Assistant Professor of Interactive Art, Performance & Games (Initial Review Date 11/14/25)

The Department of Performance, Play & Design (PPD), at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) invites applications for the position Assistant Professor of Interactive Art, Performance & Games in the Art & Design: Games & Playable Media BA Program (AGPM).

We are particularly looking for artists making games that are inclusive and interdisciplinary. This hire will play a major role in expanding our practice-based curriculum and help guide our community of creative practitioners.

PPD is a one-of-a-kind, uniquely interdisciplinary department that blends faculty in theater, performance studies, dance, game design, digital art, music and interactive media to create a shared environment for creative research. The department stands at the forefront of performance, play, and design in the fields of digital and analog games, digital art, digital performance and interactive media. Within this context, faculty continue to grow the AGPM program to develop innovative approaches to game design and game creation, to encourage artistic and experimental approaches to play, and to engage with contemporary issues and critical approaches to play and interactivity in order to push the bounds of interactive media.

AGPM faculty teach and collaborate across the university and beyond in research and creative fields such as art, earth and planetary sciences, feminist studies, critical race and ethnic studies, film and digital media, music, and digital art and new media. We are particularly looking for artists making games whose work is at the intersection of two or more of the above disciplinary fields. This position will contribute to our core curriculum, which includes such classes as Aesthetic Designs, Games as Art and Activism, and Designing Experiences. This position also allows for the development of upper division elective courses in our three core categories of Craft Refinement, Social Interventions, and Performance/Portfolio/Exhibition. See a full list of our courses.

The AGPM program is committed to inclusive teaching and mentoring pedagogies and creating a learning environment for undergraduate and graduate students that embraces all lived experiences. The successful candidate will engage in service at the program, department and campus-wide levels with a commitment to advancing inclusive excellence in all realms of institutional endeavor.

The ideal candidate's application file will demonstrate the following achievements and practices: an established artistic and critical practice with emerging national and international impact, and a trajectory of prominence in the field of Interactive Art, Performance & Games; a history of engaging with a teaching philosophy that allows students to take creative risks and discover their unique voices; an approach to play as an artistic and humanitarian practice; and a deep understanding of the fields of game design and game studies through their research. We are particularly interested in candidates with a multidisciplinary research portfolio that includes areas such as games as art and social consciousness; virtual environments and ecological games; visual, audio, interface and narrative design; games as social practice; and the physical and embodied connection of games to play and performance.

UC Santa Cruz is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) with a high proportion of first-generation and low-income students. We welcome candidates who can clearly articulate how their research teaching, mentoring, creative/professional activity, and service can contribute towards building an inclusive scholarly community that maximizes student success.

Performance, Play & Design Department: https://play.ucsc.edu/

• MFA or higher (or equivalent foreign degree) or eight years' industry experience. Degree or industry experience must be in an area related to interactive art or performance, or games and play (e.g., game design, interactive art/media, interactive performance or game studies). It is expected that the degree requirement will be completed by June 30, 2026
  
• Record of research and/or creative production as evidenced by contribution to the fields of digital and analog games or interactive and participatory art.
• Demonstrated record of teaching in higher education as evidenced by classroom experience.

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

To acknowledge and reduce the labor involved in acquiring letters of recommendation, we are not requiring them at this first stage of the application process. Applicants are advised to speak to potential recommenders in anticipation of a future letter submission request should they advance to the final round of this search. Candidates will need to ensure the prompt delivery of confidential letters of recommendation at that time.

Applicants must provide the names and contact information of their references. The hiring unit will request confidential letters* from the references of those applicants who are under serious consideration. Note that your references, or dossier service, will submit their confidential letters directly to the UC Recruit System.

*All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. For any reference letter provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service, career center), direct the author to UCSC's confidentiality statement at https://academicpersonnel.ucsc.edu/confidentiality-statements/.

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
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment
  

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 categories covered by the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.

It is the policy of the University of California to undertake affirmative action and anti-discrimination efforts, consistent with its obligations as a Federal and State contractor.

If you need accommodation due to a disability, please contact Disability Management Services at jobaccommodations@ucsc.edu or (831) 459-4602.

Notice of Availability: In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act), UCSC publishes an Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. This report is published by October 1st of each year and includes current institutional policies and procedures concerning campus safety and security; fire safety and evacuation policies; sexual misconduct and relationship violence reporting and response protocols; and crime and fire statistics for the three previous calendar years. A paper copy of the ASFSR is available upon request by contacting the UCSC Police Department at 114 Carriage House Rd., Santa Cruz, CA 95064, or by calling 831-459-2231 Ext. 1.

Under Federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as established by providing documents as specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Certain UCSC positions funded by federal contracts or sub-contracts require the selected candidate to pass an E-Verify check. The university sponsors employment-based visas for nonresidents who are offered academic appointments at UC Santa Cruz, as outlined in campus policy CAPM 102.530.

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The University of California offers a competitive benefits package and a number of programs to support employee work/life balance.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

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