Adjunct - Game Design & Production

About the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design:

The creative heart of Drexel University, the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design trains the next generation of scholars, thinkers, makers, and doers in the fields of media, entertainment, design, and the visual and performing arts. Westphal offers 18 undergraduate and nine graduate majors, housed in award-winning facilities that encourage collaboration across creative disciplines. At Westphal, we reimagine the role of design, media, and the arts in building a better future. Our programs challenge students to center sustainability, access, and equity in their approaches to art, fashion, architecture, gaming, entertainment, and scholarship. Through experiential learning, studio-based curriculum, and Drexel's widely-recognized Cooperative Education program (co-op), our students are uniquely positioned to face the world's challenges and define the creative careers of the 21^st century.

About the Program

Drexel's Game Design & Production major, nationally ranked as a top program by multiple organizations including the Princeton Review, provides students with a strong, broad-based foundation in digital design and content creation skills in a team project environment. The major supports careers in any industry that wants to speak the language of real-time interactive games. Beyond the obvious entertainment sector of PC, mobile, or console games, graduates from the program can move into any industry in support of simulation, training, marketing, communications, and education.

Students try on a wide variety of roles in game development, from idea to reality, in art and code, discovering the skill areas that they want to pursue. They are advised to focus their minors, elective courses, and team experiences as they progress through the program. The intent is for students to have a T-shaped skillset: broad familiarity in multiple areas with one or two areas of specialty. Students begin making game assets and games in their first terms as freshmen and continue making team-based game projects both small and large throughout their plan of study. Every project enables students to experiment and refine their experience in the many roles required to produce a finished game.

Courses in Drexel's program evolve in response to industry trends and on-demand special topic courses are utilized to rapidly respond to student and industry developments. Gaining familiarity with rapidly changing industry-standard tools is important but it's equally important to be prepared to transfer skills in one tool into a different tool of the same type - to be able to move from a 3D modeling tool like Blender, to 3DS Max, to Maya, or to a proprietary in-house tool you can't touch until you're hired by that specific company. Drexel's program encourages students to become comfortable as tool-agnostic creators.

Job Summary

The adjunct faculty member will employ a variety of strategies to foster student artistic development, learning and discussions, as well as encourage active learning in all students, maintain proper course-related records, evaluate student work and provide students with feedback as to the progress toward meeting the objectives of the course. Each adjunct faculty member is responsible for effectively teaching students in the assigned classroom or remote settings. Each adjunct faculty member is responsible for effectively implementing the mission of the Game Design & Production program, part of the Department of Digital Media. Responsibilities may include teaching days, evenings, or nights, with the potential for online only, in-person only, or a combination of both.

Adjunct positions may include foundation courses for first-years, core skill classes, advanced courses, or special topics courses proposed and developed by the adjunct or other faculty. Currently the program teaches primarily using Unity, Maya, and the Adobe CC suite, including Substance, but Unreal and other tools are common in the program. Some courses are more flexible for student to choose tools, like for team projects, while others can adapt to the experience or preference of the instructor.

Teaching face-to-face at Drexel's Philadelphia campus is the default, but there are opportunities for the right candidate to teach remotely from elsewhere in the US.

Drexel's Game Design & Production is particularly interested in candidates with experience in diversity, equity, and inclusivity efforts as well as diverse professional experiences to bring a wide range of voices and perspectives into the classroom and support a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.

Essential Functions

• Teach required number of credit hours per quarter based on their contract.
• Teach studio, lecture, and/or practicum courses per their contract.
• Teach in the format and schedule as assigned.
• Teach specific technical and/or theory topics in game development and production.
• Plan and provide instructional experiences that reflect an understanding of the philosophy, objectives, and curriculum of the program.
• Evaluate student achievement of curricular objectives/outcomes.
• Maintain communication with the program director regarding any course or student issues.
• Utilize existing University systems for course and student data and communication management. Training is available in multiple systems, like Blackboard Learn, Office 365, and Zoom.
• Perform other similar duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Game Design, Development, Art, Programming or related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of teaching and/or professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in related field.
• 3 years professional game development experience with one or more published titles.
• Proven record of over 3 years of teaching and/or mentorship experience.

Special Instructions to the Applicant

Please make sure you upload your CV/resume, portfolio link(s), and cover letter that indicates your strong areas of expertise when submitting your application.