Iowa State University is hiring: Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writin

Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing and Environment)

Position Title: Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing and Environment)

Appointment Type: Faculty

Proposed Start Date: August 16, 2026

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

The Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa is seeking an Assistant Professor of English (Creative Writing and Environment) in the genre of fiction with demonstrated proficiency in a second creative writing genre such as creative nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, graphic narratives, or other emerging creative writing genres. The initial teaching load is 2/2, including graduate and undergraduate courses in creative writing.

We seek a candidate whose creative research, pedagogy, and professional practice engage in interdisciplinary ways with fields in the natural sciences, the social sciences, or the humanities (such as ecology, natural history, landscape/place studies, ecopoetics, sustainability, built environments, and/or environmental justice). The successful candidate will have experience teaching creative writing at the college level and will be expected to develop and teach graduate courses unique to the MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment that cultivate an understanding of how the environmental imagination informs the literary imagination.

Legal eligibility: Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. on an ongoing basis without sponsorship. Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Degree: MFA in creative writing or PhD in creative writing, English, or related field conferred by time of appointment.
• Genre: Fiction and demonstrated proficiency in a second creative writing genre.
• Publications: Two books in the field of creative writing (published or in press) with a reputable commercial, university, or independent press. One book must be in the genre of fiction.

Preferred Qualifications

• Documented commitment to interdisciplinary engagement of the environmental imagination in creative research and teaching, including incorporation of themes and issues related to disciplines within the natural sciences, the social sciences, and/or the humanities.
• Quality publications and further potential to develop high impact research in first genre (fiction) and second creative writing genre.
• Experience teaching fiction writing and ability to teach in a second creative writing genre at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as experience mentoring graduate-level thesis projects.
• Experience administering tasks within a creative writing program, serving in an editorial capacity with a literary journal/publisher, engaging in professional practice, and/or coordinating a visiting writer series.

Department/Program & College Description

The Creative Writing Program at Iowa State University, housed within the Department of English, includes undergraduate courses in a wide variety of creative writing genres and an undergraduate literary journal called Sketch Magazine. The three-year MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment serves as home to a literary journal called Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment, a literary symposium (Pearl Hogrefe Visiting Writer Series) and a 76‑acre land reserve (The Everett Casey Nature Center & Reserve). Interdisciplinary MFA coursework combines creative writing workshops, literature electives, an environmental fieldwork experience, publishing and creative writing teaching practicums, and thesis work with a mentor. MFA students also tailor a core of environmental coursework outside of the English Department to engage their creative work with disciplines within the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities.

Application Instructions

To apply for this position, please click “Apply” and complete the Employment Application. In Items 1‑4 requested below, please address how your creative research and teaching dovetail with the central emphasis of the MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment.

• Resume/Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of Application/Cover Letter
• Creative Writing Sample in Genre of Fiction (PDF, 25 page maximum)
• Teaching Philosophy (2 pages maximum)
• Contact Information for Three References

If you have questions regarding this application process, contact employment@iastate.edu or call 515‑294‑4800 or Toll Free: 1‑877‑477‑7485.

Why Choose ISU?

• Retirement benefits, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Generous leave plans
• Onsite childcare (Ames, Iowa)
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various voluntary benefits and discounts
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellbeing program

Original Posting Date: December 29, 2025

Posting Close Date: February 4, 2026

Job Requisition Number: R18302