Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture, UTK

School of Interior Architecture, College of Architecture and Design, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Interior Architecture Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track

The School of Interior Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Interior Architecture.

We seek a collaborative candidate with innovative, creative scholarship and progressive teaching agendas in interior architecture. The ability to teach design studios is required. An experimental, future-forward, or cross-disciplinary design research agenda is highly preferred. Some potential areas of research and teaching interest may include:

• Integrative design technologies: AI, extended reality tools (AR, VR, etc.), and/or interactive human-robot-computational design
• Optimization and resiliency in experimental and current interiors construction: responsive building assemblies, materials, and furnishings, and/or sustainability and embodied energy.
• Digital design: graphic representation and digital communication of immersive or speculative interiors, and/or investigations into novel digital fabrication and additive manufacturing techniques.
• Candidates with areas of interest not listed above are encouraged to apply. We seek applicants who not only contribute to established knowledge and methods but also push beyond conventional boundaries, enriching the contributions to the discipline of interior architecture.

This nine-month, full-time (1.0 FTE) position will be awarded based on the candidate\’s experience, promise of excellence, and evidence of focus and/or established achievements in teaching, research, or creative scholarship. The appointment begins on August 1, 2026, and the salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications.

About the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is the flagship campus of The University of Tennessee. The university holds the Carnegie Foundation Research 1 designation, granted to doctoral universities with very high research activity. Serving the state and nation as a land-grant university and as Volunteers is integral to the university’s mission. UT enrolls approximately 40,000 undergrad students at its Knoxville campus. The university culture is guided by adherence to core values that define the Volunteer spirit, including seeking knowledge, leading with innovation and integrity, local and global engagement, and responsible stewardship of resources.

About the School of Interior Architecture

The school offers a Bachelor of Science in Interior Architecture within a highly competitive professional program, attracting over 700 first-year applicants across the United States in 2024. There are approximately 55 students in each of the four cohort years. The school is distinguished by national and international awards earned by both students and faculty. It is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) and is situated in the College of Architecture and Design alongside the School of Architecture, School of Landscape Architecture, and School of Design. The position offers rich opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration. CoAD Spaces & Resources available to faculty for their research and teaching include four campus and downtown buildings:

• The Art + Architecture Building (with Materials Library, Digital Futures Lab and Woodshop)
• The FabLab, a 20,000 sf maker space.
• The Downtown Satellite, a pair of railway depot buildings in downtown Knoxville.

About the Duties and Responsibilities of the Tenure-Track Appointment

The Assistant Professor rank is a full-time, nine-month tenure-track appointment. The candidate will contribute a combination of teaching, research/creative scholarship, and service. Research or creative scholarship will demonstrate methods that broaden, strengthen, and stimulate the discipline of interior architecture. Research/creative scholarship will be incorporated into instructional assignments, allowing undergraduate students to learn from advanced research or creative methods.

A typical instructional assignment includes teaching (1) six-credit-hour design studio and (1) three-credit-hour lecture/seminar courses across all undergraduate interior architecture curriculum levels.

Required Qualifications for Assistant Professor

• Terminal degree and at least one degree in interior architecture, interior design, architecture, or related discipline. For the standard definition of terminal degrees in the interiors discipline, refer to this link at IDEC.org.
• Demonstrated promise of a cohesive design research or creative scholarship agenda with originality and significance in national or international venues.
• Evidence of promise as a skilled teacher. Competency in integrating digital and analog skills in design studio/classroom instruction.
• Commitment to developing progressive teaching strategies and advancing pedagogical methods with empathy and standards of excellence.
• Ability to contribute to a collegial and collaborative working environment.
• The ability to promote an atmosphere where all members of the university community feel welcome and can thrive.

Desired Qualifications

• Degrees in multiple disciplines.
• Demonstrated success with research/creative scholarship, competition awards, and/or design awards.
• Success in teaching innovative design studios.
• Studio-based master’s degree or significant contributions to design practice, digital fabrication and/or computational design research.
• Professional experience in an architecture office or design firm.
• NCIDQ certification or qualification to pass the NCIDQ exams within the first three years of the position.

Eligibility

Designers and academics within the interior architecture field of study, and from various allied design professions and disciplines, who are interested in operating in an educational capacity and can demonstrate significant engagement with interior architecture, are encouraged to apply. Initial review of applications will begin on December 2, 2025, and will continue until the position is filled.

To apply, submit the following materials on Interfolio at [apply.interfolio.com/174475]. Please email Liz Teston, (eteston@utk.edu), Professor and Chair of the Search Committee, with any questions using the subject line \”TT Professor Position.\” Professor and Chair of the Search Committee, with any questions using the subject line \”TT Professor Position.\”

• A cover letter that describes your qualifications and interest in the University of Tennessee and the School of Interior Architecture.
• Curriculum Vitae or Resume.
• Research and/or Creative Activities Statement (500 words)
• Teaching Statement (500 words)
• Samples of Student Work (limit to 2-3 samples—PDF with 11×17 pages or time-based media in links, or website). **
• Samples of Research, Creative Work, or Professional Work (limited to 5-7 samples–PDF with 11×17 pages, or time-based media in links, or website). **
• Complete contact information for three references.

** Please clarify your role in the portfolio submission for collaborative projects

For more information on the College of Architecture and Design, see: http://archdesign.utk.edu

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement 

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.

Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to eoa@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to investigations@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-0717.