Professor of the Practice in Ceramics

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University seeks a full-time Professor of the Practice in Ceramics to begin September 1, 2027. The successful candidate will teach undergraduate and graduate studio courses in Ceramics, with particular strength in areas such as moldmaking, slip-casting, modular production, and/or expanded ceramic processes. Their practice may incorporate digital tools - including CAD modeling and 3D ceramic printing - as part of a sustained inquiry into material translation, repetition, scale, labor, and production, rather than as isolated technical competencies.

SMFA provides dedicated ceramics studio staffing and technical support. This position is focused on teaching, research and creative practice, curriculum development, and graduate and undergraduate mentorship, rather than studio operations or infrastructure management.

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) is a school within Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences. SMFA grants the BFA, MFA and MA degrees; students do not major in a single studio practice or area. SMFA faculty are practicing artists and researchers, and sustaining an active creative and research practice - alongside teaching - is an ongoing expectation of the role. Candidates should understand this structure and be prepared to envision their teaching, research, and creative practice within it.

We seek an artist-educator whose practice is grounded in ceramics as a discipline and whose research and teaching engage mold-based, serial, and/or digitally mediated material processes as a central methodological and conceptual focus. The successful candidate will demonstrate a significant record of professional achievement and maintain an active creative and research practice that situates ceramics within contemporary conversations in art, design, and material culture.

The successful candidate will bring broad knowledge of ceramic materials, processes, and histories, with the ability to teach foundational skills and support advanced and graduate inquiry across diverse approaches to ceramic practice.

This position is envisioned as a collaborative appointment that strengthens disciplinary depth in Ceramics while connecting, through shared material processes and critical questions, with Sculpture, Installation, and related spatial practices. Working with Ceramics faculty, the successful candidate will contribute to curriculum development and shared mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students, while maintaining clear curricular boundaries and sustainable administrative structures.

While this search seeks a colleague with specific disciplinary expertise, SMFA's programs and degrees are grounded in a broader institutional commitment to interdisciplinarity. We are looking for someone who will bring depth in their own practice while actively supporting students whose work moves across media and disciplines - and who can envision how their own teaching, research, and practice fit within SMFA's cross-disciplinary structure.

We are also looking for a colleague with experience and interest in academic leadership. Relevant experience might include service as a department chair, director of graduate studies, or leadership of curricular or governance work.

We particularly welcome candidates whose work and teaching engage diverse cultural perspectives, expand the conceptual and material boundaries of ceramic practice, and support students from a wide range of backgrounds and educational pathways.

An MFA (or equivalent terminal degree) is required, along with a minimum of three years of university-level teaching experience that includes both beginning-level and graduate instruction. This is an open-rank search.

Please submit the following materials viaInterfolio at apply.interfolio.com/195240:

* Current CV/Resume

* Cover letter. In it, candidates should describe their experience with, and interest in, academic leadership roles such as department chair or director of graduate studies, and should address how SMFA's structure and philosophy align with their own work, training, and expertise.

* Artist's Statement

* Statement on Research

* Statement of Teaching Philosophy

* A link to your professional website and 20 examples of your work with explanatory information

* Up to 20 images of recent student work with relevant information about the work and project assignment descriptions

* Names and contact information for three references

Please contact Elizabeth Finnen with questions. Review of applications will begin Nov. 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.

All offers of employment are contingent upon the completion of a background check.

Tufts University is committed to providing competitive and equitable compensation that reflects each candidate's experience, expertise, responsibilities, and performance. The pay offered will be determined based on a variety of factors such as (but not limited to) the individual's education and experience, discipline, rank, internal equity, and budgetary considerations.