Assistant or Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture

Assistant or Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture

Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Open Date:
Jul 13, 2026
Description:
The Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design welcomes highly qualified individuals to apply for an Assistant or Associate Professor position to offer graduate-level instruction in landscape architectural design and to conduct innovative design research that enhances disciplinary knowledge and expands the boundaries of our field.

The Department of Landscape Architecture is recognized internationally for its innovative ecological approach to the design of landscapes, public works, public spaces, and infrastructures. This approach addresses the rich and entangled web of everyday environmental relationships between living things—humans, plants, and animals—and the mineral world. We assert that a deep understanding of these ecologies is necessary to address the ongoing climate polycrisis and move toward reparative social, environmental, and multispecies justice.

In addition to the Department of Landscape Architecture, the Weitzman School of Design includes the distinguished departments of Historic Preservation, City & Regional Planning, Architecture, and Fine Arts, providing the potential for rich collaboration with other disciplines. The Weitzman School prepares students to address complex sociocultural and environmental issues through thoughtful inquiry, creative expression, and innovation. As a diverse community of scholars and practitioners, we are committed to advancing the public good—both locally and globally—through art, design, planning, and preservation.

This position is a full-time tenure-track or tenured appointment at either the Assistant or Associate Professor level, with responsibilities for departmental teaching, research, and service, with opportunities for scholarly engagement across the school’s five departments. The specific rank of this appointment will be determined based on the experience and qualifications of the preferred candidate. The successful candidate will join a supportive departmental community of scholars, practitioners, and students who are actively engaged in advancing both the discipline and profession of landscape architecture. The University of Pennsylvania offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits for its full-time faculty and their eligible dependents. We are committed to caring for each faculty member, their work-life balance, and their family’s overall well-being.

The successful candidate will be expected to teach graduate design studios and seminar courses in landscape architecture, including elective courses in areas of specialization that reflect the candidate’s research expertise and interests. Undergraduate teaching and mentorship of students pursuing the Landscape Studies minor of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts and Sciences is also possible. Teaching responsibilities will include core graduate design studios in the Department of Landscape Architecture and elective seminars open to graduate students across the Weitzman School of Design. In addition to demonstrating pedagogical innovation and effectiveness in teaching, the successful applicant must provide evidence of a strong capacity to produce scholarly and creative work through a record of previous publications, ongoing design research, and plans for future research. We also welcome the new faculty member to participate in various centers and institutes at both the Weitzman School of Design and across the broader University, particularly the McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology, our department’s faculty research center.

Qualifications:
Candidates must hold a professionally accredited master’s degree in landscape architecture, or a terminal degree in a closely related field. A PhD in landscape architecture or another related field is an enhancement but is not required.

Application Instructions:
Applicants should submit a cover letter that includes a succinct description of their agenda for design research and scholarship as well as their teaching philosophy; a curriculum vitae; two recent publications or writing samples; two recent course syllabi and an accompanying teaching portfolio of student work, not to exceed 15MB; and a design portfolio of individual creative work, not to exceed 15MB. In addition, applicants should provide the names of three references who will be contacted at a later time.

Applications should be addressed to the Chair of the Faculty Search Committee, and all materials should be submitted via the “Apply Now” link on this page.  (https://apply.interfolio.com/189248)

Review of applications will begin on October 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. The position will begin on July 1, 2027, and the selected candidate is expected to be in residence in Philadelphia to commence teaching in fall 2027.

Questions should be directed to Melissa DiGiacomo, Assistant Director of Administration / Department Coordinator, Landscape Architecture, at: landarch@design.upenn.edu

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.