Associate Professor (Practice Track) in Urban Design and/or Urban Planning

Job Description

The Department of Architecture invites applications for one Practice Track position in urban design and/or urban planning at the rank of Associate Professor.

The Department of Architecture in the College of Design and Engineering is ranked among the top 10 in the world, and Asia’s best in Architecture/Built Environment, based on the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (2026). It offers the professionally accredited Master of Architecture programme as well as a range of graduate and undergraduate programmes in related fields such as urban planning, urban design, landscape architecture and conservation. The faculty is correspondingly diverse and international. The Department offers internationally competitive remuneration, generous employment benefits as well as access to research funding for both junior and senior academics. International applicants will also receive subsidized housing at Kent Vale, a faculty residence on the NUS campus.

Qualifications

The Department is looking for a forward-thinking senior professional in the field of urban planning/urban design whose work demonstrates sustained commitment to understanding cities as complex, interconnected systems. The ideal candidate should have a robust professional portfolio and/or extensive urban design and/or urban planning studio teaching experience. He/she should be able to demonstrate how leveraging professional experience as a teaching tool can inform the academic curriculum, within the academic studio setting and beyond.

The applicant should hold a relevant graduate degree (Master or above) by the time of appointment. He/she should demonstrate a strong and sustained career in practice for at least 6 years and show the potential to be a leader in a domain of specialization.

We are particularly interested in candidates who are able to work across disciplines and scales – from (building/urban space to) neighborhood to city to region – to address pressing environmental, urban, and social challenges in Singapore, Asia and beyond, and who can translate professional connections and practice knowledge into sound pedagogical frameworks and research opportunities for the department. Demonstrated expertise in urban development and governance, geo-spatial analysis, systems thinking applied to urban contexts, integrated sustainable design, climate resilience, urban transitions, ecological performance, resource flows, social dynamics and the intersection of design and policy is highly desired.

The successful candidate will lead urban design and planning studios in the various graduate degree programmes offered by the Department. He/she is expected to bring to the studio an ability to frame problems at multiple scales simultaneously, to work with digital data and spatial analysis tools, and to guide students toward design proposals that are grounded in systemic understanding rather than formal invention alone. In addition, he/she is expected to teach core courses and electives based on his/her areas of specialization, and in accordance with the expected teaching load of full-time faculty.

All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. To apply, please provide the required documents in pdf and indicate which position you are applying for by 1 August 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to deliver a seminar at NUS between November and December 2026. Expected start of the appointment is early to mid-2027.

1. A letter of interest
2. A complete Curriculum Vitae
3. A statement of Teaching (maximum two pages) and a sample syllabus of a course to be taught that is relevant to the position advertised.
4. A statement of Research (including a short research plan for next three to five years, maximum three pages) – citing up to five significant publications, creative work or other scholarly contribution and explaining their significance, and a writing sample (optional).
5. A complete list of publications, patents, and other inventions and creative activity.
6. Portfolio of work showing major projects and relevant forms of professional practice, studio teaching and/or design research. This should be accompanied with a statement of professional accomplishments and how they are relevant to the position advertised.
7. Names of four referees with contact details (who will be contacted only if shortlisted). Please highlight any who is a member of your Masters/PhD dissertation committee.