Assistant Professor of Affective Neuroscience - UCLA Department of Psychology

The UCLA Department of Psychology invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor specializing in affective neuroscience. We are interested in applicants pursuing innovative work on the neural basis of affective processes, such as emotion, motivation, and mood, in healthy human adults. We are interested in candidates whose work involves a variety of computational methods, which could include various computational methods for analyzing neuroimaging data (e.g., multivariate pattern analysis methods, such as pattern classification and representational similarity analysis), computational modeling of behavioral and/or neural responses, and computational approaches to characterizing language, stimuli, or participants’ responses to stimuli. The successful candidate would add to the Department’s existing strengths in social and affective neuroscience and would provide additional training opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students in advanced neuroimaging methods. Potential applicants who have questions about how their specialization aligns with the position can inquire to Prof. Carolyn Parkinson, search committee chair, at SearchCommittee@psych.ucla.edu. 

The UCLA Department of Psychology is located within the Division of Life Sciences, part of the College of Letters and Science that serves undergraduate and graduate students. The search is particularly geared toward candidates who share our belief that, as professors at a leading public university, we strive for excellence in teaching, service, research, and in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion. We are eager to welcome an outstanding scientist and mentor who will create opportunities designed to advance development of the next generation of diverse scientists, while also contributing to the collaborative and supportive environment that characterizes our Department. 

Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, or a related field no later than one year after hire. Applicants should demonstrate a strong track record of or potential for productive and impactful research relative to their career stage, with a substantive focus on the neural basis of affective processes in healthy adults. In addition to an outstanding record of research and potential for extramural research support, the successful candidate will demonstrate a history of, or the potential for, contributing to the teaching, mentoring, service, and diversity missions of the Department and University, and the candidate should have a demonstrated interest in collaboration with researchers in social and affective neuroscience. Applicants with a history of commitment to mentoring and supervising students from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. 

UCLA offers many opportunities for collaboration for scholars interested in studying the neural basis of affective phenomena, with relevant colleagues across several departmental areas (e.g., Social and Affective Neuroscience; Behavioral Neuroscience; Cognitive, Social, Developmental, and Clinical Psychology), in other departments (e.g., Communication, Psychiatry, Neuroscience), and the Brain Research Institute. UCLA also has two research-devoted 3T Prisma MRI scanners at the UCLA Brain Mapping Center and the Staglin Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. 

We strongly encourage applications from women, individuals from racial and ethnic groups historically excluded in higher education, and individuals from groups who remain underrepresented, across national origin, physical ability, gender and sexual identity, age, socioeconomic status, and other minoritized identity groups. UCLA offers a diverse campus community and is a leader in advancing strategies to diversify its faculty. This includes recent initiatives such as Rising to the Challenge, Hispanic-Serving Institution initiative, and Native American/Pacific Islander Bruins Rising. UCLA aims to achieve federal designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution by 2025. UCLA is home to a diverse student body of 46,000 undergraduate and graduate students and is ranked highest among the top 20 national universities for social mobility — a measurement of the achievement of students from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds. UCLA also has programs to assist in partner employment, childcare, schooling, and other family concerns. For additional information, visit the UCLA Academic Affairs and Personnel Office website (https://apo.ucla.edu/faculty-career-development/work-life-balance) or the UC Office of the President’s website (https://www.ucop.edu/faculty-diversity/resources/family-friendly-practices-and-policies/family-friendly-policies-and-issues.html and https://www.ucop.edu/faculty-diversity/resources/faculty-diversity-policies/index.html). 

To ensure full consideration, the online application should be completed and submitted by October 27, 2024. Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, contact information for three recommenders, three relevant publications, and three personal statements (one statement focused on research, one statement focused on teaching, and one statement focused on contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion, as described in more detail below), each of no more than three pages. Letters of recommendation will be requested at a later date from applicants who progress to a later stage of review. UCLA and the UCLA Department of Psychology are firmly committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Therefore, in addition to research and teaching statements, we require applicants to submit an EDI statement that addresses their past, present, and future (planned) contributions to EDI in their scholarship, teaching, and service. Applicants should indicate their history of commitment to mentoring students from underrepresented groups in their cover letter or EDI statement. Additional information about the EDI statement is available at https://ucla.app.box.com/v/edi-statement-faqs. Requests for information should be sent to the search committee chair at SearchCommittee@psych.ucla.edu. 

The posted UC salary scales (https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/compensation/index.html) set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See Table 1. The salary range for this position is $78,200 -$101,400. “Off-scale salaries”, i.e. a salary that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions. 

Apply at the following website: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09738. 

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, bullying and other demeaning behavior, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment as well as a commitment to addressing all forms of academic misconduct, UCLA conducts targeted employment reference checks for finalists to whom departments or other hiring units would like to extend formal offers of appointment into Academic Senate faculty positions. The targeted employment reference checks involve contacting the finalists’ current and prior places of employment to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of misconduct that would violate the University’s Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this process, UCLA requires all applicants for Academic Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” into RECRUIT as part of their application. If the applicant does not include the signed authorization to release information with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete. As with any incomplete application, the application will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists (i.e., those to whom the department or other hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer) considered for Academic Senate faculty positions will be subject to targeted employment reference checks. 

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements. 

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. 

For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy, please visit https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-035.pdf. 

For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.