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POSITION SPECIFICS

Position Specifics:

The Digital Arts Program and School of Visual Arts in the College of Arts and Architecture at the Pennsylvania State University invite candidates to apply for an Assistant Teaching Professor position of Digital Arts and Media Design focusing on 3D Animation.

This is a full-time 36-week nine-month non-tenure track appointment. The anticipated start date is August 2026. Full university benefits apply.

We are seeking qualified candidates whose creative practice and teaching interests are focused on 3D animation and related technologies. The ideal candidate is a 3D animator/generalist with considerable experience in 3D animation workflows that can instruct and mentor 3d animation students and who stays abreast of 3D professional practices industry standard software and emerging technologies and production pipelines. The successful candidate will teach courses in 3D modeling and animation as well as additional courses related to their experience and practice that may include animation fundamentals foundational design experimental animation emerging practices and technologies or other related digital arts and design studio courses in the program.

We invite applications from qualified candidates with exceptional interpersonal skills and a strong commitment to collegiality and teamwork who are prepared to contribute through teaching and creative activity at all levels of the Digital Arts Curriculum and majors.

Responsibilities:
The position will include teaching up to three courses in the Digital Arts and Media Design Program each semester participation in program activities and service to the school college and university committees as assigned.

• Teach 3D courses covering animation previsualize animation motion capture lighting rendering and compositing.
• Teach production skills necessary to design rig animate light and render 3D assets for animated films and digital games.
• Teach additional digital arts courses in the curriculum based on areas of expertise.
• Be well-versed in teaching the principles of animation and effective visual storytelling.
• Join with digital art faculty to cultivate a lively animation studio culture and help set production standards that enhance student creative outcomes.
• Participate in the guidance and assessment of students portfolio development independent studies internships and capstone thesis projects.
• Encourage and support our students in developing animated creative works as part of a socially and culturally engaged research university.

Required Qualifications:

• Terminal degree in Animation Digital Arts New Media Cinematic Arts Film/Cinema Production or a comparable terminal degree (such as a Master of Fine Arts - MFA or a PhD) at the time of appointment.
• Evidence of a commitment to a successful 3D animation digital arts practice commensurate with experience.
• Evidence of equitable considerations for all awareness and practice regarding curricula development along with evidence of working collectively to cultivate a culture that encourages success and enables all members of a college community to thrive.

Preferred qualifications:

• College-level teaching experience (one semester minimum including teaching assistantships or equivalent technical training/teaching).
• Professional experience working in 3d animation for films games TV or creative industries.
• Considerable experience working with Autodesk Maya and Motion Builder
• Experience with related animation visual effects and compositing tools: Blender Houdini Substance 3D Painter ZBrush Nuke.

To Apply

To be assured of full consideration all materials should be submitted via Penn States online application system and include the following:

• a letter of application stating teaching and creative interests and qualifications for the position
• a curriculum vitae
• an artist or designer statement (or statement of practice and creative activity)
• a statement of teaching philosophy addressing how they create an inclusive learning environment for all
• a representative portfolio of creative work in animation and demo reel
• a representative portfolio of student work and teaching portfolio (in 3D modeling and animation if available)
• Name and contact information for three professional references

All documents above must be submitted in pdf file format with external links (to portfolio materials and reels) included as needed/relevant.

NOTE: Only five files (5 mb per document) can be uploaded. Please combine smaller files to accommodate this restriction.

Screening of applications will begin on May 1 and will continue to be received until the position is filled.

Inquiries should be addressed to:
Woohun Joo Chair Assistant Professor of Art and Digital Arts & Media Design Digital Arts Faculty Search Committee

About the Digital Arts Program

The Digital Arts Program (DART) at Penn State approaches design through the lens of visual arts as a critical creative and experimental studio-based practice. The program prepares students to become leaders in digital media fields where a commanding knowledge of emerging technologies allows them to contribute and innovate in a range of creative media design careers. Students choose from BDes BFA and BA degrees and progress alongside their cohort in an intense collaborative environment developing research design and computational skills to enhance their capacity for critical and creative thinking while honing digital media design and production skills in a range of digital arts studio art digital design and coding courses. Students are encouraged to engage and collaborate across the Penn State community with schools and colleges such as the School of Music School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in the College of Arts and Architecture the Eberly College of Science the College of Engineering and the Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal the final year of study students work rigorously on senior thesis projects guided by faculty mentors in one of three emphasis areas: digital art and digital design animation and time-based media and interactive media and games.

For more information please visit: Digital Arts and Media Design at Penn State

About the School of Visual Arts

The School of Visual Arts (SoVA) at Penn State offer undergraduate degrees in Art Education (B.S.) Digital Arts (B.A. . B.F.A.) Studio Art (BA BFA) and Photography (B.A. . B.F.A.) at our residential campus and a fully online degree in Digital Multimedia Design (.) and Digital Arts certificate at World Campus. At the graduate level we offer an M.F.A. in Art (Ceramics Drawing and Painting Graphic Design Digital Arts and New Media Photography and Sculpture) and dual M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Art Education with African American and Diaspora Studies or Womens Gender and Sexuality Studies.

SoVAs mission aim:

• To contribute to the expansion of knowledge and scholarship in the visual arts design arts pedagogy and related fields of study and practice.
• To facilitate the highest level of creative and intellection pursuit for students through teaching and learning experiences and opportunities.
• To provide expertise to the service and benefit of communities across campus the commonwealth the nation and beyond.
• SoVA will be a safe space for creatively engaged minds and bodies. This community will operate in a cohesive and supportive manner to engender transformative experiences.

For more information please visit Penn State School of Visual Arts

About the College of Arts and Architecture

The College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State located on the University Park campus in beautiful central Pennsylvania is the hub for arts and design education outreach and engagement where new ways of thinking are encouraged and interdisciplinary collaboration is the norm. With academic programs spanning music theatre visual arts graphic design digital design art history architecture and landscape architecture we are a complete arts and design community committed to artistic and scholarly creativity research and the preparation of creators and educators whose innovation and industriousness make a positive impact around the world.

We offer a broad array ofundergraduateandgraduateprograms as well as numerous ensembles and clubs open to all students regardless of major. TheCenter for the Performing ArtsPalmer Museum of ArtPenn State Centre Stage andPenns Woods Music Festival also part of the college are key organizations in the areas thriving cultural landscape offering performances exhibitions and educational outreach programs that are enjoyed by thousands each addition the colleges research centers and institutes help to foster a vibrant culture of inquiry that promotes excellence within the arts and design disciplines while at the same time leveraging the potential of a comprehensive research university.

College of Arts and Architecture faculty are dedicated to providing high-quality professional instruction to graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the college. They also are responsible for providing undergraduate literature history and studio courses in the arts for all students at Penn State.

The college is housed in sixteen buildings in the Arts District on the University Park campus. Learn more aboutour extensive facilities.

Penn States College of Arts and Architecture proudly serves as one of the major cultural centers between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

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BENEFITS

For more detailed information please visit ourBenefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.)

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