Adjunct Professor, low-residency MFA in Writing for Young Readers

Job Title:

Adjunct Professor, low-residency MFA in Writing for Young Readers

Job Summary:

The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private, urban University with a global perspective that educates leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world. USF draws from the cultural, intellectual, and economic resources of the San Francisco Bay Area and its location on the Pacific Rim to enrich its educational programs.

The MFA in Writing for Young Readers (MFAY) is a low-residency graduate program. We offer immersive, in-person residencies followed by intensive one-to-one mentorship. Part-time adjunct professors mentor individual students in reading like a writer, craft-based critical writing, and students’ creative projects. Adjunct professors must be expert at working with students through all forms of instruction and at the manuscript level as students engage deeply with questions of audience, craft, process, and literary practices.

All MFAY adjunct faculty are expected to have deep familiarity with the field of writing for young readers and must be willing to teach across genres during residency and through individual mentorship. These genres include picture books, early readers and chapter books, middle-grade and young adult novels, nonfiction, poetry and novels in verse, short stories, and graphic literature. Candidates are not required to be published in every category.

Positions are part-time, non-tenure track, renewable based on need, funding, and performance.

Full Job Description:

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have graduate-level higher education teaching experience as well as significant publications in the field of literature for young readers. 

Adjuncts must participate in the program’s on-campus residencies at the university’s main campus in San Francisco, held twice annually in January and June. 

Responsibilities during residency may include leading workshops, seminars, and lectures; faculty readings, and graduation events; meeting with both continuing and newly assigned mentees; and contributing to the intellectual and creative life of the program. During the rest of the semester, adjunct faculty respond to student work promptly and thoroughly, hold mid-semester calls, and attend to other work in support of students.

Minimum Qualifications

• BA in a relevant field

• Significant publishing track record—note awards, bestsellers, and groundbreaking titles 

• College-level teaching experience or equivalent

• Knowledge of critical and inclusive pedagogies

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong record of publication in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and/or short stories.

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in the teaching of creative writing, preferably at the graduate level.

• Evidence of strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to work independently and to collaborate with others.

• Adept at student-centered learning.

• Community-building orientation, with a willingness to do service and commit to program goals

To apply, please submit:

• A cover letter describing your work as a writer and a teacher

• A CV or resume

• A Teaching Statement of no more than 2 pages that shares your teaching philosophy

Those whose initial application materials are approved by the hiring committee will be asked to evaluate a sample packet of student work—both creative and critical. Strong candidates will then be invited to the interview stage. We hire on a rolling basis and applications submitted after 5/31/26 will be processed for consideration at a later date.

We invite candidates to learn more about the MFAY program located in the heart of San Francisco https://www.usfca.edu/MFAY

The academic calendar, including dates for our teaching semesters, are here. Part time faculty at USF are unionized and benefits are listed on the USF Part Time Faculty Association’s website here.

Full-Time/Part-Time:

Part time

Pay Rate:

Salary

Salary Range :

$2256 per credit