Assistant or Associate Professor of Physical Geography -
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies # 27-12
Tenure-Track Faculty Position Announcement
Department: Geography and Environmental
Studies
Faculty Hire Number: #27-12
Rank: Assistant or Associate Professor
Effective Date of Appointment: August 19, 2027
(Subject to Budgetary Approval)
Anticipated Hiring Range: $74,652 - $80,004.00
(Dependent upon qualifications)
CSUN's Commitment to You:
CSUN is committed to achieving excellence through teaching,
scholarship, learning and inclusion. Our values include a respect
for all people, building partnerships with the community and the
encouragement of innovation, experimentation, and creativity. CSUN
strives to cultivate a community in which a diverse population can
learn and work in an atmosphere of civility and respect. CSUN is
especially interested in candidates who make contributions to
equity and inclusion in the pursuit of excellence for all members
of the university community.
As a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), inclusiveness and
diversity are integral to CSUN's commitment to excellence in
teaching, research, and engagement. As of Fall 2025, CSUN enrolls
36,960 students, where 57.5% are Latinx, 18.4% are White, 8.5% are
Asian-American, 5.5% are Black/African American, 0.1% are Native
American, and 0.1% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
For more information about the University, visit:
http://www.csun.edu
About the College:
For more information about the College of Social and Behavioral
Sciences, see:
https://www.csun.edu/social-behavioral-sciences/college
About the Department:
For more information about the Department of Geography and
Environmental Studies, see:
https://www.csun.edu/social-behavioral-sciences/geography-environmental-studies
Position
The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at California
State University, Northridge (CSUN) is seeking a tenure-track
faculty member broadly trained in Physical Geography at the rank of
Assistant or Associate Professor.
The successful candidate will teach a wide range of undergraduate
and graduate level physical geography courses and have research
interests in field-based approaches to understanding earth
systems.
In addition to teaching, the position requires weekly office hours,
attending faculty meetings, participation in assessment of student
learning, and service to the department, college, and university.
The successful candidate may be required to teach on weekdays,
evenings, weekends, and/or online and will be held to the standards
and requirements of the college and department in which he/she/they
is/are housed for recommending tenure and promotion. Given CSUN's
commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and engagement in a
diverse environment, the successful candidate will help the
Department achieve equitable academic outcomes for all students
through teaching, student mentorship, scholarship, and
service.
The ideal candidate is a field-oriented, broadly trained physical
geographer who is deeply committed to teaching excellence,
demonstrates versatility in the classroom and field, and engages in
applied, student-centered research. Areas of expertise particularly
desired include climatology, meteorology, geomorphology, or
integrative physical geography, and who situate their work within
contemporary environmental challenges.
Candidates should have demonstrated excellence or potential for
excellence in teaching, scholarly research, and professional and
community service.
Preference will be given to candidates who can develop field-based
research projects analyzing environmental or physical geography
topics in Southern California and engage in fieldwork with students
with a demonstrated commitment to student success. Demonstrated use
of GIS, spatial analysis, UAVs, drones or other advanced data
instrumentation are especially encouraged to apply.
Teaching responsibilities will include our upper-division courses
and any of our graduate courses in the candidate's area of
expertise. Teaching lower- and upper-division GIS courses may be
required. In addition, candidates may be expected to teach lower-
and upper-division physical/environmental geography courses such as
coursework in climate science, geomorphology and field and
laboratory techniques courses.
Successful applicants will also be encouraged to develop new
upper-level coursework in their area of expertise. Normal teaching
load is 12 units per semester, with opportunities for reduction in
teaching load for funded research. There will be a reduced teaching
load during the first two years of appointment.
We seek a faculty member who will involve students in field work,
data analysis, and research projects, who will mentor students in
their senior thesis and master's degree research, and generally
prepare students for careers in physical-environmental sciences and
geotechnical fields.
The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to our
graduate programs in Geospatial Science and Physical/Environmental
Geography, advise students, contribute to department, college, and
university committees, participate in professional conferences,
publish in peer-reviewed journals, and seek external grants.
