Music Theory/Composition

For Music Theory and Composition jobs that begin in Fall 2014.

This is the first year this wiki has been housed on Wikia. Previous years' archives can be found on WikiHost.

Current ethno/musicology page: Musicology/Ethnomusicology 2013-14

RECENT ACTIVITY on Music Theory/Composition Wiki

 * "short"

Subscribe to RSS Feed for This Page: http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Music_Theory/Composition?feed=rss&action=history

Composition
Appalachian State University  (deadline December 17) Lecturer, Assistant, Associate Professor of Composition
 * (1/21) Additional materials requested via e-mail
 * (2/11) Phone interview scheduled
 * (2/27) Any movement on this?
 * (2/27) Contacted to schedule campus interview (on 2/26)

Arizona State University (deadline January 13, 2014 **REVISED**) Assistant Professor of Composition
 * (2/14) Anyone know if there has been any movement on this at all?
 * (2/19) Phone interviews scheduled for 2/23-25.
 * (3/13) Contacted to schedule campus interview.

Columbia University (until filled) Assistant Professor of Composition
 * (3/11) Any news?
 * (3/11) They've been holding onsite interviews of 4 candidates.

Montclair State University (deadline unspecified) Asst./Assoc. Professor of Composition
 * (11/23) Application acknowledged via email
 * (12/19) Notification that deliberations are still in process (via email)
 * (3/11) Offer accepted (Marcos Balter [Northwestern University])

Princeton University (deadline Nov. 1 **REVISED**) Assistant Professor of Composition
 * (12/1) Four interviews scheduled for this week and the following week
 * (3/2) Offers accepted (Donnacha Dennehy [Trinity College Dublin] and Ju Ri Seo [Washington University in St. Louis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign])

Soochow University (deadline Nov. 1) Assistant Professor of Music Composition Stony Brook University (Deadline Feb. 1)
 * (11/6) Skype interview scheduled for the following week
 * (3/2) Any movement on this?
 * (3/25) Skype interviews held this week

Sweet Briar College(deadline Oct 31) Assistant Professor of Music
 * (11/25) Phone interview
 * (11/7) Campus interview scheduled
 * (2/17) Offer accepted (Joshua Harris [University of North Texas])

Texas State University (deadline Nov. 4)  Asst. Professor of Composition
 * (11/12) Application acknowledged via snail mail
 * (11/16) Additional Materials Requested via Email
 * (1/20) Campus interview scheduled
 * (3/13) Job accepted
 * (3/14) Received letter saying offer extended and accepted, but didn't state by who - anyone know?

Washington University in St. Louis (until filled) Asst. Professor of Composition
 * (10/24) Additional Materials Requested via Email
 * (11/18) Skype Interviews Requested for First/Second Week of December
 * (1/14) Campus interview scheduled
 * (3/12) Offer Accepted (Christopher Stark [Cornell University])

Theory Only
Colby College (deadline 11/22): Faculty Fellow in Music Theory (one-year)
 * (1/9) Phone interviews scheduled
 * (3/6) Position accepted (Kate Heidemann [Columbia University])

College of St. Rose (review begins immediately): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (11/8) Phone interviews scheduled
 * (3/11) Job Accepted (Lawrence Shuster [CUNY])

CUNY Queens College (deadline 12/30): Assistant or Associate Professor of Music Theory
 * (2/24) Campus interviews scheduled

Florida Gulf Coast University (10/30): Assistant or Associate Professor of Music Theory Florida State University (deadling 2/21): Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (11/12) Phone interview scheduled
 * (2/1) Job accepted (Christopher J. Endrinal [Florida State University])
 * (3/3) Campus interview
 * (3/20) Job accepted (Andrew Aziz [Eastman, 2013; VL Brown])

Ithaca College (deadline 11/15): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (11/25) Email acknowledgement of application
 * (12/20) Rejection received via e-mail
 * (12/20) Phone interview request via e-mail
 * (1/17) Campus interviews scheduled
 * (2/28) Offer accepted (Crystal Peebles, Northern Arizona [Florida State, 2011])

Louisiana State University (deadline 12/16): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (1/31) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (2/12) Campus interviews scheduled

Mannes College, The New School (deadline 11/15): Edward Aldwell Professorship in The Techniques of Music
 * (1/30) Campus interviews scheduled (Does anyone know why this job wasn't on the list?)

