Open Faculty Positions
Current Openings
Department of Entomology
Assistant Professor – Aginformatics Entomology
Application review begins: July 1, 2024
The Department of Entomology at Michigan State University is accepting applications for a full-time, 12-month tenure-system Assistant Professor position with a 60% Research/40% Extension appointment. The successful applicant will develop and deliver data-driven integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for crop systems. Plant agriculture stakeholders urgently need arthropod management strategies that address resilience in the face of climate change, invasive species and other disrupting forces and we envision this position leveraging large datasets and experimental approaches to enhance productivity, biodiversity, and ecological functions of crop production systems across the Great Lakes region. This position is part of the new Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program, a partnership among MSU, the Plant Coalition, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development aimed at developing solutions to long-term climate- and water-related problems. As part of this program, MSU has launched an extensive cluster hire process to attract expertise in critical areas of research and outreach necessary to address such grand challenges.
The successful candidate will develop a research program that integrates investigation of arthropod biology and ecology with new and emerging technologies to model insect population dynamics, pest risk, and to develop novel management strategies. We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in big data, machine learning, real-time remote sensing, robotic or UAV technologies, artificial intelligence, or other innovative analytical/technological tools to advance pest management systems. Training and mentoring of students at the interface between data science and pest management is expected. For more information, visit the posting on careers.msu.edu.
Positions pending or filled
Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM) and the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS)
Associate / Full Professor
Applications close: March 22, 2024
The Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM) and the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) at Michigan State University (MSU) invite applications for a Senior AgroEcologist. This is a full‐time, tenure system Associate or Full Professor with a 75% research, 15% teaching and 10% service assignment. The position start date is anticipated to be August 16, 2024. The ideal candidate will be an interactive individual who complements a diverse group of ecologists and evolutionary biologists at a world-renowned field station (kbs.msu.edu). The agroecologist will have many collaborative opportunities and the potential to assume a leadership role in long-term agroecosystem experiments. These experiments include the KBS Long Term Ecological Research site (LTER) and the KBS Long Term Agroecosystem Research site (LTAR). The selected individual also will have the opportunity to potentially be a part of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). This position is part of MSU's Global Impact Initiative, designed to address grand challenges in some of the most promising and exciting fields of research. For more information about the posting, please visit careers.msu.edu.
Plant Resilience Institute
Multiple Postings for Assistant/Associate/Full Professors
Application review begins: February 2, 2024
The Plant Resilience Institute of Michigan State University invites applications for multiple faculty positions at a tenure-track Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level from individuals using innovative laboratory, computational, or field experimental approaches to study plant responses to the environment. Candidates for the Assistant Professor positions will be evaluated separately from those for the Associate/Full Professor positions. The successful applicants can work across any scales or systems within the plant sciences, with a research focus on abiotic and biotic constraints relevant to plant resilience against the changing climate. Responsibilities also include undergraduate and/or graduate teaching (to be determined based on departmental need and candidate strengths) and participation in both undergraduate and graduate training. The posting for these positions can be found on careers.msu.edu.
MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory
Assistant / Associate Professor
Application review begins: October 30, 2023
The Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) has one tenure-track, twelve-month faculty position available at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. The PRL provides a highly collaborative environment for conducting creative, fundamental research on photosynthetic organisms with long-standing DOE support that coexists with interdisciplinary research aimed broadly at studying photosynthetic organisms. Preference will be given to applicants investigating fundamental questions in photosynthetic organisms in natural or engineered systems, including plants, algae, or photosynthetic bacteria interpreted broadly. For more information about the position, visit careers.msu.edu, posting #897161. For more information about PRL, visit the PRL website.
Department of Forestry
Assistant Professor – Silviculture / Applied Forest Ecology
Application due: December 1, 2023
The Department of Forestry invites applications for a full-time, 9-month tenure track Assistant Professor with a 40% research, 30% teaching, 20% Extension and 10% service assignment. Candidates with a focus on silviculture or applied forest ecology focused on managing forests for adaptation to climate and other environmental stresses and for mitigation of climate change, including improved forest health, productivity, hydrology and resilience are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will be expected to develop an internationally recognized research program that informs management of northern forests with a focus on Great Lakes ecosystems and co-creates research questions with natural resource management agencies and landowners, particularly continuing and/or initiating new collaborative research projects with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). For more information about the position, review the posting on the Department of Forestry website.
Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Assistant Professor – Dry Bean Breeder
Application due: October 1, 2023
The Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences invites applications for a full-time, 12-month tenure track Assistant Professor with an 85% research, 15% teaching appointment. Research responsibilities will include fundamental and applied research in the area of dry bean breeding and genetics, with a focus on the development of improved varieties of multiple dry bean market classes to improve yield, disease resistance, canning quality, nitrogen use efficiency and abiotic stress resistance. Fundamental research will focus on genomics; molecular, cellular, physiological or population genetics; genetics of disease resistance; or quantitative genetic theory. For more information, visit the position posting on the Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences website.
Why MSU?
Michigan State University is among the most distinguished research universities in the world and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. With over $759 million dollars in research expenditures annually, MSU is a Top 50 research university nationally. Nearly 1,900 tenure stream faculty and 17 degree-granting colleges including Engineering, Natural Science, Agriculture, three Colleges of Medicine (Human, Osteopathic, and Veterinary), Education, Humanities, Social Science, and the MSU/Department of Energy Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, create diverse and countless opportunities for collaboration.
Diversity and Inclusion
We believe that inclusion maximizes the expertise, creativity and accomplishments of our vibrant community of scholars and only through the recruitment of a diverse group of leading researchers can we expand our leadership in plant science.
MSU is committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity and actively encourages applications and/or nominations of women, persons of color, veterans and persons with disabilities. Job applicants are considered for employment opportunities and employees are treated without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.
About East Lansing, Michigan
The Mid-Michigan area is an ideal community for individuals and families to relocate to: it’s a diverse, welcoming cluster of small- and medium-sized suburban and rural towns with relatively low living costs, high quality primary and secondary school systems, and excellent health care facilities.
It is strategically located in the center of the Great Lakes region, offering easy access to the amenities of metropolitan areas such as Chicago and Detroit, without the stresses of daily urban life.
The Michigan State University campus is located in East Lansing, a vibrant city with a rich civic and cultural life.
Learn more about:
Dual Career Support
Work/Life Balance
Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
→ Search for more academic openings at Careers@MSU.