Tenure-Track Faculty Position Announcement
Department: Anthropology
Faculty Hire Number: #27-26
Rank: Assistant Professor
Effective Date of Appointment: August 19, 2027 (Subject to Budgetary Approval)
Anticipated Hiring Range: $75,000 to $80,000 (Dependent upon qualifications)
CSUN’s Commitment to You:
CSUN is committed to achieving excellence through teaching, scholarship, learning and inclusion. Our values include a respect for all people, building partnerships with the community and the encouragement of innovation, experimentation, and creativity. CSUN strives to cultivate a community in which a diverse population can learn and work in an atmosphere of civility and respect. CSUN is especially interested in candidates who make contributions to equity and inclusion in the pursuit of excellence for all members of the university community.
As a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), inclusiveness and diversity are integral to CSUN’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and engagement. As of Fall 2025, CSUN enrolls 36,960 students, where 57.5% are Latinx, 18.4% are White, 8.5% are Asian-American, 5.5% are Black/African American, 0.1% are Native American, and 0.1% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
For more information about the University, visit: http://www.csun.edu
About the College:
For more information about the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, see: https://www.csun.edu/social-behavioral-sciences/college
About the Department:
For more information about the Department of Anthropology, see: https://www.csun.edu/social-behavioral-sciences/anthropology
Position:
The Department of Anthropology at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is seeking a tenure-track faculty member in Public Archaeology at the rank of Assistant Professor
The successful candidate will be a public archaeologist with an active research agenda in the archaeology of the modern and contemporary era (roughly 19th century to the present). Areas of focus may include urban archaeology, issues of diverse community experiences in the archaeology of the contemporary past, migration and diaspora, the archaeology of labor and capitalism, or infrastructure and the built environment, among other adjacent topics. Skills in cultural resources management (CRM), archaeological fieldwork, material culture analysis, and archival research are required. Experience working with CRM firms, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPO), public agencies, museums, preservation organizations, or other heritage-sector partners is preferred. We also prefer candidates who combine excavation skills with experience in remote sensing and minimal-impact methods, such as survey, GPR, gradiometry, aerial-based survey, and 3D documentation, among other geophysical and digital approaches. The candidate will contribute to the department’s well-regarded Master’s of Anthropology with a concentration in Public Archaeology, which prepares graduates for employment in CRM and heritage management. The department’s public archaeology foci are CRM, public education and outreach, and community-engaged and collaborative research.
Teaching expectations (4/4 load) will include courses at the lower, upper, and graduate levels for majors/minors and General Education courses for non-majors. For example, Introduction to Anthropology and Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Archaeology of North America, Public Archaeology, and Archaeological Theory and Methods courses. The candidate is expected to contribute to field-based experiences, such as field schools, internships, and field-based courses. Participation in the development and growth of public archaeology and culturally responsive pedagogy is expected.
In addition to teaching, the position requires weekly office hours, attending faculty meetings, participation in assessment of student learning, and service to the department, college, and university. The successful candidate may be required to teach on weekdays, evenings, weekends, and/or online and will be held to the standards and requirements of the college and department in which he/she/they is/are housed for recommending tenure and promotion. Given CSUN’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and engagement in a diverse environment, the successful candidate will help the Department achieve equitable academic outcomes for all students through teaching, student mentorship, scholarship, and service.
Required Qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Anthropology, Archaeology, or closely related field from an accredited institution. Degree must be awarded by the date of appointment.
- Evidence of university-level in-person teaching experience in archaeology
- Evidence of research experience in the archaeology of the modern and contemporary era (roughly 19th century to the present)
- Evidence of experience with community-engagement, public outreach, or collaborative archaeology
- Evidence of skills in the management of archaeological resources, archaeological fieldwork, material culture analysis, and archival research
Preferred Qualifications:
- Evidence of effective engagement or potential to engage with a diverse student body
- Experience using culturally responsive pedagogy that leads to equitable outcomes for all students
- Experience creating a student-centered learning environment
- Research/field/lab experience that includes working with students from diverse backgrounds
- Experience adopting inclusive approaches to mentoring
- Teaching experience in public archaeology and archaeology of the modern and contemporary era
- Professional/work experience related to public-facing archaeology
- An established network in cultural resources management (CRM), museums, Tribal Historical Preservation Offices (THPO), and/or other heritage-sector partners
- Experience in remote sensing and/or minimal impact methods
- Grant writing experience
- Evidence of scholarly dissemination
Application Deadline:
Preferred application deadline is Monday, November 30, 2026, and applications received after this date may be considered on an as-needed basis. However, the position will remain open until filled.
How to Apply:
Candidates should apply by completing the CSUN online application. To apply and for more detailed information on the application and hiring process, please visit this link: www.csun.edu/careers
Applicants must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, one-page statement on achieving student success with diverse student populations, one-page research statement, and the names of three referees who can address the candidate’s teaching, research, and service qualifications to the website in the section above. In later stages of the search process, applicants may be requested to provide additional materials, including letters of recommendation, professional work samples, and work produced through student mentoring; and for those candidates invited for an on-campus interview, they should come prepared with a presentation of their research and a teaching demonstration.
At the time of appointment, the successful candidate, if not a U.S. citizen, must have authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the United States. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States.
Please note: California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is currently not sponsoring applicants for H-1B employment that are subject to the $100,000 fee established by the “Presidential Proclamation: Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” issued on September 19, 2025. Applicants are responsible for determining the applicability of the fee.
Education Code 89521 Requirements: Applicants will be required to disclose whether they have received a final administrative decision or final judicial decision determining that they have committed sexual harassment within the last 7 years only after a determination is made that they meet the minimum qualifications for the position, and before an offer of employment is extended. Applicants who reach the final stages of the application process must also sign a release form that authorizes the release of information by the applicant’s current and/or former employers to the CSU concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
General Information:
In compliance with the Annual Security Report & Fire Safety Report of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, California State University, Northridge has made crime-reporting statistics available on-line here. Print copies are available by request from the Department of Police Services, the Office for Faculty Affairs, and the Office of Equity and Diversity.
The person holding this position may be considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.
A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.
In accordance with the California State University (CSU) Out-of-State Employment Policy, the CSU is a state entity whose business operations reside within the State of California and prohibits hiring employees to perform CSU-related work outside of California.
CSUN is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, and disability. Our nondiscrimination policy is set forth in the Interim CSU Nondiscrimination Policy. Reasonable accommodations will be provided for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose by contacting Nicole “Nikki” Snyder at 818-677-3331 or anthro@csun.edu.