Tenure-track Assistant or Associate Faculty Position in Architectural Design

Posted On: September 21, 2026

Hours: Full Time

Description:

The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture  
Faculty Search Statement, 2026 
Tenure-track Assistant or Associate Faculty Position in Architectural Design 

The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union invites applications for two full-time tenure-track Assistant or Associate faculty positions in Architectural Design. The new hires will contribute to advancing the undergraduate professional five-year program (Bachelor of Architecture) and post-professional graduate program (Master of Science in Architecture) into the School's next phase. 


Applicants must demonstrate an exceptional contribution to the field of architectural design, and to design studio pedagogy, as well as excellence in their creative practice, research, and scholarship. We seek candidates who will generously enrich and expand the pedagogy, discourse, and intellectual life of the school. With an emphasis on diversity, this is an opportunity to engage candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, and areas of interest within architectural discourse. We seek candidates to join our faculty and larger Cooper Union community in our commitment to provide an exceptional architectural education that is rooted in history, advanced through critical thinking, motivated by excellence in design, and fueled by imagination and social responsibility. 


This is a transformative moment for The Cooper Union. Founded upon a radical commitment to equity, The Cooper Union embodies a vision that fair access to free education and open public discourse fosters a just and thriving world. We seek candidates who can demonstrate the capacity to translate the Mission of The Cooper Union toward contemporary debates, urgencies of this moment, relevant cultural issues, and emerging pedagogies. Candidates must demonstrate the capacity for intellectual leadership, a commitment to collegiality, and the ability to engage students, faculty, and the Schools of Art and Engineering as well as the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Candidates will be expected to foster cross-program and cross-college collaboration in research, creative practice, and the profession and offer significant opportunities for engagement and partnership. Candidates will also be expected to maintain a strong presence within the discipline beyond The Cooper Union, maintaining a voice in lectures, symposia, exhibitions, and the cultural life in NYC and the world beyond. 


Candidates should hold a Master of Architecture or Doctoral degree and must have a proven record of teaching experience in undergraduate or graduate programs in architecture or a related design discipline. Candidates should also have an agenda for future engagement in the field through their design and research work. Responsibilities of this position include teaching across various levels of the curriculum, maintaining a vibrant design practice, scholarship and research, as well as advising and administrative work on committees, including playing a crucial role in shaping the future of architectural education at Cooper.

  
To apply, please submit a statement of purpose, a CV, a portfolio that includes samples of your design practice and teaching, and the names of three references, including telephone and mailing/email addresses to hr@cooper.edu. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until December 1st, 2026. Interviews, campus visits, and public presentations will be scheduled to take place during Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. One position could begin as early as Spring 2027, if not filled; both positions are expected to begin Fall 2027. For questions contact architecture.facultysearch@cooper.edu

Compensation: Salary will be based on qualifications and experience, determined by rank. 
·         Assistant Professor: starting minimum salary: $90,000 
·         Associate Professor: starting minimum salary: $100,000 

 

This is a unionized position.

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Email materials to: hr@cooper.edu

 

 

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.