New England Conservatory of Music (deadline 2/7): Music Theory Faculty (no tenure/ranking system)
 * (2/14) Request for more materials
 * (3/8) Campus interviews scheduled

New York University (deadline 12/1): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (1/31) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (4/14) Job accepted (Sarah Marlowe [Eastman, NYU VAP])
 * (4/14) Congratulations, Sarah!
 * (4/15) Please be polite on the wiki.  Maybe someday you will also be the beneficiary in a search where you are an inside candidate.  And being the inside candidate in no way lessens the accomplishment of securing an academic job.  Congratulations, Sarah!
 * (4/16) The job description was obviously written with this candidate in mind. Anyone who looked at it carefully could see that.
 * (4/15) [2] I was another finalist for this search. It was a legitimate search, and I had a very positive experience with my visit, even though I did not receive an offer. I'll join the chorus congratulating Sarah!
 * (4/16) I was also a finalist for this search, and it definitely seemed to me as if all candidates were given an equal shot. Congrats to Professor Marlowe!
 * (4/16) I was not a finalist for this particular search. However, I do recall that the job description announced a preference for someone well-versed in tonal theory but with expertise outside of the "Schenkerian canon." This description does not strike me as "tailor-made," at least not so much as certain other jobs this season perhaps did. The frustration that one experiences in the case of job searches whose conclusions appear to be foregone (and I'm not implying that this one was or that it wasn't) is probably a reasonable topic for discussion (I think?); however, it should not bleed into resentment for the person who was hired...I mean, was she supposed to not apply for the job because she was there already? :) (Also, I'd like to say that I don't approve of deleting other peoples' comments if we don't like their tone.)

Oberlin College (deadline 11/30): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * Snail mail acknowledgment of application with AA survey
 * (12/23) Phone interviews requested
 * (1/8) Campus interviews scheduled
 * (2/18) Job accepted (Megan Kaes Long [Yale University, 2014])

Scripps College(review begins October): Visiting Lecturer of Music Theory, Spring 2014
 * (12/16) Job accepted

Stetson University : Assistant Professor of Music Theory St. Joseph's University (OUF): Lecturer of Music Theory
 * (12/5) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (1/24) Candidates contacted for campus interviews

SUNY Fredonia (deadline 12/31): Lecturer in Music Theory
 * (2/7) Request to schedule phone interviews
 * (2/26) Request to schedule on-campus interviews

Texas Woman's University (deadline 11/5): Assistant Professor
 * (12/3) Phone interviews requested
 * (12/17) Campus interview scheduled

Tufts University (deadline 10/21): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (10/25) Applications acknowledged by e-mail
 * (12/16) Job accepted (Frank Lehman, Harvard [Tufts, Brown])

University at Albany (deadline 1/31): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (10/25) Snail mail acknowledgment of application

University at Buffalo (deadline 12/2): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
 * (12/8) Review of applications has begun; a shortlist will be announced soon, by requesting further materials from some candidates.
 * (12/11) Candidates contacted.  And a collective thanks, search committee, for keeping us updated! (x3)
 * (1/21) Candidates contacted for on-campus interviews.
 * (4/3) Job accepted (Brian Moseley, CUNY Graduate Center [Furman])

University of British Columbia (deadline 10/15): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (10/23) Applications acknowledged by e-mail
 * They will be using this page rather than emails to update about the progress of the search.
 * (12/6) Shortlist made, awaiting approval
 * (12/17) Campus interviews scheduled

University of Memphis (review begins 2/10): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (2/12) References contacted
 * (3/3) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (4/6) On campus interviews scheduled

University of Missouri (deadline 10/15): Assistant Teaching Professor of Music Theory
 * (11/17) Scheduling Skype interviews for the coming week
 * (1/11) Position accepted (Richard Pellegrin -- Univ. of Washington, 2013; Univ. of Missouri VAP)

University of North Carolina - Asheville (deadline 1/15):  Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (1/18) Application acknowledged by email.
 * (2/16) Phone Interviews Scheduled
 * (3/12) Skype interviews scheduled (don't know if this is in lieu of campus interview or an additional pre-finalist round) - pretty sure there will be on campus interview next.
 * (3/28) On-campus interviews scheduled
 * (4/23) Position accepted. Perhaps TWO hires??

