Assistant Professor of Information Studies (Tenure-Track), Specializing in Media Archival Studies

Salary range:
The posted UC salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and/or step at appointment. See Table #1 for the salary range. "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. A reasonable estimated salary range for this position is $90,000-$164,900, inclusive of the salary scale and off-scale salary components.

Review timeline:
Applications will be accepted via the UC Recruit website beginning September 2026. Review of applications will begin December 1, 2026. To ensure full consideration, all application materials should be submitted and letters of recommendation received by December 1, 2026. The position will remain open until filled, but no later than June 30, 2027.

The Department of Information Studies seeks a scholar specializing in Media Archival Studies whose research and teaching address historical and contemporary media-making contexts, media formats, and the information systems that support their preservation, management, and use. The successful candidate will contribute to the Department's interdisciplinary strengths in information studies through research on media archives, cultural heritage, information technologies, and archival practices across analog and digital environments.

Areas of expertise may include, but are not limited to:

• Media archives, collections, and cultural heritage institutions
• Preservation, conservation, restoration, and curation of audiovisual and multimedia materials
• Metadata, digital asset management, and information systems for media collections
• Community, ethnic, and Indigenous archives and memory practices
• Access, equity, and public engagement in media archives
• Media production, transmission, storage, discovery, and retrieval technologies
• Information policy, legal, social, and ethical issues related to media collections
• International collaboration and standards development for media archives

The Department values interdisciplinary scholarship and seeks a colleague who will strengthen collaborations across UCLA, including partnerships with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, UCLA Library Special Collections, DataX, the Center for Digital Humanities, and related campus units. Candidates whose work advances research and teaching related to diverse communities and public engagement are especially encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct an active program of research, scholarship, and/or creative activity.
• Teach four four-unit courses (or equivalent) annually in accordance with departmental workload policies.
• Teach graduate courses in the MLIS and Ph.D. programs, including core courses within the Media Archival Studies specialization.
• Advise and mentor master's and doctoral students.
• Seek and obtain extramural funding to support research and scholarly activities.
• Participate in departmental, school, university, and professional service and governance.
• Contribute to the continued development of the Department's graduate and undergraduate academic programs.

For more info, contact:

Professor Melissa Villa Nicholas, Search Committee Chair, at villanicholas@seis.ucla.edu

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.

Basic qualifications

• Ph.D. in Information Studies, media studies, communication studies or a closely related field is required by the time of appointment.

Additional qualifications

• Demonstrated record of, or strong potential for, excellence in research, scholarship, and/or creative work.
• Evidence of a well-developed research agenda with potential for sustained scholarly impact.
• Demonstrated commitment to, or strong potential for, excellence in university-level teaching.
• Ability to obtain extramural funding in support of research and scholarship.
• Commitment to mentoring students and contributing to an inclusive academic environment.

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

3-5 References (Contact information only). References will be contacted for finalists

Apply link:
https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF11303

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 Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• 
  UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• 
  UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Los Angeles, CA