"Assistant Professor - Psychological Science - Tenure-Track"

Description

The Department of Psychological Science at the University of Central Missouri (https://www.ucmo.edu/psychology/) seeks to fill a nine-month, tenure-track assistant professor position beginning August 2026.

Faculty within the College of Health, Science, and Technology at University of Central Missouri support the university's mission of providing student-centered, quality education and are committed to the success of students. This includes quality teaching, advising, collegiality and communication. In addition, faculty provide service to their program, department and university, engage in research, scholarship, and professional development activities. During contractual employment, faculty members are expected to be available to assist, engage, and respond to students, colleagues, departmental, college, and institutional needs.

Examples of Duties

Teaching -

The primary responsibility of the faculty is quality teaching in their respective content areas, regardless of delivery format. This entails adequate preparation for courses, effective course design and instruction, and fair and timely evaluation/feedback of student progress. To ensure quality teaching, faculty must be committed to the success of students as well as ongoing assessment of curriculum and of student learning.

• Keep current in your discipline.
• Organize courses to facilitate quality student engagement and high impact practices.
• Assist department/school chairs with scheduling of classes that meet the needs of students.
• Comply with departmental, college, and university standards concerning the academic quality and integrity of their classes.
• Keep current in their use of technology by attending university training sessions and other professional development opportunities.
• Be available to meet students outside the classroom by being available before or after classes by scheduling office hours both in a physical and electronic format to include in person and virtual office hours.
• Assist with department and college assessment and be proactive with modifications to curriculum based on assessment feedback.

Scholarship/Professional Development -

The strength of a university rests on the knowledge and skills of its faculty. Faculty must stay current in their field of expertise/teaching area.

• Authoring academic writings.
• Presentation of work at local/state/regional/national conferences.
• Active membership and/or office holding in professional organizations at the local/state/regional/national level.

Service -

An expectation of a professional faculty member is to serve the department, college, and university community.

• Attending department/college/university meetings
• Engaging in committee work that will advance the department/college/institution.
• Assisting with student recruitment.
• Participating in graduation and convocation ceremonies.

Advising -

A primary responsibility of faculty is the proper, timely, competent and professional advising of students.

• Be knowledgeable of the requirements of their degree programs as stated in the appropriate catalog(s).
• Meet/advise students on academic and non-academic matters (e.g. curriculum mapping, internships, graduate/professional school options and career preparation).
• Provide leadership and promote excellence in student organizations.

Communication -

Faculty should communicate effectively and in a timely manner with students and colleagues at all levels of the institution. This implies an understanding of the communication hierarchy within departments, colleges, and administrative levels. Timely communication with students supports other faculty responsibilities (teaching, advising).

• Cultivate a collegial atmosphere when interacting with other faculty/staff within their own department, the college and the university.
• Be responsive and timely. Respond to student phone calls and email messages within university guidelines.

Typical Qualifications

Education:

• Ph.D. in Psychology from an accredited institution required

Supplemental Information

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in Psychology from an accredited institution. Area of specialization is open, but candidates should be prepared to teach General Psychology, Research Methods and Statistics, and History of Psychology. We welcome applications from scholars who address topics relevant to access, opportunity, and community in their research and teaching/training. While advanced ABD candidates will be considered, completion of the doctoral degree is required by the start of the appointment. Additionally, applicants should demonstrate an interest in and ability to mentor students in research and professional development. Preferred qualifications include the ability to teach additional courses as needed by the program, as well as courses in the applicant's area of specialty.

Salary and benefits are competitive. The standard teaching load is 9-12 credit hours/semester as assigned by the chair/dean based on the UCM faculty workload policy; opportunities to teach during the summer are available. Excellence in teaching, productivity in research, and service to the school, college, and university are required for promotion and tenure. Candidates should be able to express their commitment to UCM's institutional values of community, diversity, excellence, learning, opportunity, and service.

UCM, located 35 miles southeast of the Kansas City metropolitan area, is a public comprehensive university with more than 11,000 students providing a small-college learning environment coupled with large-university opportunities. The Department of Psychological Science offers B.S and B.A degrees in Psychology, as well as a minor in Psychology. Information about the department can be found at https://www.ucmo.edu/psychology/.

To apply: Candidates must complete the online faculty profile (position #997083) by visiting https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/ucmo.

Candidates should attach to the faculty profile a letter of application, curriculum vitae, copies of transcripts showing all completed degrees, a teaching statement (including evidence of teaching effectiveness), and a research statement outlining how the applicant plans to involve undergraduates in their research. Candidates should be prepared to submit three letters of recommendation, at least one of which should address their teaching ability.

Review of completed applications begins on January 15, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.

UCM requires that all faculty applicants for this position complete the online faculty profile and submit it to the appropriate position for consideration at https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/ucmo. All documents requested for this position must also be attached to the faculty profile at the time of application. Only completed online faculty profiles with attached documents will be accepted for this position.

Direct inquiries regarding this position to: Dr. Katie Jacobs, Search Committee Chair at jacobs@ucmo.edu. For information about the online application process, please contact Human Resources at jobs@ucmo.edu or (660) 543-4255, noting position #997083 in your request

Special Instructions:

• Full-time staff & 12-month faculty benefits-eligible position: Benefits include competitive salary; health, dental, vision, life insurance, AD & D, long-term disability; 3 weeks paid vacation per year; 3 weeks of accrued sick leave per year; 13 paid holidays; retirement; and generous education assistance for an employee, spouse and dependent children taking classes at UCM.
• 9-month faculty benefits-eligible position: Benefits include competitive salary; health, dental, vision, life insurance, AD & D, long-term disability; 3 weeks of accrued sick leave per year; 13 paid holidays; retirement; and generous education assistance for an employee, spouse and dependent children taking classes at UCM.
• Part-time benefits-eligible positions: Benefits include generous education assistance for the employee.
• Temporary, adjunct, student employment, or graduate assistant positions: Benefits are not included.

Completed UCM online application for employment required. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

A review will begin immediately and continue until filled unless indicated otherwise.

NOTE: A background check is required for the selected candidate of all staff, faculty, adjunct, and temporary positions and any job offer is contingent on the results of this check. Student employees and graduate assistants do not require a background check to be conducted prior to employment.

The University of Central Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.