Required Qualifications:
- A Ph.D. in Geography, or closely related field from an
accredited institution, completed by the time of appointment.
Demonstrated potential for effective, student-centered teaching
in online and on-campus environments.
Evidence of field-based expertise in physical geography
An area of expertise in one of the following subdisciplines:
climatology, meteorology, geomorphology, or integrative physical
geography.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Evidence of effective engagement OR potential to engage with a
diverse student body.
- Experience using culturally responsive pedagogy that leads to
equitable outcomes for all students.
- Experience creating a student-centered learning
environment.
- Research/Lab experience that includes working with students
from diverse backgrounds.
- Experience adopting inclusive approaches to mentoring.
- Demonstrated ability or potential to mentor undergraduate
researchers.
- Demonstrated ability or potential to teach across multiple
subfields of physical geography.
- Demonstrated ability or potential to incorporate field,
laboratory, or other experiential learning into instruction.
- Evidence of scholarly productivity or a clearly articulated
research agenda.
- Demonstrated ability or potential to conduct interdisciplinary
research addressing environmental challenges.
- Demonstrated ability or potential to conduct field-based
environmental research, including field data collection and the use
of GIS, spatial analysis, UAVs/drones, and/or environmental
instrumentation.
- Demonstrated ability or potential to develop a Southern
California or regionally proximate research agenda with applied or
societal relevance.
Application Deadline:
Preferred application deadline is October 28th, 2026, and
applications received after this date may be considered on an
as-needed basis. However, the position will remain open until
filled.
How to Apply:
Candidates should apply by completing the CSUN online application.
To apply and for more detailed information on the application and
hiring process, please visit this link:
www.csun.edu/careers
Applicants must submit a one-to-two-page cover letter addressing
ability to meet required and preferred job qualifications, a
curriculum vitae in reverse chronological order, a one-page
statement of teaching philosophy, a one-page statement outlining
your research agenda, and a one-page statement regarding your
commitment to teaching and mentoring students from a wide range of
cultural and educational backgrounds to the website in the section
above.
At the time of appointment, the successful candidate, if not a U.S.
citizen, must have authorization from the United States Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the United States.
Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the
United States.
Please note: California State University,
Northridge (CSUN) is currently not sponsoring applicants for H-1B
employment that are subject to the $100,000 fee established by the
"Presidential Proclamation: Restriction on Entry of Certain
Nonimmigrant Workers" issued on September 19, 2025. Applicants are
responsible for determining the applicability of the fee.
Education Code 89521 Requirements: Applicants will
be required to disclose whether they have received a final
administrative decision or final judicial decision determining that
they have committed sexual harassment within the last 7 years only
after a determination is made that they meet the minimum
qualifications for the position, and before an offer of employment
is extended. Applicants who reach the final stages of the
application process must also sign a release form that authorizes
the release of information by the applicant's current and/or former
employers to the CSU concerning any substantiated allegations of
misconduct.
General Information:
In compliance with the Annual Security Report & Fire Safety
Report of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act,
California State University, Northridge has made crime-reporting
statistics available on-line
here.
Print copies are available by request from the Department of Police
Services, the Office for Faculty Affairs, and the Office of Equity
and Diversity.
The person holding this position may be considered a 'mandated
reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting
Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in
CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.
A background check (including a criminal records check) must be
completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a
position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the
background check may affect the application status of applicants or
continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the
position.
In accordance with the California State University (CSU)
Out-of-State Employment Policy, the CSU is a state entity whose
business operations reside within the State of California and
prohibits hiring employees to perform CSU-related work outside of
California.
CSUN is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination
based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age,
gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic
information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, and
disability. Our nondiscrimination policy is set forth in the
Interim
CSU Nondiscrimination Policy. Reasonable accommodations will be
provided for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose by
contacting Gladdys Salazar,
gladdys.salazar@csun.edu at
818-677-3532.
To apply, visit https://careers.pageuppeople.com/873/nr/en-us/job/562442/assistant-or-associate-professor-of-physical-geography-department-of-geography-and-environmental-studies-2712
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