Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Composition and Audio Arts

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

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CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. (https://pennstateoffice365.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/KnowledgeBaseArticlesSharing/Eeys15Xva4hFokHVtbP1eGIB5i1WFLc-J3k9KHgrFYZ7mg) Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants (https://hr.psu.edu/sites/hr/files/ApplicationProcessforExternalApplicationsNon-PennStateEmployees.pdf) .

JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

The School of Music in the College of Arts & Architecture at The Pennsylvania State University invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track, Assistant Professor of Composition and Audio Arts position starting August 15, 2025.

The ideal candidate is a creative professional committed to excellence in music composition, and audio engineering in live and studio settings. Preference will be given to a candidate with expertise in teaching film and video game composition, producing, and sound spatialization. We seek a colleague who can contribute to the overall activities of the composition and music technology programs. A terminal degree or significant equivalent professional experience is required.

The College of Arts & Architecture is working to establish a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression that embraces individual identities, fosters a culture of inclusion, and promotes equity through curricula, values, standards, ideals, policies and practices.

Please use your cover letter to describe your research and teaching contributions in any or all of the following areas: music composition, audio production, and music for media. Feel free to define yourself and your creative practice in ways that let us envision the unique qualifications you would bring to the Penn State School of Music experience.

Also in your cover letter, please address how issues of educational access and belonging relate to your research, creative activity, and/or service experience.

Instructional duties may include classroom and private instruction in composition, courses in live and recorded audio, and other courses in the candidate’s unique areas of expertise. A level of scholarship, writing, and mentorship abilities appropriate for graduate-level committee leadership is required. The successful candidate will have the organizational and communication skills needed to manage a suite of high-traffic recording studios, a team of student engineers, and an inventory of in-studio and mobile sound equipment and classroom technology. The ideal candidate should have experience with contemporary audio recording and manipulation techniques, as well as experience with IP-based audio distribution. We seek a colleague who will be poised to develop courses in live and recorded audio, film/video game composition, and assist in the creation of new curricula.

The successful candidate will develop a creative and scholarly agenda appropriate to an R-1 university tenure-track position, including a portfolio of active national and international engagement in music composition, audio engineering, live sound production, and/or related areas.

The position requires university service duties appropriate to a tenure-track assistant professor. Current faculty and administration share an ethic of collegial responsibility and mutual care, so this new hire will receive solid mentoring, professional development, and support.

To apply, upload the following items. Screening of applications will begin on November 1 and will continue until the position is filled. Upon request, candidates should be prepared to submit additional materials documenting teaching effectiveness. Questions may be directed to Wanda Hockenberry, Assistant to the Director, wgs1@psu.edu.

Cover letter

CV

Names and contact information for three professional references

Links to five examples from your creative/research portfolio that best represent your output in composition, the recording arts, live sound design, and/or music for media.

The following clearances must be successfully completed for this position:

Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Background Check

Pennsylvania Child Abuse History

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Background Check

PENN STATE COMPOSITION AND TECHNOLOGY

The Penn State Composition Program offers a BM in Music Composition, MM in Composition/Theory, and a one-year graduate certificate (PPC) in Composition/Technology. We offer a unique and comprehensive cohort-centered composition curriculum that balances the development of compositional skill, entrepreneurship, music technology, historical perspectives, and artistic risk taking. The program is home to the Young Composers Institute, Living Music, Other Arts Ensemble, and the Penn State International New-Music Festival and Symposium. The Composition Program is intertwined with the Music Technology Program, sharing faculty members, facilities, and equipment. The Music Technology program offers a BA in Music Technology, Minor in Music Technology, and is the home to ROARS (Research of Arts, Recording, and Sound). ROARS connects people from various areas of focus – composition, performance, sound design, musicology, music theory, engineering, science, and more. ROARS students are engaged in everything from recording to music software programming to electroacoustic composition. Both the Composition and Technology Programs at Penn State work closely with the Sound Design Program in the School of Theatre, often collaborating in recording projects, live events, and most recently on the installation of two Dolby Atmos speaker arrays.

CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS:

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here (https://police.psu.edu/annual-security-reports) .

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

EEO IS THE LAW

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.

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