Assistant or Associate Professor, Graphic Design

The Department of Graphic Design invites applications for Assistant or Associate Professor (critical-review track) of Graphic Design with an appointment to begin fall of 2026. Rank commensurate with professional status and teaching experience.

RISD recognizes principles of social equity, inclusion, and diversity as fundamental to its mission as an art and design school. These principles require sustained attention to a multiplicity of differences and call for an expansion of the forms of knowledge that shape our curricula and pedagogy. RISD is committed to the collective work of institutional transformation and values applicants whose teaching, pedagogical and professional experiences have prepared them to foster and sustain equitable learning environments. We especially welcome faculty whose pedagogy engages diverse perspectives, expands forms of knowledge, and helps foster a culture of belonging where all students, staff, and faculty can thrive.

We are looking for a designer, educator, and maker whose practice bridges analog and digital forms, and who can teach across our core curriculum at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The ideal candidate will bring a strong foundation in typography, visual systems, and critical making, with agility in contemporary digital tools, technologies, and emerging practices. We seek someone whose work demonstrates both formal rigor and conceptual depth, and who engages design as a cultural, ethical, and social practice.

Candidates should have a sustained professional and/or research practice, a record of teaching excellence, and a demonstrated commitment to inclusive pedagogies. We are particularly interested in educators who can contribute to collaborative curricular evolution, participating in upcoming departmental reviews, future graduate program development, and new curricular initiatives, as well as candidates with experience or interest in academic leadership. The successful candidate will join a collaborative faculty dedicated to expanding the field of design through critical, experimental, and socially engaged approaches and preparing students for intentional professional practice.

Required Qualifications

• Terminal degree in a graphic design discipline or equivalent combination of applicable academic, professional, and community-based experience in graphic design, visual communication, or closely and demonstrably related field;
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering equitable learning environments where a diverse student body can thrive, using inclusive, culturally responsive, and universal design pedagogies to support critical engagement with design.
• A minimum of 3 years of full-time teaching experience or 12 semesters part-time experience teaching at the college-level;
• A demonstrated ability to teach across the core curriculum at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
• An active, sustained practice in graphic design;
• A strong commitment to rethinking and expanding traditional design practices, with an emphasis on fostering more equitable, accessible, and culturally expansive future in art and design;
• Knowledge, experience, and a sustained engagement with design tools and processes, with critical perspectives around making, and designing for both digital and material outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated professional engagement beyond the classroom, with contributions to the field and a network of relationships;
• Experience with curricular development;
• Experience in, or demonstrated potential for academic leadership.

RISD/ Department Description