Welcome to the official site for employment opportunities at MICA. At MICA, we empower our employees to use their talent in a variety of ways. We are pleased that you are interested in career opportunities offered at MICA.
Welcome to the official site for employment opportunities at MICA. At MICA, we empower our employees to use their talent in a variety of ways. We are pleased that you are interested in career opportunities offered at MICA.
Title: Associate Instructional Faculty in Design and Innovation
Department: Design
Division: School of Art, Media, and Design
FLSA Status: Exempt
Reports to: Chair of the Design Department
Appointment: Full-time, annual renewable Associate Faculty appointment
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) invites applications for a full-time Associate Instructional Faculty with expertise in Biodesign. MICA is recognized for the quality of its fine art and design programs at national and international levels, its dedication to student learning and teaching excellence, a rigorous liberal arts curriculum, and for preparing students for successful creative careers. From this heritage of creative practice two new Biodesign programs have been launched at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We invite applications from designers, artists, and researchers who have a demonstrated commitment to education to join our faculty with a preferred start date of August 1, 2027.
Teaching responsibilities will be to the Design department and fulfilled in the Design and Innovation BFA program and the Biodesign MA program.
MICA is a small, private art and design school with a rich legacy of experimentation and avant-garde practice. It is from this legacy of pushing creative boundaries that the Biodesign programs were developed. Collaborations across disciplines and species are the energizing force of innovation that open new approaches to design and making, and also ground Biodesign practice in relationships of care that guide us in the challenge to live together more sustainably and vibrantly. The Biodesign degree programs at MICA are the first of their kind in the United States.
Biodesign in Undergraduate Studies:
The Design and Innovation BFA is the curricular core that serves as a nexus for design thinking and skill development, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among students from graphic design, product design, architectural design, biodesign, and social design. This curricular core includes; practice based design strategy and research studios, and skill building courses in drawing, analogue/digital fabrication, and visual communication. Undergraduates pursuing Biodesign are enrolled in the Design and Innovation BFA Major with a Co-Major in Biodesign. Within the 120 credit BFA degree, the course load for an undergraduate Biodesign student is divided roughly evenly across First Year Experience, Liberal Arts, Design and Innovation, and Biodesign.
Biodesign in Graduate Studies:
The Biodesign MA is a 1 year, 30 credit, graduate program integrating studio practice, scientific literacy, and interdisciplinary research to prepare artists and designers to work responsibly and imaginatively with living systems. This program focuses on building skills in biotechnology with hands-on training that builds from and integrates with students’ existing expertise in art and design. Lab practices are informed by academic courses that establish scientific understanding specific to Biodesign practice. Academic seminars ground the practice culturally and ethically. The program prepares graduates to operate at the intersection of the creative economy and the bioeconomy and supports career pathways in research, studio practice, entrepreneurship, and education.
Biodesign Teaching and Research Facilities:
In early 2027 MICA will open a dedicated Biodesign facility for teaching and research in the Dolphin Design Center. This new 2,000+ sq ft space includes a BSL1 Biodesign Lab shared across both programs, a flexible science classroom, a Research Lab dedicated to externally-funded Biodesign R&D, office space for lab staff, and storage. The facility supports a wide range of biodesign practices. Cell culturing is enabled by a full sized -80C freezer, autoclaves, laminar flow biosafety cabinets, filtered Type II water, small static incubators, stacks of shaker-incubators, and centrifuges for volumes from a microliter to a hundred liters. The growth and processing of biomaterials is supported by laboratory balances, heated stir plates, a vacuum oven, and large format incubators with humidity and CO2 control. Genetic engineering is facilitated by pipettes, thermocycler, nanodrop spectrophotometer, electroporator, a liquid-handling robot, and other equipment. The facility will be supported by dedicated staff, a lab inventory management system integrated with an electronic lab notebook platform, and a culture of care for the space and all working, learning, and growing in it.
This Biodesign facility is complemented by instructional fabrication shops in the Dolphin Design Center, that include analog fabrication, 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC routing capacities. Students and faculty also have access to a wide variety of fabrication studios on campus for working in wood, metal, fibers, and ceramics. At MICA, interdisciplinarity is encouraged through shared making practices.
