University of Southern California

Sol Price School of Public Policy

Adjunct Instructor of Design Skills for Planners

Master of Urban Planning

The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy invites applicants for an adjunct faculty position in the area of Urban Planning. The successful candidate should possess at minimum a Master’s degree with appropriate experience. The candidate will be able to teach graduate level environmental planning and analysis course related to one or more of the following areas: PPD 627 Design Skills for Planners.  Preference will be given to candidates with prior teaching experience and excellent teaching evaluations.

This course will teach students the fundamentals of urban planners has profound, and increasing, impact on the physical design of the built environment. Planners participate in design review, conduct community design charettes, prepare and implement urban design guidelines, shape form-based codes and lead public processes for new planning policy. In these roles, planners are responsible for the image of the city as a whole and the quality of the public realm, ensuring that the work of individual architects and  developers is coherent and has design value. Design Skills for Urban Planners will cultivate the observation, description, analysis, and conceptualization skills related to urban spatial conditions, helping students learn to communicate confidently about design in both qualitative and quantitative ways.

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the tools designers use to see and comprehend the built environment and the

ability to use these tools meaningfully.
 

2. Practice critical thinking from a design perspective via the generation of written, verbal and

graphic design proposals.
 

3. Model an inclusive community design process and the presentation of visual arguments

through the use of design analysis and feedback loops.

Adjunct instructor responsibilities include delivery of course content, scheduling office hours and being accessible to students as appropriate, and grading. Each instructor is expected to provide students with a syllabus outlining the course goals, schedule and all requirements for the course under the direction of the Department Chair.

About the Sol Price School of Public Policy: The mission of the Sol Price School of Public Policy is to improve the quality of life for people and their communities, here and abroad. We achieve this mission through education and research that promote innovative solutions to the most critical issues facing society, with a particular focus on governance, urban development, and social policy. The Price School offers Ph.D. programs in Public Policy and Management and Urban Planning; masters’ degrees in Public Administration, Public Policy, Urban Planning, Health Administration, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, and Real Estate Development; executive masters’ degrees; and three undergraduate degrees.  USC is one of the nation’s premiere research universities, and the Price School is a major contributor to the university’s reputation. Our school supports an array of thematic research centers with $35 million in active sponsored research, ranking third overall in funded research at USC on a per faculty basis. Much of the school’s research is conducted through its centers, institutes, and research groups.  For additional information, see our website: https://priceschool.usc.edu/

An Equal Opportunity Employer:

USC is an equal-opportunity educator and employer, proudly pluralistic and firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for outstanding persons of every race, gender, creed and background. The University particularly encourages women, members of underrepresented groups, veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply. USC will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship.

Apply for this Position: Applicants should submit a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, one or more sample syllabi, and one or more sets of sample teaching evaluations.