[Commlist] Tenure-Track Position: Assistant Professor of Game Studies at the University of Oregon

https://careers.uoregon.edu/en-us/job/534875/assistant-professor-of-game-studies 


Assistant Professor of Game Studies
Work type: Faculty - Tenure Track
Location: Eugene, OR
Categories: Journalism/Communication, Philosophy/Religion, 
Research/Scientific/Grants, Social Science, Instruction

Department: School of Journalism and Communication
Rank: Assistant Professor
Annual Basis: 9 Month

Application Deadline
February 28, 2025; position open until filled

Required Application Materials
To ensure consideration, please upload the following with your online 
application:

• A letter of interest outlining how your knowledge, skills, and 
experience meet the minimum and/or preferred qualifications of the position.

• Current CV or resume including dates of employment.

• Name and contact information for three professional references. The 
candidate will be notified prior to references being contacted.

• A diversity statement (see below).

As part of the application process, applicants seeking faculty positions 
at the University of Oregon are asked to submit a statement about their 
past, present, and future contributions to promoting equity, diversity, 
and inclusion in their professional careers. For example, you may have 
worked with members of communities or local governments in politics, or 
university constituents such as students, staff, or faculty to further 
the goals of equity and inclusion.

In evaluating statements of contributions to diversity, equity, and 
inclusion, search committees often consider the applicants:

• Awareness of inequities and challenges faced by underrepresented 
minority students and faculty.

• Track record (commensurate to career stage) of activities that reduce 
barriers in education or research for underrepresented minority students 
and faculty.

• Vision and plans for how their work will continue to contribute to 
UO's mission to serve the needs of our diverse state and student 
population and create an inclusive campus.

We particularly welcome applications from scholars who are from 
populations historically underrepresented in the academy, and/or who 
have experience working with diverse populations. Applicants are 
encouraged to highlight their experience and philosophy with regard to 
diversity, equity, and inclusion and to address how they integrate these 
values in research, teaching, engagement, and/or service.

Any application missing the above documents/information may be 
considered incomplete.

Position Announcement
The University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication seeks 
a tenure-track Assistant Professor with a research and teaching emphasis 
in the area of Game Studies. We seek to hire colleagues who will conduct 
research on and teach about games (both analog and digital), game 
communities and affiliated technologies and platforms (e.g., Discord, 
Twitch, Esports, Virtual Reality) through the lenses of media studies, 
strategic communication, design, marketing, or their impacts and effects 
on users and culture.

As one of the largest media and entertainment industries, games sit at 
the intersection of a variety of interactive and immersive interactive 
communication technologies, ranging from artificial intelligence to live 
streaming, that require rethinking the professional and social 
boundaries of media practitioners and consumers. At the same time, the 
ideological, economic and social norms fostered by gamers and game 
studios profoundly impact how everyday players and media users approach 
life, their sense of self, and create and maintain their own 
communities. From content creators, influencers and political pundits 
using streaming services like Twitch to the ways Artificial Intelligence 
is being deployed and adopted any number of professions, the impact of 
games and gaming is undeniable to the future of media.

Hires would bring the following key contributions to our faculty:

1. Expertise in theories and concepts pertinent to game studies in 
regard to fields of media studies, communication, design, marketing, 
human-computer interaction, journalism, or affiliated fields.

2. A related specialty, such as the study of esports, fan studies, 
digital asset and game production, content creation, gaming identity, 
digital cultures, emerging media industries and economics, environmental 
studies, human-machine communication, strategic communication, and media 
psychology.

3. A capacity to teach required coursework in our new Game Studies minor 
at the SOJC such as media ethics, gender, media and diversity, and 
introduction to media studies, and potentially contribute to our online 
Immersive Media Communication Master’s program.

This hire will join our growing body of scholars studying and teaching 
game studies and Immersive Media, including the new Game Studies minor 
launched in Fall 2024, which focuses on training media professionals in 
the culture and communication of games. Faculty members would also 
ideally strengthen SOJC’s ties to other units on campus, such as 
existing collaborations with the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) 
(e.g., the annual Data|Media|Digital Graduate Symposium), the 
campus-wide New Media and Culture Certificate program for graduate 
students, the ethics minor in philosophy, and UO’s Data Sciences 
Initiative. They could also work with the variety of extracurricular 
activities and programs associated with gaming on campus, including the 
varsity esports team, board game club, and the Art & Technology program 
in the School of Design. Games also are a significant component in the 
SOJC’s Immersive Media Communications program in collaboration with the 
Oregon Reality (OR) Lab, which focuses on experiential learning and 
research regarding the ethical use of immersive media and their social, 
cultural and professional impacts.

