| Position Title |
Cognitive Psychology Tenure-Track Position |
| About the University |
Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.
Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.
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| About the Department |
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Psychology Department support Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.
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The Department of Psychology has 33 permanent full-time faculty. In addition to our undergraduate B.S. psychology major, the Psychology department offers an undergraduate degree in behavioral neuroscience, and master’s programs in experimental psychology, school counseling, and mental health counseling. The department houses five primary areas of research and teaching expertise – Developmental, Social, Abnormal, Cognitive, and Neuroscience– as well as interdisciplinary areas and the internationally recognized Center for Cross-Cultural Research.
The department supports Western’s mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. Please visit the department website to learn more about our mission. As a public institution in a state where students of color make up a growing proportion of high school graduates, Western and the department are strongly committed to effectively serving our increasingly diverse student body. We highly encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and scholars who are from other populations historically underrepresented in the academy and/or who have experience working with diverse populations.
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| About the Position |
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The Department of Psychology at Western Washington University seeks applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position with expertise in applied cognitive psychology to begin September 16, 2026.
This is an assistant professor position in applied cognitive psychology. The position is open with respect to area of expertise. Possible applied topics in cognitive psychology might include, but are not limited to: culture and cognition, memory, human-computer interaction, eyewitness memory, learning and education, aging and cognition, embodied cognition, social cognition, and judgment and decision-making concerning current social issues. We are seeking candidates who have experience with equitable and inclusive teaching, mentorship, and research practices and share a strong commitment to promoting the success of students from historically underrepresented groups. The candidate will have teaching experience commensurate with their career level. They will be required to teach courses at the undergraduate level in cognitive psychology, other areas of expertise, and research methods and statistics. The candidate should also be prepared to teach content courses in a master’s level program. Responsibilities also include establishing and maintaining an active research program that involves undergraduate and graduate students, as well as service activities as appropriate.
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| Required Qualifications |
- Teaching experience commensurate with their career level as well as a commitment to excellence and inclusivity in teaching, and an ability to contribute to our curriculum in cognition (a large lecture class in cognitive psychology and upper-level classes such as human memory, UX Design, or a seminar in cognition) and undergraduate statistics and research methodology.
- Scholarship record in applied cognitive psychology commensurate with experience.
- A program of meaningful mentorship of undergraduate students from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. Mentorship is broadly defined to include areas such as career paths, university resources, research, or teaching.
- A commitment to service and engagement such as mentoring, outreach, and other service efforts that support student success, promote equity and access, impact the field and/or community.
- Ph.D. at time of application or ABD at time of application in Cognitive or closely related areas of Psychology with expertise in Applied Cognition. Candidates appointed ABD must complete all degree requirements by June 15th of their first year of employment.
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| Preferred Qualifications |
- Demonstrated experience working within an open science framework
- Ability to teach courses related to User Experience Design and Research
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| Conditions of Employment |
All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to HR@wwu.edu if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations. |
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Salary
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The starting salary range for assistant professor appointment, tenure-track is generally between $73,500-$76,500, with placement within the position’s salary range being based on qualifications and professional experience. The entire salary range for the assistant professor position is $73,500-$90,270, with the upper end of the salary range typically being achieved through collectively bargained salary adjustments. Relocation assistance may be available per University guidelines. Salary and start-up funds are to be determined upon being offered the position.
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| Benefits Information |
Benefits Overview for Faculty Positions |
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Bargaining Unit
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United Faculty of Western Washington
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Application Instructions
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Please submit your application to Dr. Ira Hyman and the search committee through Western’s PageUp system. You should include a cover letter that addresses your experience related to position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications. The letter should summarize the ways in which your strengths are consistent with the values of the department and the priorities we have outlined for this position, including your commitment to working toward equity and inclusion, potential contributions to our undergraduate program, and the domain of your cognitive research program. The application should also include:
1) a curriculum vitae;
2) a statement of teaching philosophy that provides evidence of your ability to create an equitable and inclusive educational experience that will meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds;
3) a statement of research interests that describes your program of research and emphasizes your plans for involving and mentoring undergraduate students;
4) a statement of service and engagement (max 2 pages) that describes activities such as mentoring, outreach, and other service efforts that support student success, promote equity and access, impact the field and/or community, and a description of how you will demonstrate a commitment in these areas in teaching, research, and/or service at WWU;
5) and copies of representative publications.
You will be asked to provide contact information for three references. Letters will be automatically requested from the referees via the PageUp system.
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| Closing Date Notes |
Review of complete files will begin on February 18, 2026; position is open until filled. For more information about Western Washington University, see the Psychology Department's web page.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. Employment-based visa sponsorship may be considered depending on the candidate's current immigration status; however, the University is unable to sponsor new H1B petitions or cover associated filing of processing fees at this time.
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