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Position Details

Position Information

Announcement Number FAC - VA - 26021

For questions regarding this position, please contact:

David Cherry

Interim Department Head

[email protected]

Classification Title

Working Title Assistant Professor of English in Creative Writing - Nonfiction

Brief Position Overview

The Department of English invites applicants for a tenure track Assistant Professor position to begin August 2026. We seek applicants who can contribute to and expand our creative writing offerings and endeavors.

Faculty Tenure Track Yes

Faculty Rank Assistant Professor

Position Number 4A3251

Department English

Division College of Letters & Science

Appointment Type Faculty

Contract Term Academic Year

Semester

If other, specify From date

If other, specify End date

Union Affiliation Exempt from Collective Bargaining

FTE 1.0

Benefits Eligible Eligible

Salary Salary commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications

Contract Type MUS

If other, please specify

Recruitment Type Open

Position Details

General Statement

The Department of English at Montana State University invites applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Creative Writing Nonfiction to begin mid-August 2026. This tenure-track position involves teaching a range of creative writing courses and engaging in scholarship and/or creative activity (which we understand as overlapping categories in research for creative writers).

With this hire, we seek a creative writing faculty member who will collaborate across our department and with the creative writing team. Some of the work may include engaging in course development as we continue to imagine creative writing, examining the complexities of inquiry and creative writing in an age of AI, teaching literature for 21st century citizens, and attending to literary trends and topics in our ongoing curriculum development. We also seek someone invested in outreach across the university and/or the community.

The English Department faculty are poised to develop a dynamic culture of writing across MSU . Our vision for integrating writing into all students’ experiences at MSU includes collaboration between multiple sites of writing both within the department and across MSU : The Yellowstone Writing Project (a National Writing Project site), the First Year/Core Writing Program, writing intensive classes within the disciplines, and the Writing Center.

Overall, the Department offers an undergraduate degree with options in Writing, Literature, and English Education. Creative writing cuts across all three options and satisfies general education requirements for MSU students across majors. Additionally, the Department offers two graduate degrees: the MA in English (with a new accelerated track) and MA in English Education (an online program). Graduate students have opportunities to integrate explorations across literary landscapes, writing, literacies, place, and pedagogy or tailor their focus across a few key areas of interest.

Duties and Responsibilities

The faculty member’s primary teaching responsibilities will include teaching introductory, intermediate, and advanced creative writing courses in creative nonfiction and either fiction or poetry, with the flexibility to teach additional writing and literature courses as necessary. We are particularly interested in candidates with innovative visions or experiences working on forward-looking courses.

This faculty member will also engage in scholarship and creative activity appropriate for a Carnegie R-1 university. In addition to their teaching and scholarship, they will also be expected to mentor and advise students and provide general service to the department/program, University, community, and profession.

This is a 9-month, academic year position.

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

+ MFA or PhD in Creative Nonfiction upon start date;

+ An active record of publication in creative nonfiction; and

+ Demonstrated potential for excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching.

Preferred Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

+ A record of effectiveness in undergraduate and graduate teaching.

+ Ability to work beyond the English Department to foster outreach across campus and community, developing as a leader in creative endeavors, imaginative thinking, and writing.

The Successful Candidate Will

+ Inspire and mentor students;

+ Work toward meeting/exceeding tenure requirements;

+ Have excellent written and oral communication skills;

+ Have effective interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate successfully and maintain cooperative working relationships with faculty, staff, and students; and

+ Demonstrate an appreciation for all perspectives, committed to continually supporting, promoting and building a whole community.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

MFA or Doctorate must be earned by August 2026.

Required documents to be uploaded to the application:

+ Cover Letter addressing required and preferred qualifications, including a direct pedagogical statement that outlines your teaching beliefs;

+ Curriculum Vitae; and

+ A portfolio of selected work (20 pages maximum)

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Physical Demands

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

The Program

The Department

The English curriculum at Montana State University is a rich and challenging program taught by faculty who are highly qualified as scholars and teachers of literature, writing, and language, as well as winners of many awards for teaching excellence and scholarly achievement.

Students in English are expected to become skilled readers and writers through the study of language and literature. The program encourages students in the pleasures of rigorous, thoughtful reading, writing, and thinking. Students will gain knowledge of literature from various cultures and eras, especially British and American literature, both canonical and emergent; demonstrate an understanding of critical approaches to the study of literature; and become aware of the relationship between culture and literary studies. Students in the teaching option in addition will learn about methods of teaching English and give promise of excellence in secondary teaching.

As a strong pre-professional major, English prepares students for entry into a number of graduate fields, including English, law, and library science, as well as for careers in teaching, journalism, public relations, management, and technical or professional writing.

The College

The College of Letters and Science ( CLS ), the largest center for learning, teaching and research at Montana State University, offers students an excellent liberal arts and sciences education in nearly 50 majors, 25 minors and over 25 graduate degrees within the four areas of the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics and social sciences.

Building on the great strength of our traditional disciplines, the college provides exciting opportunities for faculty and students at the cutting edge of interdisciplinary inquiry. CLS is dedicated to supporting student success, discovering and disseminating new knowledge, and providing an atmosphere in which discovery and learning are integrated and valued. CLS is at the confluence of intellectual tradition, discovery, and innovation.

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies 1

Desired Start Date August 2026

Position End Date (if temporary)

Open Date

Close Date

Applications will be:

Screening of applications will begin on October 27, 2025; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.

Special Instructions

Please see Position Special Requirements/Additional Information for required application documents.

EEO Statement

Montana State University is an equal opportunity employer. MSU does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class status in violation of any applicable law.

In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran’s preference, please complete the veteran’s preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile.