Assistant Professor of Museum Studies

Position Description Summary:

The Museum Studies Program in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University seeks to hire an Assistant Professor to lead the program’s collections management track; teach core courses in collections management on topics including: acquisitions, accessioning, deaccessioning, numbering, documentation, collection management systems, and regulations, paperwork, and courier options for incoming and outgoing loans; and to develop courses related to other key areas of interest. This is a full-time, 9-month, non-tenure accruing position beginning as early as Fall 2027 with a renewable three-year contract. The position accrues benefits offered to full-time faculty including eligibility for fellowship and sabbatical leave, University funding competitions, and promotions.

Within Museum Studies, we are thinking seriously about how to use our position as one of the biggest and oldest programs nationally to ground ethical, socially responsible practice in all aspects of museum work. We are particularly interested in emerging concerns in the museum field including caring for/stewardship of culturally sensitive materials; provenance research; cultural property law and ethics; inquiry into what is collected and preserved; questions of access; approaches to repatriation; ethics related to collections data; or technology use in collections management.

We are highly committed to recruiting faculty of the highest caliber who have thrived in different environments. We are interested in applicants who are able to work effectively with students, faculty, and staff from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

Other Information:

The Master of Arts in Museum Studies prepares the next generation of museum professionals to participate in and help shape the future of the field. Established in 1976, the program emphasizes foundational knowledge in museum studies, practical skills, and critical engagement with key issues facing museums today. Students come from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds and gain a depth of knowledge in areas of focus around Collections Management, Museum Management, Exhibitions and Visitor Experience, or Public Engagement. This role will also teach students in the Master of Arts in Museums, History, and Culture, as well as other related disciplines, including art history and anthropology.

With our unique location in the nation’s museum capital, the Museum Studies Program is committed to creating a more representative and inclusive environment and the further development of a curriculum increasingly responsive to issues of equity in the academy and the museum profession. The program at its core both trains students in skills and exposes them to “best practices” in the field and also grounds them with an ability to engage critically with museum history, theory, and practice.

About the Corcoran

The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University offers more than 20 degree programs in the fields of Art History, Design, Interior Architecture, Music, Museum Studies, Studio Arts, and Theatre and Dance. As part of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, we exemplify the College’s commitment to the engaged liberal arts, an approach that links disparate fields and prepares our graduates for rich, multidimensional careers in a changing world. The Corcoran School’s home in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C. provides opportunities for our students and faculty to tap into both a vibrant, historied local city and a nerve center of international culture and government. We have a strong track record of initiating new ventures and collaborating with some of D.C.’s most prestigious institutions, galleries, museums, companies, and firms.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

● Teach graduate level courses covering topics related to collections management in museums, including at least two core courses;

● Contribute to Museum Studies curricula development and innovation;

● Advise and mentor graduate students on classes and internships and prepare them for professional positions in museums and related organizations;

● Develop and grade comprehensive examinations;

● Maintain an active research practice;

● Participate in Program, School, College and/or University service;

● Maintain engagement with the museum profession.

Required Qualifications

● Applicants must have a graduate degree in Museum Studies or a closely related field, or have completed all requirements for that degree by the time of appointment;

● Applicants must have two years' experience in collections management;

● Applicants must demonstrate involvement in the collections management profession, as shown through conference presentations, publications, or professional associations;

● Applicants must have the ability to teach the theory and practice of collections management;

● Applicants must be able to describe research interests and plan;

● Applicants must have prior teaching experience in higher education, museums, or other professional learning environments.

Advertised Salary: $75,000–$85,000

Additional Benefits: The successful candidate will be eligible for startup funding of up to $10,000, as well as GW’s comprehensive benefit package including employee medical insurance. For benefits program details please visit https://hr.gwu.edu/benefits-programs

Special Instructions to Applicants: To be considered, please submit an online application to gwu.jobs/postings/129309 and upload a cover letter; curriculum vitae; statement of teaching interest; research statement; and the names of three references. Only complete applications will be considered.

Review of applications will begin on December 7 and will continue until the position is filled.

EEO STATEMENT: The university is an Equal Opportunity employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

BACKGROUND SCREENING STATEMENT: Employment offers are contingent on the satisfactory outcome of a standard background screening.