University of North Carolina - Greensboro (deadline 11/22): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (11/27) Application and reference letter submissions acknowledged via email
 * (12/9) Additional materials requested
 * (1/3) Skype interviews requested
 * (1/13) On-campus interviews scheduled
 * (3/13) Job accepted (Christopher White, Yale)

University of North Georgia (OUF): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (2/7) Phone interviews

University of North Texas (deadline 10/21): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * (10/30) Additional material requested
 * (1/24) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (2/10) Additional material requested (again) (2x)
 * (2/14) Scheduling campus interviews (although given the 2/10 post, perhaps the previous round isn't entirely settled yet)
 * (2/21) Re: (2/14): Interesting. Skype interview scheduled for next week.
 * (3/4!) Any movement here since the initial invites? Anybody have a campus interview scheduled?
 * (3/7) Campus interviews completed.
 * (3/20) Job accepted (Daniel Arthurs, University of North Texas [Indiana])

University of North Texas (OUF, announced 3/20): Lecturer/Senior Lecturer

University of Oklahoma (review begins 11/1): Assistant Professor of Music Theory
 * Snail mail acknowledgment of application with AA survey
 * (11/11) Additional materials requested
 * (12/12) On-campus interviews scheduled
 * (2/17) Job accepted (Jeffrey Swinkin, Lecturer, U-Mass Amherst [PhD, University of Michigan])

University of Tennessee (deadline 12/15): Lecturer (75% FTE, one-year)
 * (1/7) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (3/11) Job accepted (Dr. Ken Stephenson [Prof. University of Oklahoma])

University of Texas San Antonio (deadline 10/1): Assistant Professor of Theory and Aural Skills
 * (10/22) Additional materials requested
 * (12/4) On-campus interviews scheduled
 * (2/11) Offer accepted (Jennifer Beavers, UTSA [Ph.D. from UT-Austin])

University of Waterloo (deadline 11/1): Assistant or Associate Professor of Music Theory
 * (1/29) On-campus interviews scheduled — according to email rejection.

Composition, Theory, Etc.
Boise State University (OUF) : Assistant Professor in Music Theory and Composition
 * (12/7) Additional references requested
 * (1/4) Phone Interviews Scheduled
 * (1/16) On-campus Interview(s) Scheduled (via phone/email)
 * (3/6) Offer made and accepted (David Biedenbender, [DMA from University of Michigan]

Brigham Young University (deadine 1/10): Visiting Faculty Music Theory/Composition
 * (4/3) Email rejection received

California State University, Northridge (OUF): Assistant Professor California State University Stanislaus (deadline February 26): Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies
 * (1/14) snail-mail receipt of application
 * (1/14) Additional materials requested via e-mail
 * (1/30) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (4/10)  Offer made and accepted
 * (3/28) Request to schedule Skype interviews

Columbia University (deadline: April 7) Director, Music Performance Program

Why is this Columbia Performance Program job listed here? Nothing to do with Music Theory, Composition, or Music Technology.

Not true. Knowing what this job entails (i.e. teaching one academic course per semester, which is usually music appreciation but might also be in the composition/theory area), it is conceivable that a composer could do this job. Why not?

[http://apply.interfolio.com/22335 Dartmouth College (deadline October 7th) Open-rank position in Sonic Arts or related discipine. ]
 * (11/18) Candidates contacted for additional info via Interfolio (x2)
 * (1/20) More Wiki oddity on this job with someone (today) updating "1/14 interviews scheduled" but then deleting it. Does any one have firm info on the state of this search?
 * (1/20) Looks like it was deleted inadvertently by this change: http://xrl.us/bqgxvk
 * (1/20) That's the best I can figure, too (though that was my edit and I swear didn't delete anything). So we can only assume that this is correct then: (1/14) On-campus interviews scheduled.
 * (1/21) Received encouraging rejection letter from Dept. Chair addressed to second-round candidates. A "handful" of candidates are being invited to campus. First hasn't happened yet, last will vist mid-February.

Dartmouth College (deadline 10/1): Assistant Professor of Music
 * (11/1) request for more materials (re: musicology wiki)
 * (1/9) On-campus interviews are being scheduled (Question: Does this mean that interviews were not scheduled on 1/4 as originally posted?)
 * (1/15) answer: sorry, was contacted about another position in same department, so I moved this to the correct posting. Not an applicant for the sonic job.

Fordham University (deadline 12/1): Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition (Jazz)
 * (1/7) Skype interviews scheduled

Framingham State University (OUF, review begins 3/3): Assistant Professor of Music
 * (4/8) Interviews are being scheduled

Nazareth College: Assistant Professor of Theory and Aural Skills (position #1)
 * (12/24) Request to contact references for semi-finalists
 * (1/26) Request to schedule on campus interviews
 * (3/5) Offer made and accepted

Nazareth College: Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory (position #2)
 * (2/1) References contacted
 * (3/18) Interviews for finalists scheduled mid-late March

Peabody Conservatory (deadline 12/1): One-Year Position, Non Tenure Track (Musicology with Theory Teaching)
 * (12/12): Request for more materials (according to musicology wiki)
 * (3/18) Offer made

