Assistant Professor, Games and Interactive Media

The Opportunity

The Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM) in the College of Sciences (COS) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) invites applications for an assistant professor in Games and Interactive Media, anticipated to begin in August 2026. This job is a 9-month, tenure-track position.

The selected candidate will contribute to the mission of the Games and Interactive Media (GaIM) program by teaching graduate and/or undergraduate courses, conducting research/creative work, providing service activities related to games and interactive media, and participating in NSCM and university service, including committee work. The successful candidate may be expected to teach in different modalities, including face-to-face and online. The ideal candidate will demonstrate creativity in the use of immersive technologies and a desire to share that knowledge in teaching and mentoring students.

Furthermore, we are looking for a highly collaborative individual keen to develop partnerships across the university, from the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) and the Modeling and Simulation programs to many other UCF "Space U" programs, open to the candidate's imagination and interpretation.

Other typical responsibilities include providing appropriate service in student advising (academic and career) and actively participating in the school's academic life. This includes attending faculty meetings, graduations, and assessing student learning. These activities are integral to our commitment to student success and academic excellence. External service expectations may include work with appropriate academic bodies and professional organizations.

Additionally, we are especially interested in a candidate who can contribute through their research, teaching, and service to the excellence of our academic community and foster an environment in which faculty, staff, and students from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and personal experiences are welcomed and can thrive.

The UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media's (NSCM) undergraduate Games and Interactive Media program (GaIM) is strategically located on UCF's Downtown campus, a few miles north of Disney and Universal Studios and about 45 miles west of NASA Space Coast. The Digital Media graduate program is selective and focuses on developing each student's studio project or thesis. The 2024 Princeton Review ranked the GaIM's undergraduate program #5 worldwide.

UCF's facilities provide students and faculty with innovative teaching, research, and learning spaces. The NSCM/GaIM Maker Space is located at the UCF Downtown campus next to EA Sports and is designed for games and interactive media research, including traditional games, mixed reality (augmented and virtual), physical computing, and web/mobile creation and UI/UX research. This high-tech facility is equipped with several high-performance gaming computers, multiple VR equipment, computers for use with headsets, and eye-tracking equipment.

Our program aims to create innovative research at this intersection of entertainment, science, and technology to educate the next generation of graduates to be able to design, develop, and evaluate innovative immersive media experiences, stories, and applications and to broadly enrich the human experience. We value excellence in collaborative game development as well as creative research that goes beyond traditional entertainment.

The UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM) provides a student-centered experience at the exciting intersection of technology, media, film, advertising, communications and public relations. Our faculty and staff bring an impressive background of experience-from developing health communication to producing Super Bowl commercials-and connect our students to internship and career opportunities. As the premier academic program for communications and media in Central Florida with successful alumni around the globe, NSCM is known for excellence in research, teaching, and service to students and the community.

The curriculum blends both the theoretical and applied aspects of the field offering eight bachelor's degree programs, four master's degree programs, and a PhD program in strategic communication. For more information about the school and its GaIM programs, visit  and .

UCF, named one of the most innovative public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, is located in Orlando, Florida and is classified as a Very High Research Activity university by the Carnegie Foundation. With more than 70,000 students, UCF is one of the largest universities in the country, offering more than 240 degree programs. For more information, visit http://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

The UCF College of Sciences (COS) is the largest college at UCF and a powerhouse for the regional and national STEM workforce, spanning the natural, computational, physical, and…