Film & Digital Media: Assistant Professor of Narrative Film and Media Production
Position overview
Position title: Assistant Professor of Narrative Film and Media Production
Salary range: Commensurate with qualifications and experience; academic year (nine-month basis). A reasonable estimate for this position is $100,000 to $125,000.
Anticipated start: July 1, 2027, with the academic year beginning in September 2027. Degree requirements must be met by June 30, 2027, for employment effective July 1, 2027 and beyond.
Application Window
Open date: June 24, 2026
Next review date: Monday, Nov 2, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Wednesday, Jun 30, 2027 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
Position description
The Department of Film & Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) invites applications for the tenure-track position
Assistant Professor of Narrative Film and Media Production. We are seeking applicants whose innovative creative work demonstrates an active and sustained practice in narrative form, expansively defined, with expertise in moving image media, production, and exhibition.
Building on the department's well-established strengths in documentary film and media, social justice-centered approaches to creative practice, and work that critically and creatively engages emerging technologies, we are particularly interested in candidates whose work bridges narrative and documentary practices, engages community-based and collaborative methods, or explores evolving modes and technologies of production. We welcome candidates whose work engages in a broader range of media practices, including interactive, participatory, and immersive media. The position will require the assistant professor to maintain an active creative research practice with a record of exhibition in festival, theatrical, streaming, or broadcast contexts.
Our campus follows a schedule of three 11-week quarters per academic year. According to the department's workload policy, faculty members are expected to deliver the equivalent of four five-unit courses each year. The successful candidate will teach core and advanced camera-based production classes and foundational production workflows, including screenwriting, working with actors, cinematography, editing, and sound design across our three academic programs: undergraduate, M.F.A. in Social Documentation, and critical practice Ph.D. The primary curricular need for this position is in narrative-oriented camera-based workflows, including preproduction, production, and postproduction. While the modalities of research and creative practice are open, the candidate must be able to support core areas of the production curriculum. Our department values interdisciplinary scholarship and practice, and we are interested in candidates who can further expand the skillsets and modalities that we can offer our students.
Further responsibilities of the position encompass advising and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, engaging in faculty governance at both departmental and campus levels, and actively partaking in administrative service for the department, the affiliated college, and the university as a whole.
UC Santa Cruz is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) with a high proportion of first-generation and low-income students. We welcome candidates who understand the historical barriers that exist in higher education and who can clearly articulate how their teaching, mentoring, creative/professional activity, and service contribute towards building a just scholarly community.
Film & Digital Media: https://film.ucsc.edu/
Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at the time the application is submitted)
- M.F.A. (or equivalent foreign degree) in film and media production. It is expected that the degree requirement will be completed by June 30, 2027; OR six years' creative experience in camera-based film and media production; OR a portfolio/body of creative work consisting of at least three short films or one feature film where the applicant served in a primary creative role (e.g., director, cinematographer, producer, editor, or screenwriter).
- Record of creative practice and/or scholarship in camera-based film and media making production.
Evidence of teaching experience in film and media production. Acceptable teaching experience encompasses traditional academic classrooms as well as practical, industry-focused workshops and film labs.
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Application Requirements
Document requirements
Applications are accepted via the UCSC Academic Recruit online system; all documents and materials must be submitted as PDFs.
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter - Letter of application that briefly summarizes your qualifications and interest in the position.
Statement of Teaching - Statement of teaching experience, interests, and plans appropriate for the students at UC Santa Cruz. Refer to the UCSC Teaching Statement Guidelines and evaluation criteria.
Creative Practice and Research Statement
Sample Course Syllabus (1 of 2)
Sample Course Syllabus (2 of 2)
Sample Course Syllabus (1 of 2) (Optional)
Sample Course Syllabus (2 of 2) (Optional)
Sample Camera-based Audiovisual Work (1 of 2 Required)
Sample Camera-based Audiovisual Work (2 of 2 Required)
Sample Camera-based Audiovisual Work (1 of 2) (Optional)
Sample Camera-based Audiovisual Work (2 of 2) (Optional)
Reference requirements
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3-5 letters of reference required
Applications must include confidential letters of recommendation*. Note that your references, or dossier service, will submit their confidential letters directly to the UC Recruit System.
- All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. For any reference letter provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service, career center), direct the author to UCSC's confidentiality statement.
Apply link: https://recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF02112
Help contact: [email protected]
About UC Santa Cruz
As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.
- “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
- UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
- UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
- APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.
If you need accommodation due to a disability, please contact Disability Management Services at
[email protected] or (831) 459-4602.
Notice of Availability: In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act), UCSC publishes an Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. This report is published by October 1st of each year and includes current institutional policies and procedures concerning campus safety and security; fire safety and evacuation policies; sexual misconduct and relationship violence reporting and response protocols; and crime and fire statistics for the three previous calendar years. A paper copy of the ASFSR is available upon request by contacting the UCSC Police Department at 114 Carriage House Rd., Santa Cruz, CA 95064, or by calling 831-459-2231 Ext. 1.
Under Federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as established by providing documents as specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Certain UCSC positions funded by federal contracts or sub-contracts require the selected candidate to pass an E-Verify check. The university sponsors employment-based visas for nonresidents who are offered academic appointments at UC Santa Cruz, as outlined in campus policy CAPM 102.530.
UCSC is a smoke & tobacco-free campus.
The University of California offers a competitive benefits package and a number of programs to support employee work/life balance.
As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.
VISIT UC Santa Cruz
Job location
Santa Cruz, CA
To apply, visit https://recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF02112
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