Ramapo College: Performance and Music Theory Regis University (deadline 2/1): 1-Yr Sabbatical Replacement, Music Theory/Comp
 * (2/26): Phone interviews
 * (2/26) (2): Several phone interviews were also conducted on 2/12.  To the previous poster: were the interviews you refer to conducted more recently?
 * (3/12) On-site interview scheduled
 * (3/14) Search cancelled, funding not approved (per e-mail)

Rocky Mountain College (deadline 10/31): Assistant Professor of Music Theory and History Roger Williams College (deadline OUF, applications reviewed starting 1/22): Asst. Professor of Music
 * (1/8) References phoned
 * (1/14) Phone Interview scheduled
 * (1/27) on-site interview scheduled
 * (3/6) Offer made and accepted (James Bungert, Ph.D. in music theory, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2014)

St. Lawrence University (OUF): Visiting Assistant Professor
 * (4/14) Position accepted (according to snail-mail rejection dated 4/1)

SUNY Broome (deadline 2/7): Assistant Professor of Music
 * (2/24) Campus interviews held

SUNY Geneseo : Assistant Professor of Music Theory/Composition
 * (12/6): Skype interviews scheduled
 * Listed as "position filled" on website (anyone know who?)

Texas Christian University (deadline 10/15): Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition
 * (10/8) Calls made to candidates
 * (10/16) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (10/29) On-campus interviews are being scheduled
 * (12/20) Offer made and accepted (Sean Atkinson, University of Texas, Arlington [Florida State University])

Trinity College Dublin (deadline 1/24/2014): Professor of Music

University of California Los Angeles (deadline 11/30): Assistant Professor of Musicology
 * (12/19) Request for more materials (according to musicology wiki)

University of Miami (deadline 12/5/2013) : Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Music Theory and Composition

University of Nebraska Kearney (OUF, review begins 3/1): Assistant/Associate Professor of Theory/Composition University of South Carolina, Upstate: Associate/Assistant Professor of Music
 * (4/13) Has anyone heard anything from them?
 * (4/13) (2): I've heard nothing either, aside from the auto-email from the GovernmentJobs site back in February.
 * (2/13) References contacted
 * (2/18) Skype interviews scheduled
 * (2/26) Onsite interviews scheduled
 * (3/22) Onsite interviews were conducted during the first week of March

Ursinus College : Visiting Assistant Professor (theory, technology, and string performance)
 * (3/26) Phone interviews scheduled

Wayne State College (OUF, review begins 2/17): Instructor/Assistant Professor of Music
 * (3/22) Phone interviews were conducted during the second week of March

Wesleyan University (deadline 9/20): Assistant Professor of Theory and Musicology
 * (11/11) On campus interviews scheduled over the next several weeks
 * (1/23) Job offered and accepted (Roger Mathew Grant, University of Oregon [University of Pennsylvania, PhD (2010)])

West Chester University (deadline 12/15): Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition
 * (2/12) Additional Materials Requested
 * (3/1) Skype Interviews scheduled
 * (3/14) On-site interviews scheduled

Western Connecticut State (deadline 12/2): Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Class Piano Williams College (deadline 2/7): Visiting Asst. Professor in Composition
 * (12/20) Additional Materials Requested
 * (1/16) Telephone interviews scheduled
 * (3/17) Rejection email received (and I didn't make the first cut!) - does this mean it's been filled?
 * (4/11) Offer made and accepted (Eric Nathan, [Cornell University, DMA (2012)])

Music Technology
Eastern Kentucky University (deadline 11/1): Assistant Professor of Music (music technology)
 * (4/7) Offer accepted (Shane Hoose, Lecturer, Eastern Kentucky University [PhD, University of Iowa])

Keene State College: NTT Artist-In-Residence (music technology and aplied music)
 * (1/7) Phone interviews scheduled

University of California, San Diego (deadline 11/8) Lecturer in Computer Music and Audio Engineering

University of California, Santa Cruz (until filled) Asst. Professor of Sound Art and Design

Carnegie Mellon University (deadline 12/1) Asst. Teaching Professor of Sound Media
 * Any word?
 * (12/19) References requested, due 1/13.
 * Any movement here?

College of Saint Rose (until filled) Asst. Professor of Music Industry (music technology, record production, composition)
 * (1/24) First round of phone interviews started
 * (3/26) Position filled

State University of New York at Oswegoo (until filled) Asst. Professor of Music Industry and Technology (music technology, business of music, songwriting) Grinnell College (Postdoc, due 2/15)
 * (1/9) Phone interviews scheduled
 * (2/20) On-site interviews scheduled
 * (3/16) Offer accepted
 * (3/29) Phone interviews
 * Any news?

