"Assistant Professor, Music, Musicology"

Position Rank and Title

Assistant Professor, Music, Musicology

School/Department Name

School of Music

Compensation

Commensurate with qualifications, experience, and rank as established by the CSU Salary Schedule. Anticipated hiring academic year annual salary range: $86,000 - $90,000

Faculty employee benefits are very competitive for the higher education sector. See the CSU Employee Benefits Summary for details about the CSU’s excellent benefits package.

Target Start Date

Fall 2026

Application Deadline

March 1, 2026 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description

The School of Music at San José State University is pleased to announce a search for an Assistant Professor of Music, Musicology, beginning in August 2026. We seek a dynamic scholar-teacher committed to inclusive excellence in research, teaching, and mentorship within a diverse university community. The successful candidate will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in musicology, develop innovative curricula that engages diverse musical traditions and methodologies including collaboration across fields in the College of Humanities and the Arts, and maintain an active research agenda appropriate to an R2 institution, and demonstrate interest. This position plays a vital role in the School’s mission to prepare reflective, culturally responsive musicians and scholars.

Duties include teaching undergraduate music history survey sequences in Western and/or global traditions, developing and teaching graduate seminars in area(s) of specialization, supervising graduate student research, and integrating inclusive pedagogies and diverse repertoires into curriculum. This is a 10-month term assignment. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The School of Music and San José State University value inclusive excellence and are committed to advancing equity through research, teaching, and service. We enroll nearly 40,000 students, many of whom are historically underserved; approximately 45% of our undergraduate students are first-generation college students and 38% are Pell Grant recipients. In addition, we are both a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). SJSU aspires to create holistic learning environments that facilitate both individual and collective transformation. We seek teacher-scholars who cultivate inclusive, empowering spaces for mutual learning, skill-building, and knowledge exchange for all students. Our commitment to lifelong learning supports meaningful connections among faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the broader communities we serve.

Required Qualifications

• Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Musicology or closely related field; ABD considered with doctorate completed by start date.
• Teaching experience at the college or university level.
• Evidence of scholarly promise demonstrated through publications, conference presentations, or dissertation research.
• Applicants should demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a socially and economically diverse student population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching, and other comparable experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Priority will be given to candidates who possess one or more of the following:

• Research specialization in areas including but not limited to world music traditions, popular music studies, music and social justice, American music, contemporary music, music and technology, feminist/queer musicology, or underrepresented musical traditions
• Demonstrated commitment to decolonizing music curricula and centering diverse voices in music scholarship
• Experience with community-engaged scholarship or public musicology
• Expertise in interdisciplinary approaches to musicology
• Fluency in languages relevant to research specialization

Key Responsibilities

• The candidate will participate in shared governance in School, college, and university committees and other service assignments.
• Faculty shall organize all their classes within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).
• The candidate must demonstrate awareness and experience in understanding the needs of a student population of great diversity – in age, abilities, cultural background, ethnicity, religion, economic background, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, and academic preparation – through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies, and advisement.

Application Procedure

Click Apply Now to complete the SJSU Online Employment Application and attach the following documents:

• letter of interest
• curriculum vitae
• institutional excellence statement (dedicated statement or addressed in letter of interest)
• statement of teaching interests/philosophy
• research plans
• three references with contact information or three references we may contact for letters

Inquiries may be directed to the Dr. Fred Cohen, Director, School of Music: fred.cohen@sjsu.edu