Adjunct Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design, Fall 2025 Professional Practice

Description

The School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University seeks an adjunct Faculty to teach Professional Practice. Before entering the professional world, every design student must understand who they are as designers, what drives them, and how they want to contribute through their practice. What excites them about design? What kind of work feels meaningful? Where might their creative path lead?

This course is designed to help students answer these questions with clarity and confidence. Throughout the semester, the focus will be on developing essential tools to represent themselves and their work—refining portfolios, resumes, reels, and personal identity packages. But beyond the tangible deliverables, this course is about building the ability to present work authentically, communicate ideas effectively, and shape a story that resonates with others.

By the end of the course, students will leave with more than polished materials. They will leave with a strategic plan aligned with their ambitions and a clearer sense of direction. More importantly, they will gain confidence in who they are as designers and the impact they wish to make through their practice.

The School takes a transdisciplinary approach to design education and its position within a premier research university provides faculty with an unparalleled opportunity to collaborate with colleagues, students and community members from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. We have a highly collaborative and inclusive culture where faculty actively engage in a conversation about the future and the positive role that design and designers can play. We encourage scholars with the potential to bring to their teaching, research, service and other academic pursuits the critical perspective that comes from their non-traditional educational background or understanding of the experiences of groups historically underrepresented in higher education.

The adjunct instructor's responsibilities will include:

• Course planning in August
• Preparing and delivering lectures, activites, demos, presentations, and other formats of learning materials
• Attending all classes in-person Fridays 9:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. 
• Coordinating relevant guest speakers
• Meeting weekly with course teaching assistants outside of class time as appropriate
• Providing feedback and grading to students, including synchronous and asynchronous comments on assignments, homework, and presentations as appropriate 
• Entering grades in the CMU online system 

Qualifications

The School invites applicants with the following qualifications:

1. Bachelor's degree plus teaching and/or professional practice experience in design or a related field.

2. University-level teaching experience preferred.

Application Instructions

Interested individuals should include the following in their application package:

1. A cover letter stating your interest in the position.

2. Visual examples and descriptions of creative practice in personal work and professional work relevant to the position.

3. Current CV.

4. Visual examples and descriptions of student work as evidence of your teaching experience, if applicable. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Carnegie Mellon University is an equal opportunity employer. It does not discriminate in admission, employment, or administration of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or related condition, family status, marital status, parental status, religion, ancestry, veteran status, or genetic information.  Furthermore, Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate and is required not to discriminate in violation of federal, state, or local laws or executive orders. Consistent with this commitment, Carnegie Mellon will no longer be requiring or considering applicant diversity statements. If you are interested in this position and have not yet submitted a diversity statement, please do not do so. If you have already submitted a diversity statement, please know that any diversity statements submitted by applicants for this opportunity will not be considered in the hiring decision.