"Assistant Professor - Political Science"

Job Details

Position Rank and Title: Assistant Professor

School/Department Name: Department of Political Science

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: August 2026

Application Deadline: October 6, 2025 (Applications accepted until filled or closed)

Position Description: The Political Science Department at San José State University is pleased to announce a search for a full time, tenure track position at the Assistant Professor level in Latin American Politics beginning in August 2026. We highly encourage candidates with specializations such as politics of development in Latin America, political economy, political behavior, and social movements. The ideal candidate will focus on political systems, social movements, governance, and policy issues across Latin America, with potential intersections with migration, development, human rights, or U.S.–Latin America relations. Faculty will contribute to program growth through research and teaching in areas that are highly relevant to our students.

The Political Science Department at SJSU was founded in 1962 and currently has 25 full and part time faculty and approximately 350 majors and minors. The undergraduate program offers a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and three minors: Political Science, Public Administration and Public Policy, and Applied Research Methods. The Political Science major provides students with an understanding of politics and government, prepares them to be active, engaged, and informed citizens, and further develops skills in critical analysis and communication. The major in political science leads to a wide variety of professional careers, including public service, the law, diplomacy, public policy, teaching, and business.

The Political Science Department in the College of Social Sciences and San José State University value inclusive excellence and are committed to advancing equity through research, teaching, and service. We enroll more than 36,000 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. Our commitment to lifelong learning supports meaningful connections among faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the broader communities we serve.

We invite all applicants to include a Statement of Inclusive Excellence to share how your lived and professional experiences will contribute to the SJSU community—particularly in relation to student success and inclusive education. A guide to writing this statement can be found at SJSU Inclusive Excellence Statement Guidelines.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D in Political Science at the time of appointment.
• Broad knowledge and expertise in Latin American Politics.
• 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 experiences.

Preferred Qualifications:

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

• Ability to teach a variety of lower and upper division courses outside of the Latin America Politics specialization. These include courses in comparative politics, political economy, and U.S. American politics from a global perspective.
• Ability to conduct research, scholarship or creative activity in Spanish or Portuguese.
• Demonstrated willingness to re-mediate one’s instructional, relational, and classroom practices to more effectively support student success.

Key Responsibilities:

• Faculty support enrollment growth through effective teaching and innovative curriculum development in Latin American Politics and areas commensurate with the successful applicant’s area of expertise.
• The candidate will develop and sustain an ongoing record of research, scholarship, and/or creative activities, as well as other professional engagement.
• The candidate will participate in shared governance, usually in department, 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.

Other Duties: Note that all San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment. Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) and CSU systemwide policy, some faculty duties may lead to designation as a Campus Security Authority (CSA). CSAs are required to complete Clery Act training and to immediately report Clery incidents to the institution.

Faculty employees must complete CSU employee training as assigned and required based on their role (e.g., Data Security, FERPA, Preventing Discrimination and Harassment, Title IX, Health and Safety). The President may recommend or require compliance with safety measures that decrease the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission or illness and allows the core mission and activities of the campus to continue.

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

• Letter of interest (1 page maximum)
• Curriculum Vitae
• Inclusive excellence statement (dedicated statement or addressed in letter of interest)
• Statement of teaching interests/philosophy
• Statement of research outline current and future research plans
• Three references with contact information

Inquiries may be directed to Dr. Garrick Percival, Chair, Department of Political Science (garrick.percival@sjsu.edu).

Conditional Offer: The work for this faculty position may only be performed in the State of California and requires establishing an on-campus presence. Employment is contingent upon US residence and proof of eligibility to work in the United States. Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. SJSU will make a conditional offer of employment, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current employee who was conditionally offered the position.