Assistant Professor in Japanese Buddhism

Industry:

Company: University of California, Los Angeles

Position description

The Department of Asian Languages & Cultures ( http://www.alc.ucla.edu/ ) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Japanese Buddhism. The position will begin on July 1, 2025.

This position, which extends the department’s long history of strength in Buddhist Studies, is open to applicants whose research engages with Japanese Buddhism from a wide variety of perspectives. We welcome candidates trained in comparative, interdisciplinary, and transnational methodologies, as well as those able to work across the regions and periods our department covers. Facility in modern and/or premodern forms of Japanese is requisite; candidates whose research draws substantially on materials in other modern or premodern languages, in addition to Japanese, are also encouraged to apply. So, too, are those whose intellectual interests extend to Japanese religion more broadly.

The successful candidate is expected to sustain an active research and publication schedule; to be a dedicated and effective teacher and mentor at both the undergraduate and graduate level; to take part in service activities within the department and across campus; and to have demonstrated an eagerness to engage in teaching, research, and/or service that furthers UCLA’s strong institutional commitment to diversity as one of the nation’s premier public schools and a future Hispanic Serving Institution. Minority candidates and women are especially encouraged to apply.

The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and UCLA more broadly are fortunate to have several centers and programs likely to be of interest to the successful candidate for this position, including the Center for Buddhist Studies and the Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies in the International Institute, and, in our department, the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities. We look forward to reviewing applications from candidates eager to cultivate relationships with such programs, and more generally to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue with colleagues in the department and across campus.

Applicants must have a PhD degree in Buddhist Studies, Religious Studies, History, Asian Studies, or another related field. Please refer to RECRUIT for application material requirements. For questions regarding this process, please feel free to contact Professor Michael Emmerich, chair of the search committee: emmerich@humnet.ucla.edu .

The posted UC salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and/or step at appointment. See Table #1. The salary range for this position is $78,200 – $101,400. “Off-scale salaries” and other components of pay, i.e., a salary that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions. See campus compensation page for additional information.

https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/compensation/index.html

Applications should be submitted by November 17, 2024, in order to receive full consideration.

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, bullying and other demeaning behavior, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment as well as a commitment to addressing all forms of academic misconduct, UCLA conducts targeted employment reference checks for finalists to whom departments or other hiring units would like to extend formal offers of appointment into Academic Senate faculty positions. The targeted employment reference checks involve contacting the finalists’ current and prior places of employment to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of misconduct that would violate the University’s Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this process, UCLA requires all applicants for Academic Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” into RECRUIT as part of their application. If the applicant does not include the signed authorization to release information with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete. As with any incomplete application, the application will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists (i.e., those to whom the department or other hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer) considered for Academic Senate faculty positions will be subject to targeted employment reference checks.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications
A Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies, Religious Studies, History, Asian Studies, or another related field

Additional qualifications
Facility in premodern and/or modern Japanese.

Preferred qualifications
Prior teaching experience in Japanese Buddhism or related topics, Teaching Assistant supervising, and teacher training in North America are highly desirable.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae – Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Statement of Research
• Statement of Teaching
• Statement on Contributions to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – An EDI Statement describes a faculty candidate’s past, present, and future (planned) contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion. To learn more about how UCLA thinks about contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion, please review our EDI Statement FAQ document, and Sample EDI Statements .
• Reference check authorization release form – Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form
• Writing Samples – Up to three most recent writing samples or publications.
• Sample Course Evaluations – Up to three course evaluations.
• Sample Syllabi – One each for a lower and an upper division course, and one for a graduate seminar.

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

Name and Emails of 3 references.
Apply link: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09824

Help contact: jtang@humnet.ucla.edu

About UCLA

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy, please visit https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-035.pdf .

For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination .

Job location

Los Angeles, CA