The primary focus of this position is teaching and program development in the undergraduate Biodesign Co-Major and the graduate Biodesign MA. Teaching responsibilities could also include courses within the First Year Experience (FYE) program or the Design + Innovation core curriculum depending on the needs of the department and the college more broadly. Associate Instructional Faculty are expected to fulfill a 4/4 teaching load. A portion of the 12 credits each semester may be reassigned, at the discretion of the Chair of Design, to advancement of the Biodesign programs (developing courses or outreach), service to the College (on committees or within the D+I Hub), or research activities (contributing to externally-funded research or translating developments to the classroom).
The role offers a unique opportunity to help define a foundational program in Biodesign pedagogy and to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of this emerging field. As a transdisciplinary practice that opens new possibilities for how we design, make, and live in the world, Biodesign is aligned with MICA's mission and is integrated into key initiatives that are charting the future of the college as it enters its third century. This role demands specialized knowledge in Biodesign and a willingness to engage broadly with concepts and methodologies shared with other disciplines, such as sustainability, materiality, and context-based design research. Faculty in the Design and Innovation program work with the D+I Hub to collaborate with external partners to bring real-world challenges into the classroom as creative experiential learning (CEL) opportunities. This position will lead multiple CEL courses, which will advance students’ knowledge and preparation while also demonstrating the impact of Biodesign in the world.
The initial appointment is for one year, with no guarantee or expectation of renewal. After the initial appointment, the Provost and the Vice President for Academic Affairs may award renewals of one or three years.
Associate faculty are members of the bargaining unit, represented by SEIU Local 500. They receive all benefits available to full-time principal faculty and are compensated under Article 26 of the collective bargaining agreement.
Satisfactory Background Check
Applications must be initiated via the MICA website. During your application on MICA’s website, you will be redirected to Slideroom to upload supporting materials as directed below. After you have uploaded your materials on Slideroom, please complete your application on MICA’s website. Both the Slideroom upload and MICA application must be completed. Submit two PDF documents, formatted for screen viewing:
Please format PDF documents for screen resolution and viewing. No physical media are requested nor will be returned. Any media other than image or text (MOV, MP3, etc.) should be represented with a still image and description information in your PDF portfolio document; links or attachments of this media should be formatted for viewing without any required proprietary software or specific operating system. Publications submitted as professional work samples should be represented by an abstract and note any co-authors; a linked or attached PDF of the full document is encouraged, but will be treated as a secondary source. Links to portfolio sites or other live URLs may be submitted as well, but will be considered as a secondary source.
Links to live URLs may be submitted as well, but will be considered as a secondary source. Any additional media (MOV, MP3, etc.) should be formatted for Apple computers and have representative still image and description information in your PDF portfolio document.
Please format PDF documents for screen resolution and viewing. No physical media are requested nor will be returned.
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Maryland Institute College of Art is committed to its policy of providing equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or veteran status (disabled, Vietnam-era, or otherwise). Furthermore, the College does not tolerate any form of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment or sexual violence. This policy applies to all programs, facilities, and activities provided by Maryland Institute College of Art, including but not limited to admission, educational programs, and employment.
Applicants must apply online for each job in which they are interested. You will not be considered for any job for which you have not specifically applied. We do not accept applications via email, U.S. mail, or fax. Successful candidates for any staff or faculty positions will be subject to a pre-employment background check.
MICA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact Human Resources at 410-225-2363.
Maryland Institute College of Art is committed to its policy of providing equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or veteran status (disabled, Vietnam-era, or otherwise). Furthermore, the College does not tolerate any form of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment or sexual violence. This policy applies to all programs, facilities, and activities provided by Maryland Institute College of Art, including but not limited to admission, educational programs, and employment.
Applicants must apply online for each job in which they are interested. You will not be considered for any job for which you have not specifically applied. We do not accept applications via email, U.S. mail, or fax. Successful candidates for any staff or faculty positions will be subject to a pre-employment background check.
MICA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact Human Resources at 410-225-2363.
