Description
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Teaching – Department of Zoology and the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Position description
The Department of Zoology and the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience at The University of British Columbia invite applications for a tenure-track appointment at the level of Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Educational Leadership stream with a focus on Neuroscience.
The UBC Undergraduate Neuroscience and Biology Programs place a premium on excellent teaching. The successful candidate would join 10 other tenure-track or tenured faculty in the Educational Leadership stream in the Department of Zoology in the Faculty of Science. Our programs consist of courses ranging from large multi-section courses to small specialty courses. We expect a successful candidate to implement state-of-the-art approaches to teaching and learning and to demonstrate innovation in pedagogy. The position is based at UBC’s Vancouver campus. UBC’s campuses are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Syilx (Okanagan) Peoples and of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xwmθkwym (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Stó:l and Slílwta/Selilwitulh (Tsleil Waututh) Nations.
The successful candidate will have been awarded a PhD in neurobiology or a related field before the start date of the position. Candidates must demonstrate the ability or strong potential to teach large enrollment courses in neurosciences (appropriate to their background) at various levels of undergraduate instruction. Successful candidates will demonstrate evidence of outstanding teaching ability and the potential to contribute to ongoing curriculum and course development. Candidates must be committed to improving undergraduate teaching, engaging with discipline-based educational research, and leading collaborative teaching teams. They will have a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, to create a welcoming community for all, particularly for those who are historically, persistently or systemically marginalized.
The successful candidate will be appointed in the Department of Zoology, but with primary educational leadership and teaching responsibilities in the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience. The candidate’s teaching load would be composed largely of Neuroscience (NSCI) courses, but may also include Biology courses (Zoology faculty teach within the Biology program). Initial duties of the position will consist of teaching introductory neuroscience courses (for example, NSCI 140) and future duties will be determined by the needs of the Undergraduate Program of Neuroscience.
As the successful candidate moves towards promotion and tenure, they will take on Educational Leadership roles that align with their skills, interests, and the needs of the Neuroscience and Biology programs. As a member of the UBC Educational Leadership stream, the candidate is expected to demonstrate promise of strong educational leadership, and is expected to meet the requirements for promotion and tenure within the prescribed time frame (as described here: https://science.ubc.ca/sites/science.ubc.ca/files/FacultyofScience_EL_DP.pdf and https://hr.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Educational_Leadership_Stream_Criteria.pdf). To facilitate educational leadership roles, there will be opportunities to work in collaboration with Science Education Specialists (https://skylight.science.ubc.ca/contact) in the Biology program on course or curriculum development, or projects to assess pedagogy. In addition to the duties outlined above, the candidate is expected to participate actively in departmental activities, service, events, and initiatives.
As this is a tenure-track position, the successful candidate will be reviewed for reappointment, tenure, and promotion in subsequent years, in accordance with the Collective Agreement. For a description of the Assistant Professor of Teaching rank and criteria for reappointment and promotion, visit: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/collective-agreements/appointment-faculty/. To support the candidate, two established faculty members will be assigned as mentors.
The Department of Zoology is a dynamic, highly collaborative and collegial department that is internationally recognized for strengths in ecology, evolution, cell and developmental biology, and comparative physiology. The department currently has over 40 active research faculty, 10 educational leadership faculty, 10 lecturers, 23 staff, 120 graduate students, 34 postdoctoral fellows/research associates, and many undergraduates.
The Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, launched in 2022, is a tri-faculty collaboration between the Departments of Psychology (Faculty of Arts), Zoology (Faculty of Science), and Cellular & Physiological Sciences (Faculty of Medicine). The program has two area of focus: 1) Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience; 2) Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience.
The successful candidate would also become a member of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH), which brings together experts in the fields of neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and rehabilitation in a hub for training, research, and clinical care. As the heart of the UBC neuroscience community and one of the most comprehensive brain care and research centres in Canada, the DMCBH has transformed UBC into an international leader in neuroscience research (https://www.centreforbrainhealth.ca/).
How to apply
Applicants are asked to provide:
a letter of application;
a curriculum vitae;
a teaching dossier that includes: statement of teaching philosophy that demonstrates a research-informed approach to teaching neuroscience as well as courses in neuroscience (maximum two pages); a sample syllabus for an introductory course in neuroscience; record of courses taught (if not already included in the CV); course evaluations and peer-review of teaching reports, if available; examples of pedagogical materials; examples of any contributions (published or unpublished) to scholarship of teaching and learning or educational leadership (if not already included in the CV);
a statement of past and potential contributions to educational leadership (including, where appropriate, how these contributions create/advance a culture of equity and inclusion); maximum one page.
a diversity statement describing your lived background experience (if comfortable), and your past experience and future plans regarding working with a diverse student body, and contributing to a culture of equity and inclusion (maximum one page).
Application packages should be submitted as a single PDF document, uploaded to Academic Jobs Online: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30389 .
The closing date for applications is October 15th, 2025 with the appointment anticipated to begin on or after January 1st, 2026.
Please provide names, titles, and contact information for 3 referees. Please note we do not require letters of reference as part of your initial application. However, your listed references should be willing to provide a letter of reference at a later date should your candidacy progress.
This position is subject to final budgetary approval. The expected pay range for this position is $105,000/year to $130,000/year. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. Inclusion is built by individual and institutional responsibility through continuous engagement with diversity to inspire people, ideas, and actions for a better world. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuk, or Indigenous person. UBC acknowledges that certain circumstances may cause career interruptions that legitimately affect an applicant’s record of research or educational leadership achievement. We encourage applicants to note in their applications whether they would like consideration given to the impact of any circumstances, such as those due to health or family reasons, in order to allow for a fair assessment of their research productivity.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority, and members of historically marginalized groups will be given special consideration.
If you have any needs or questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the job application, recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC’s Center For Workplace Accessibility website at https://hr.ubc.ca/health-and-wellbeing/working-injury-illness-or-disability/centre-workplace-accessibility or contact the Centre at [email protected].
The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible work environment for all members of its workforce. Within this hiring process we will make efforts to create an accessible process for all candidates (including but not limited to disabled people). Confidential accommodations are available on request by contacting Manager, HR Services, Department of Zoology by email at [email protected].
