct interaction or care of children under the age of 18 or direct patient care?: No

Does this position have Security Access (e.g., public safety, IT security, personnel records, patient records, or access to chemicals and medications): No

Credit and P-Card policy:

Be advised a credit check will be required for all positions with financial responsibilities. For additional information about the credit check criteria, visit the UGA Credit Background Check website.

Background Investigation Policy:

Offers of employment are contingent upon completion of a background investigation including, a criminal background check demonstrating your eligibility for employment with the University of Georgia; confirmation of the credentials and employment history reflected in your application materials (including reference checks) as they relate to the job-based requirements of the position applied for; and, if applicable, a satisfactory credit check. You may also be subject to a pre-employment drug test for positions with high-risk responsibilities, if applicable. Please visit the UGA Background Check website.