Program Chair for MA/MFA User Experience (UX) Design
STATUS: Full time
DIVISION: Graduate Studies
REPORTS TO: Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
FLSA STATUS: Exempt
SUPERVISES: N/A
Position Summary
CCS Detroit is seeking a dynamic, energetic, and experienced individual to lead the re-envisioned MFA User Experience Design program and new MA User Experience Design program, commencing in Fall 2022.
The Department Chair is a faculty member, administrator, and leader. The successful candidate will demonstrate high levels of creativity, with in-depth knowledge of design, user-experience research, user interface (UI) design, human factors, coding, prototyping, and new and emerging technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR).
They will have professional experience and be capable of preparing the students for employment or as independent creative practitioners and consultants. They will be an experienced teacher and be able to oversee and deliver an exceptional student learning experience at the graduate level that fosters independent inquiry.
Based in the heart of Detroit, CCS is a global leader in art and design education, with world class technical facilities, studio spaces and faculty. Detroit is the USA’s only UNESCO City of Design and is currently experiencing an extraordinary transformation and revival. Many artists and makers have relocated to the city in recent years and now is a very exciting time for an ambitious designer to move here and advance their academic career and creative practice. CCS has an exceptional record of industry and community partnership through live projects. The College has strong ties with the automotive industry and UX for mobility will feature in the curriculum.
THE PROGRAMS:
Operating at the intersection of creative practice and technology, UX Design is a quintessentially interdisciplinary program. Students will situate their creative practice in the arena of new and emerging technologies, contributing to the field by advancing new frontiers for art and design. UX Design is key to CCS developing stronger cross-disciplinary collaborations in areas such as artificial intelligence, informatics, human-machine interactions, machine autonomy, and autonomous mobility.
There is increasing industry demand for designers who can code and build both physical and digital experiences. Students will learn how to sketch, hack, tinker and prototype with hardware and software. They will create practical and critical experiences and technologically mediated interactions for humans with objects, spaces, and interfaces.
With studio projects grounded in experimental, speculative, applied and systems-based design, the Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in User Experience Design will prepare students for the increasingly interdisciplinary mode of work and collaboration in the 21st century.
The program is intended for designers, artists, and architects, as well as engineers, planners, computer scientists, technologists, and systems thinkers with a creative flare. Whether working with hardware or software, in virtual or physical realms, students will always be guided by creativity and critical practice.
CCS offers an established 60 credit terminal MFA degree and a new 30 credit initial MA degree. Students may take either program in full- or part-time mode.
Position Accountabilities and Essential Functions
The Chair will teach two graduate courses per semester and be responsible for:
- Further developing the graduate academic curriculum and keeping the program abreast of new and emerging professional and technical advancements
- Supervising student capstone projects
- Developing external relationships and partnerships
- Managing collaborative projects across graduate and undergraduate programs
- Developing personal and collaborative research projects and outputs for dissemination in the academic community
- Hiring and managing Adjunct Instructors
- Managing the overall learning experience and leadership of the Graduate User Experience Design programs
- Recruiting a diverse student body in collaboration with the Graduate Admissions Director
- Providing academic guidance and advising of graduate students
- Participate in College-wide activities, including: assessment; commencement; faculty assembly; and reaccreditation
- Participate fully in the annual Student Exhibition Opening and other externally facing events.
The successful candidate will need to be available for teaching some evenings and for occasional overnight and international travel. CCS values diversity and welcomes applications from around the world. Salary and rank* are commensurate with experience, and CCS offers a generous relocation compensation.
*Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor
Qualifications and Experience
Reporting to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, the program Chair will be a highly accomplished practitioner with proven experience in user experience design across a range of industries and/or research projects. They will have the ability to link design education to emerging industry and technology advancements. The candidate will have:
- A terminal degree (PhD or Master’s)
- An initial Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree will be considered if the candidate has a significant level of professional experience in User Experience Design
- Teaching experience at the college- or graduate-level in a studio/creative lab learning environment
- In-depth knowledge of new and emerging technologies
- Experience of research and/or consultancy work
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively as a team leader and colleague
- Knowledge of mobility UX design is desirable
- Knowledge of instructional design for online teaching and learning is desirable.
Work Environment
This job operates in a professional office and college campus environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to handle or feel and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Travel between Ford Campus site to Taubman Center site is required. The College may accept reasonable accommodations to these requirements.
Application Procedure/Additional Information
For an informal conversation please contact Dr. Ian Lambert, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at ilambert@collegeforcreativestudies.edu
Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. The search will close when a suitable candidate is hired.
A cover letter, resume/CV, statement of teaching philosophy, and URL portfolio with samples of professional and student work should be sent to: hr@collegeforcreativestudies.edu with “Program Chair for MA/MFA UX Design” in the subject line. Official transcripts/certificates for degrees are required as a condition of hire.
About CCS
The College for Creative Studies (CCS) is a nonprofit, private college authorized by the Michigan Education Department to grant Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. CCS, located in midtown Detroit, strives to provide students with the tools needed for successful careers in the dynamic and growing creative industries. CCS fosters students’ resolve to pursue excellence, act ethically, engage their responsibilities as citizens, and learn throughout their lives. With world-class faculty and unsurpassed facilities, students learn to be visual communicators who actively use art and design toward the betterment of society. The College is a major supplier of talent to numerous industries, such as transportation, film and animation, advertising and communications, consumer electronics, athletic apparel, and many more. Its graduates are exhibiting artists and teachers, design problem solvers and innovators, as well as creative leaders in business.
Founded in 1906 as the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, CCS plays a key role in Detroit’s cultural and educational communities. A private, fully accredited college, CCS enrolls more than 1,400 students, pursuing Master of Fine Arts degrees in Color and Materials Design, Interaction Design, Systems Design Thinking, and Transportation Design and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Advertising Design, Art Education, Communication Design, Crafts, Entertainment Arts, Fashion Accessories Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Interior Design, Photography, Product Design, and Transportation Design. The College also offers free art education for more than 4,000 Detroit youth annually through its Community Arts Partnerships program. In addition, the College’s University Prep Art & Design is a public charter middle and high school enrolling more than 800 students in a high-performance academic curriculum with a special focus on art and design.
The College for Creative Studies is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.
posted on January 25, 2022 at 12:10 pm