Job Details

Assistant Professor in Media Industries and AI

Position Number: 9881951
Location: Santa Barbara, United States
Position Type: Communications - Media & Communication Studies

Assistant Professor in Media Industries and AI

University of California Santa Barbara

Position overview
Position title: Assistant Professor Salary range: $88,300-$114,400 Percent time: 100% FTE Anticipated start: July 1, 2027 or later Application Window

Open date: October 6, 2026

Next review date: Friday, Nov 6, 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 and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Media Industries and AI. We seek a scholar whose research and teaching examines artificial intelligence as a media industry phenomenon, including its infrastructures, labor, political economy, regulation, and cultural, artistic, and social implications. We welcome candidates working on any global region and through any critical, historical, or empirical methodology, including but not limited to production studies, platform and infrastructure studies, science and technology studies, critical algorithm studies, political economy, labor studies, cultural and industrial history, and creative or practice-based research on generative media.

We are especially interested in candidates who can speak to one or more of the following: the restructuring of film, television, gaming, digital media, and/or music industries by AI systems; the labor of AI production, from data annotation to creative and technical work displaced or transformed by automation; the environmental, material, and geopolitical infrastructures underlying AI; algorithmic culture, recommendation systems, and platform governance; or the aesthetics, authorship, and cultural politics of generative and synthetic media.

This position calls for a humanities-based, critical, media industries approach to the study of AI-one attentive to history, culture, power, embodiment, and meaning-making, rather than a purely technical or computational orientation. We therefore welcome scholars whose work engages AI and media industries through racial, gender, queer, global and/or transnational, environmental, creative, and other critical approaches.

Candidates for the position will be expected to teach in our core Film and Media Studies undergraduate and graduate curriculum, and to develop new courses-large lecture classes and smaller seminars-in their areas of expertise. They ideally will participate in existing research clusters and centers within our department, including the Carsey-Wolf Center and its Media Industries and AI Research Initiative, the Global Media Technologies and Cultures Lab, and Wireframe Studio, as well as those associated with other departments, programs, and centers on campus.

The faculty of the Department of Film and Media Studies engages in scholarship and pedagogy across multiple scholarly approaches, fostering a dynamic and expansive understanding of film and media study. We are a robust department with over 500 undergraduate majors and 30 doctoral students. With this appointment, we seek to extend the department's scholarly and curricular strengths and advance our department's commitment to diverse, interdisciplinary research and teaching.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

The minimum qualification to be considered for this position is the completion of all requirements for a PhD except the dissertation in Film and Media Studies or a related discipline at the time of application.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

Evidence of an active research agenda
Completion of PhD by appointment start date

Preferred qualifications

Teaching experience at the university or college level defined as a minimum of one year as teaching assistant or instructor of record
Evidence of a strong commitment to teaching as indicated by syllabi, teaching evaluations, reference letters, or candidate teaching statement
Record of peer-reviewed publications
Demonstrated interest in and use of innovative teaching methods and tools

Application Requirements

Document requirements

Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Letter of Application - Two pages outlining the candidate's research, teaching, and service experience and their qualifications for the position.
Statement of Research - Two pages describing the applicant's current and future research program in media industries and AI, situating their work within film and media studies, articulating a clear trajectory for future scholarship.
Statement of Teaching - Two pages addressing teaching qualifications, pedagogical approaches, and potential contributions to the teaching culture of the department.
Sample Syllabus #1 - A sample syllabus for a large lecture course
Sample Syllabus #2 - A sample syllabus for a small seminar course
Teaching Evaluations - Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness - These might include course evaluation scores, student narrative evaluation of teaching performance, and/or peer or supervisor observation.
(Optional)

Reference requirements

3-5 letters of reference required

We must receive letters from a minimum of 3 references. Applicants must request letters of reference through the UC Recruit system in order to complete their application.

Apply link: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03168

Help contact: savannah@filmandmedia.ucsb.edu

About UC Santa Barbara

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 for Employees, students and third parties
APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Additionally, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

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 status under state or federal law.

Job location
Santa Barbara, CA

To apply, please visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03168