School of Landscape Architecture and Planning

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning within the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning invites applications for a 12-month, nontenure-accruing faculty position at the rank of Instructional Assistant Professor to begin in January 2027.

The Department encourages applications from candidates with background and expertise in the urban and regional planning field. The Department has particular interest in candidates whose teaching contribute to future-oriented, innovative urban and regional transformation and the empowerment of communities and residents. We seek a high-caliber candidate with the planning-based skills to develop interdisciplinary lecture and studio-based courses related to sustainability and resilience delivered on-campus and online.

The successful candidate is anticipated to have a well-developed pedagogy that includes methods to engage a multicultural, interdisciplinary student body and a capacity to teach in the professional, accredited MURP degree program. The candidate would be expected to engage in service consistent with the missions of the Department, the School and the land-grant University.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate is anticipated to lead community-engaged, interdisciplinary teaching initiatives for the PAB-accredited Master of Urban and Regional Planning program and the new Bachelor of Urban Sciences and Planning program. These will center around a course that involves students in planning project-based work of a professional nature for paying and/or pro bono clients.

Teaching duties will include a total of nine credit hours per semester (Fall, Spring, Summer), which may be graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses delivered in-person and online, in the candidate’s areas of expertise and in general planning topics. Anticipated courses include at least one core general planning course to include at least one urban planning project course. The additional courses may include topics such as Neighborhood Planning, Sustainability and Resilience Planning, Planning Information Technologies, or other courses that fill specific departmental needs.

The candidate will establish collaborative relationships within the college and with related discipline programs on campus towards developing interdisciplinary and experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate planning students.

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning consists of a collegial faculty of thirteen core members and an additional eighteen members affiliated with research centers and other academic programs. Our faculty is the most productive in the College and consistently attracts the highest amount of research funding, with close to $4 million in new grants secured in the past year. We foster a family friendly environment and promote career development at every level, including mentorship of junior faculty.

The Department, founded in 1975 and first accredited in 1978, offers a Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) with in-person and online deliveries, a Master of Science in Urban Analytics (MSUA), a PhD URP concentration with STEM designation, a graduate minor in URP and certificate in UA, an undergraduate minor in URP, and a combined (4+1) bachelor-master degree. The Department’s fully-online MURP is the country’s first and remains the only accredited such program. In 2023, the MURP program (campus and online) was ranked 22nd in the nation, sixth in the South, and the 10th largest by enrollment. The Department recently established a Bachelor of Urban Sciences and Planning (BUSP) and accepted its first cohort in Fall 2026.

The School and College

As one of the two units in the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning has a strong relationship with the Department of Landscape Architecture, as well as other units in the College, which include Architecture, Construction Management, Interior Design, Historic Preservation, and Sustainability and the Built Environment. The School of Architecture has established two off-campus CityLab programs in Orlando and Jacksonville to enhance access to highly urban contexts. The School and College are home to a range of research institutes and centers, including the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, the GeoPlan Center, the Center for Health and the Built Environment, the International Center for Adaptation Planning and Design (iAdapt), the Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, and the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER).

The University of Florida

The University of Florida is ranked #7 among the nation’s public universities according to the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2025 list. As the flagship university of the state of Florida, and as a major land-grant research university in the Association of American Universities (AAU), the University offers many opportunities for faculty to develop a national and international reputation for research on issues that showcase Florida and the Southeastern United States as a living laboratory, and to shape the next generation of urban and regional planning professionals. Opportunities exist for cross-disciplinary appointments and collaboration, such as with the Warrington College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Levin College of Law, UF’s six health-related colleges on campus, the School of Natural Resources and Environment, the Water Institute, and the Florida Climate Institute. In addition, the University’s AI initiative includes access to Nvidia’s HiPerGator supercomputer.

The Campus and Gainesville

The College is located on the University’s historic main campus, which is characterized by gothic brick buildings and expansive oak trees. The broader campus boasts world-class museums, a performing arts center, a childcare center, and a nationally ranked hospital complex. Situated within the city of Gainesville, the campus is surrounded by historic neighborhoods and a vibrant downtown, and the campus connects to the larger community and beyond by over one hundred miles of bike paths, a regional transit system, and a regional airport. The Gainesville metropolitan area within Alachua County is home to 280,000 residents and serves as the commercial, cultural, educational, and medical center of the north central Florida region. Alachua County schools are highly rated and offer a variety of specialized programs. The County’s nature parks, waterways, and freshwater springs provide nature-lovers with abundant outdoor activities. The major cities of Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, and the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, are all two hours or less away.