"ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY / COGNITIVE SCIENCE"

Job Details

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY / COGNITIVE SCIENCE. The Department of Psychological Science at the University of North Carolina Charlotte (https://psych.charlotte.edu/) is seeking candidates in the area of Cognitive Psychology / Cognitive Science for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor, beginning on August 15, 2026. The anticipated salary range is $85,000–$95,000.

Required qualifications: A Ph.D. degree in Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Cognitive Neuroscience, or a closely related field; an active program of research that can contribute effectively to our graduate and undergraduate programs; a demonstrated record of (or strong promise for) external funding for research; an ability to teach and mentor a diverse student population at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Preferred qualifications: The successful applicant will be joining a diverse group of faculty who value teaching, research, and service. They will be someone who finds meaning from providing high-quality, innovative learning experiences and who also seeks to be a productive scholar with a programmatic, externally funded line of research. Preference will be given to candidates whose research and teaching complement existing strengths in cognition and enhance interdisciplinary collaboration. The successful candidate brings:

• A track record of research productivity (publications and external funding) that has engaged (or could engage) graduate and undergraduate students.
• Expertise in one or more areas such as: experimental cognitive psychology; cognitive neuroscience; computational or formal modeling of cognition; cognitive foundations or applications of artificial intelligence; empirical research on core cognitive domains (e.g., language, learning, memory, perception, attention, decision-making or motivated behavior).
• Experience teaching courses at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels, and potential to teach courses in cognitive psychology and/or cognitive science.
• Evidence of interdisciplinary research orientation or collaboration, with clear potential to contribute to interdisciplinary graduate programs in Cognitive Science, Health Psychology, Organizational Science, Computer Science, or related fields.
• The capacity to provide service to the Department of Psychological Science to support its undergraduate program (including the Cognitive Science minor), the Cognitive Science graduate certificate, the Cognition concentration in the M.A. program, the Ph.D. programs in Health Psychology or Organizational Science, the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences, and the University.

This position will have joint teaching and research responsibilities in the Department of Psychological Science. The Department of Psychological Science offers a B.S. degree in Psychology and an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Cognitive Science. At the graduate level, the department supports a graduate certificate in Cognitive Science, M.A. degrees in general psychology (with a Cognition concentration option) and industrial/organizational psychology, and the interdisciplinary Health Psychology and the Organizational Science Ph.D. programs.

Cognitive faculty play a central role in supporting undergraduate instruction for a large and growing major, as well as graduate training across multiple programs. They are actively involved in the Cognitive Science Graduate Certificate, Psychology M.A., Health Psychology Ph.D., and Organizational Science Ph.D., all of which emphasize intensive research training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and methodological breadth.

The interdisciplinary Health Psychology Program (http://healthpsych.charlotte.edu) includes faculty from the departments of Psychological Science, Public Health, Communication Studies, Nursing, Applied Physiology, Health, & Clinical Sciences, and other relevant disciplines. It comprises three concentrations: an APA-accredited Clinical Psychology concentration, a Community Psychology concentration, and a Behavioral Science concentration, with which cognitive faculty are often affiliated and contribute through research supervision, graduate mentoring, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Shared research resources include eye-tracking systems, EEG labs, virtual/augmented reality equipment, computational modeling infrastructure, and college- and university-wide initiatives related to AI and human–technology interaction. The Department also houses the Biobehavioral Core Lab, a shared research facility for the collection, processing, and analysis of biological specimens.

Department faculty and students collaborate with scholars across the university, including across the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Science as well as the College of Computing and Informatics, the College of Health and Human Services, the Belk College of Business, and the Cato College of Education. A new tenure-track hire would strengthen these existing research networks and contribute to emerging areas such as human-AI collaboration, computational modeling of behavior, large-scale behavioral and neural data analysis, or cognitive approaches to social and health-related problems.

As the largest and most academically diverse college at UNC Charlotte, the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences houses 15 departments, 13 interdisciplinary programs, and 7 applied centers. We offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs with extensive honors and early-entry options. The College plays a pivotal role in delivering on the university’s goals in the areas of research excellence, student success and experience, and community engagement. Through their scholarship and teaching, the College’s 350+ faculty members seek to deepen our understanding of complex problems and lead the university in interdisciplinary collaboration.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is the second largest institution within the University of North Carolina system. This past Fall, UNC Charlotte enrolled 32,207 students and experienced record growth with its incoming first-year class and graduate programs. UNC Charlotte is also the fastest growing institution in the UNC System, comprising eight academic colleges offering 83 programs leading to Bachelor’s degrees, 64 Master’s degrees, and 24 Doctoral degrees. UNC Charlotte is proud to have 3,747 passionate and committed faculty and staff members and more than 185,000 living alumni.

Applications must be submitted electronically at https://jobs.charlotte.edu/ (position number: #007353). Please attach the following documents with your electronic application: (1) a letter of interest in the position explaining how you meet the requirements, (2) a statement of research and teaching interests, (3) curriculum vitae, (4) up to three representative publications, (5) evidence of teaching and mentoring effectiveness (if available), and (6) names and contact information for three people who can provide recommendations (letters will be requested for candidates who are invited for a phone or virtual screening interview). Finalists will be asked to discuss how their teaching practices engage, include, and eliminate barriers to learning for UNC Charlotte students, and how their educational approach helps increase the engagement and success of all students regardless of their entry pathway into the university. The candidate chosen for this position will be required to provide an official transcript of their highest earned degree and will be subject to a criminal background check. Review of applications will begin on February 27, 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Please contact the Search Committee Co-Chairs, Drs. Alexia Galati (agalati@charlotte.edu) and Doug Markant (dmarkant@charlotte.edu) with any questions about the position or the application process. Hiring is subject to budget availability.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is committed to equality of educational and employment opportunity and does not discriminate against applications, students, or employees based on any protected status.