University of Massachusetts Boston
Department of Applied Linguistics
Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics with specialization in Multilingual Education
The Applied Linguistics Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor with a start date of September 1st 2026. We envision a colleague who will contribute through research, teaching, and service to our commitment to engagement with and inclusion of culturally diverse audiences in higher education and in the New England public school community.
Required Experience and Responsibilities:
The successful candidate will have an earned Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics or relevant field by August 31, 2026 and a clear and relevant research agenda.
We are seeking a scholar with 3+ years of teaching experience in higher education, as well as teaching, leadership and curriculum development roles in a bilingual K-12 setting (dual language, bilingual or ESL classroom). We expect the candidate to engage school communities in collaborative teaching and research activities that will lead to rigorous academic publications, external funding, professional development for teachers, and policy change. The candidate will advocate for multilingual students and minoritized communities, as a scholar, an educator, and a community-engaged partner by maintaining a robust research agenda, spearheading the development of our Educator Licensure Program, and serving and assuming leadership at the local, state, and national levels.
Application instructions:
UMass Boston is the third most diverse university in the country, with more than 60% of our undergraduate students coming from minoritized communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome.
Given this context, please articulate your approach to teaching, advising, and mentoring:
- will engage with the diverse life experiences of students,
- will reflect an appreciation for the ways in which students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and
- will reflect how your own life experiences and background shapes your practices and commitments as an instructor, mentor, researcher, and scholar.
In addition, we ask that applicants submit the following:
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. A cover letter highlighting how their teaching, research and service aligns with the position
3. A succinct statement of their teaching philosophy, including how their cultural, linguistic, experiential, and/or academic background contributes to the understanding of diversity
4. Pertinent publications
5. Three academic letters of recommendation and, at least one letter addressing community engagement.*
*List referees’ names and contact information in the portal; once submitted, the system will send them a link to upload their letters. The community engagement letter may be from one of your three recommenders.
Applications must be received online by September 15, 2025. : Please address any inquiries to Professor Panayota Gounari (panagiota.gounari@umb.edu), Department Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics.
UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HRDirect@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.