Professor of Urban Design

The Department of Urban Planning and Design at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Professor of Urban Design with tenure from distinguished scholars and practitioners. We seek candidates whose record of research, scholarship, and/or professional practice is recognized by peers as constituting exemplary, innovative approaches that critically engage with key challenges facing cities, including sustainable spatial patterns, conflicts facing the public realm, transformations of work and living environments, and growing economic and social inequalities while integrating these challenges within an epistemology of urban-architectural design.

In addressing these challenges, we are interested in candidates who are committed to interdisciplinary engagement in a school that hosts the fields of urban planning, landscape architecture, architecture, and real estate, as well as with schools within Harvard University at large. Candidates should demonstrate an ability to engage with a full range of urban design methods such as the deployment of digital platforms, new technologies including AI, and the latest innovations in spatial analysis and representation. Applicants should have a forward-looking agenda combining design research with studio and/or classroom pedagogy.

Applicants must have an advanced terminal degree in urban design, architecture, or a related design field focused on cities.

The school aims to attract and retain individuals who possess a quality of mind demonstrating high levels of intelligence, clarity of expression, analytical ability, critical judgment, creativity, and initiative. We also value individuals who support free inquiry and expression by others and constructive, collegial collaborations with faculty, staff, and students. In the school’s evaluation of candidates, desirable individual qualities and high potential are not substitutes for a record of academic and creative achievement. Accomplished contributions to the field through scholarship and/or design are essential to effective teaching over time. Continued study and investigation with public exposition of research and professional accomplishments are normal obligations for Harvard faculty members.

The position of tenured professor is intended for individuals pursuing full-time academic careers who are highly effective teachers and whose creative work in scholarship, design research/work, professional practice, or a combination thereof, is recognized by peers as a preeminent and enduring intellectual contribution to their field. Individuals in this position will employ their time teaching, conducting creative work in scholarship or design research/work, and fulfilling their responsibilities for academic service. Appointments are made with tenure on a full-time basis. The appointment for a full-time position requires residency in Cambridge/Boston, MA.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in August 2026.

Applicants should submit:

Subsequent Submission: Candidates advancing in the selection process will be asked to provide additional material later.

If visa sponsorship is needed, Harvard retains the discretion to determine which visa status is appropriate and whether a visa sponsorship application will ultimately be submitted, including payment of any applicable fees.

Emmy Ly, Senior Coordinator, Faculty Affairs

Professor (full-time, tenured) hiring range: $185,000+