Finally, ideal candidates will have strong potential to mentor 
undergraduate and graduate students as well as strong potential for and 
commitment to contributing to a culture of inclusive teaching and 
evidence of valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Equally important, candidates would be encouraged to take advantage of 
the university's existing partnerships to bring the industry and 
storytellers both in Portland’s “Silicon Forest” and Oregon’s thriving 
gaming community into the classroom while driving thought leadership as 
gaming and immersive technologies evolve.

Positions will be based in Eugene on UO’s main campus.

Department or Program Summary
The School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) is an accredited 
research and professional school serving approximately 2,450 
undergraduates and 150 graduate students both on the University of 
Oregon campus in Eugene and at the George S. Turnbull Center in 
Portland. Degrees offered are the B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., and Ph.D., as 
well as minors in Media Studies and Science Communication. The School 
also includes an interdisciplinary major in Cinema Studies and 
interdisciplinary minors in Multimedia and Native Studies. The SOJC 
employs approximately 125 individuals as faculty and staff, more than 50 
graduate employees, and approximately 50 student employees. Founded in 
1916, the SOJC is one of the oldest journalism programs in the nation. 
With deep roots in industry history and rich traditions, the SOJC is 
also home to state-of-the-art technology facilities such as the Oregon 
Reality (OR) Lab in Portland, the Experience Hub which focuses on media 
production (e.g., podcasting, social media) and a variety of immersive 
and interactive spaces for the creation, interaction and display of 
games on campus.

The University of Oregon values and seeks diversity as a source of 
enrichment for our university community. The School of Journalism and 
Communication is deeply committed to building an inclusive community and 
particularly invites and welcomes applications from scholars who are 
from populations historically underrepresented or underserved in the 
academy. We encourage applications from candidates who, through their 
research, teaching, service, and community engagement demonstrably 
promote and contribute to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning 
and working environment for our students, staff, and faculty. Applicants 
are encouraged to highlight their experience and philosophy with regard 
to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Minimum Requirements
• Ph.D. in communication, media studies, journalism, advertising, 
strategic communication, science and technology studies, information 
science/studies, philosophy, or another related field, or all but 
dissertation (ABD) with expected completion by the time of appointment. 
Please note your anticipated PhD completion.
• Ability to execute independent and/or collaborative research that 
advances theory and bridges knowledge and practice.
• A record or promise of scholarly accomplishment that includes 
publication in high-quality academic journals in communication, media 
studies, journalism, information studies, media psychology, computer 
science and design, and/or related fields.

Preferred Qualifications
• Strong commitment to contributing to a culture of inclusive teaching; 
and evidence of valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Ability to teach across the required undergraduate curriculum 
including courses like “Making Sense of Media” and “How Stories Work,” 
as well as core media studies course (e.g., “Media Ethics,” 
“Communication Law).
• Ability to teach across game studies minor courses such as 
“Introduction to Studying Games,” “Making the Virtual a Reality,” 
“Understanding Esports” and “Analog games.”
• Ability to teach in at least one graduate program including: Master’s 
in Strategic Communication, Master’s in Advertising and Brand 
Responsibility, Master’s in Immersive Media Communication, Communication 
and Media Studies Master’s and Ph.D.
• An interest in Master’s and doctoral student mentorship.
• Demonstrated potential for teaching excellence.

About the University
The University of Oregon is an Association of American Universities 
member and Tier-One research institution that is ranked “highest 
research activity” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of 
Higher Education. Located 110 miles south of Portland, in Kalapuya 
Ilihi, the homelands of the Kalapuyan people. The Eugene metro area 
(pop. 375,000) is in a region noted for its dynamic quality of life and 
progressive cultural environment. We are about an hour’s drive from the 
Pacific coast and the Cascade Mountains.

The University of Oregon has an enrollment of over 20,000 undergraduate 
and 3,600 graduate students. Of these, 34% are students of color. The 
university makes institutional commitments to diversity and actively 
supports its goal with resources such as the Center for Multicultural 
Academic Excellence, the Black Cultural Center, the Many Nations 
Longhouse, the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies, the 
Multicultural Center, and the Division of Equity and Inclusion, among 
other initiatives.

The University of Oregon is proud to offer a robust benefits package to 
eligible employees, including health insurance, retirement plans and 
paid time off. For more information about benefits, 
visit http://hr.uoregon.edu/careers/about-benefits.


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