The current salary range for this position is $80,800–$128,700 (9-month academic year salary); however, off-scale salary and other components of pay, which would yield compensation that is higher than this range, are offered to meet competitive conditions.
Anticipated start: July 1, 2026
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Hispanic Linguistics, applying usage-based, functionalist, and/or variationist frameworks.
We welcome applicants whose research is socially contextualized, and especially value experiment-based, quantitative research (over generative or theoretical approaches) that contextualizes findings to the population(s) being studied and that complements existing faculty expertise in sociophonetics. The position entails broad competence in Hispanic linguistics, demonstrable through formal study and/or publication record, and excellence in teaching. The successful candidate will teach a broad range of undergraduate courses covering Spanish phonetics and phonology, morphology and syntax, bilingualism and language variation, as well as undergraduate and graduate courses in their major field(s) of research. The appointee will also advise undergraduates and graduates and supervise student research, develop a successful and original research program, and provide service contributions. The appointee will be expected to contribute to the department’s diverse and inclusive community through their research, teaching, and/or service.
Department faculty participate actively in UC Berkeley's abundant interdisciplinary programs and initiatives, including the Latinx Research Center, Cognitive Science, Gender and Women's Studies, Applied Data Science, and Indigenous Language Revitalization, among others. All department faculty teach and mentor both graduate and undergraduate students and are given opportunities to teach courses on a wide variety of topics and approaches.
Our programs are specially designed for highly motivated students with a passion for other languages, literatures and cultures, for imaginative approaches to these and for careful crossing of traditionally defined geographic, linguistic and disciplinary borders. As a department, we deeply value multilingualism, nonconformity to binary gender, and peoples and groups whose citizenship status or ethnic, racial and class background has been marginalized.
The department is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit: http://ofew.berkeley.edu/new-faculty
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
Applicants for this position must hold a PhD (or equivalent international degree) or be enrolled in a PhD or equivalent international degree-granting program at the time of application.
Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
Native or near- native fluency in both Spanish and English at the start of the position, as candidates will have to teach in both Spanish and English.
Preferred qualifications
Native or near-native fluency in at least one other Romance language, preferably Portuguese, is highly desirable.
Record of approaching Spanish morphosyntax using empirical, quantitative methodologies hailing from one or a combination of linguistic subfields, including but not limited to psycholinguistics, contact linguistics, or language acquisition.
Strong interest in Spanish in the United States as a research field within a Spanish/Hispanic linguistics context, and its implications for areas such as language variation, language contact within a nation or across borders, bilingualism, diglossia, language maintenance and loss, politics of language, and related areas.
Document requirements
- Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
- Cover Letter
- Research Statement - Please discuss research accomplishments and proposed plans. This can include, for example, your publication record, awards, presentations, inclusive research practices that promote the excellence of your research, and areas for future research.
- Teaching and Mentoring Statement - Please discuss prior teaching experience, teaching approach, and future teaching interests. This can include, for example, specific efforts and accomplishments, and future plans to support the success of all students through inclusive curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy. Please also discuss your mentoring experiences and approach. This can include, for example, past efforts and future plans to support the success of all students, and to foster an inclusive research environment that removes barriers and promotes equitable access and advancement of the research program.
- Service Statement - Please discuss specific prior and proposed academic, professional and/or public service activities. This can include, for example, participating in professional or scientific associations, serving on committees that advance department, campus or discipline goals, and conducting outreach activities that can remove barriers and increase participation of academics in your field.
- Writing Sample #1 - Article length
- Writing Sample #2 - Article length
- Authorization to Release Information Form - A reference check will be completed only if you are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. Download, complete, sign, and upload the Authorization to Release Information form.
Reference requirements
- 3 required (contact information only)
References will be contacted for those candidates under serious consideration who’ve reached the zoom interview stage, and we will seek your permission before doing so.