SMT/AMS?
3/28 - It's that time of the year again. Has anybody heard anything? In a joint year, things typically take a little longer, so it might still be early. Anybody know if the program committee for SMT has met?

3/28 - FWIW, I received my acceptance notifications for the last two conferences on April 4, 2013 and April 20, 2012. 2012 was a joint conference--AMS, SMT, and SEM.

4/09 - Notice of rejection. Alas.

4/10 - Acceptance notification.

4/10 - Is it normal/advised to notify search committees of conference acceptances?

4/12 - Did anyone else not receive ANY notification yet? Does the program committee keep a "wait list" of sorts?

4/12 (2) - Although social media suggests that the notifications started going out on Wednesday, nothing here either. I suppose it's possible that it could take that long, but this is longer than I've ever known it to take.

4/12 (3) - I have received neither an acceptance nor a rejection at this point. I have no idea about a "wait list."

4/12 - In past years I've received a rejection notice up to a week after others had received acceptance notices. My guess is that it's simply due to the volume of emails that must be sent.

4/14 - I was told they're sending both acceptances and rejections out in chunks, presumably because the process is so involved and takes so long.

New Wiki
9/25 - Thanks to whoever set up this new wiki! Wikihost has been down for weeks now. That was a pretty seamless transition, and this new editing interface is much easier/faster.(x2)

9/25b - I believe we should adopt the layout guidlines from Musicology/Ethnomusicology 2013-14 (which are in turn from Humanities and Social Sciences Postdocs 2013-14 ). What do you guys think? Right now, our page looks clean enough, but once job searches start being updated, it might get messy without a contingency plan.

9/25c - I'm happy someone got this page started up and think organizing it like Musicology/Ethno is a great idea. There's one aspect I don't think we should emulate--pasting the whole job posting under school headers. It's a cluttery waste of space when hyperlinks generally work just fine (as they had at the comp/theory wiki). Also, am I totally wrong for thinking that this isn't the first time wikihost just went AWOL? Maybe I'm misremembering, but couple of years ago we were faced with a similar problem. No matter. The old MT/Comp wiki is dead, long live the new MT/Comp wiki!

9/27 - Question about this new wiki: is there a way to tell that it's been edited without combing through the whole thing? The old wiki had a little counter thingy (that's a technical term) on the side that indicated the last time it was edited. I'm wondering if there's something similar here — something I'm missing, some link to click that'll take you to the counter thingy, something of that nature. Later in the job season, things can (hopefully) get rather unwieldy, so a counter thingy would save a lot of people a lot of time.

9/27b - It looks like we're not doing the statistics section (how many jobs people are applying for and what stage they are in their careers)? This information is interesting, but not particularly useful or accurate because it relies on self-reporting. For what it's worth, I'm currently on a 1-year VAP and I haven't submitted any applications yet.

9/30 - (I'm 9/27): I'm glad to see that there's an RSS feed, and yes, this is what I had in mind. However, I see that each change is accompanied by an IP address (the string of numbers punctuated by decimal points). I'm not tech savvy, but I do know that if you google an IP address, it'll tell you the location of the post, i.e. where the person is when they post. You can change the IP address through what I've heard called a "proxy server," but I don't know what that entails. Googling mine will narrow my institution down pretty darn quick (even down to location on campus), but (as far as I know) won't tell you precisely who I am. Or does it? I don't know. Googling the others narrows them down in terms of institution as well. For grad students, this is probably less of a problem; for faculty, this is probably more of a problem because if they say, for example, that they are on a tenure-track job but looking for a change, it's not too difficult to go directly to that institution's faculty page and see who's an "Assistant Professor." Obviously, the concern is anonymity. I, myself, am not planning to post much — really at all. But it could be an issue when things heat up a little bit later in the season: when people post that they've had interviews, etc.

Thoughts?

10/3 - Since the RSS feed went up and poster 9/30 pointed out the ability to determine an editor's location through IP address, we've seen a decline in edits. Who knows if those are actually connected, but if people are more comfortable contributing without their IPs not showing up on the wiki front page, I'm fine with removing the feed. (Another reason for the lack of activity may simply be that most theorists/composers don't know about the new location of this page. Any way to spread the word?)

10/5 - I like the RSS feed. We could announce the new page on SMT announce.

(Naz convo moved to below)

12/30 - Another question about this new wiki: on last year's wiki, when a job was accepted, it was confirmed by listing the successful candidate's name directly in the wiki. Here, I notice a few accepted jobs, but nobody is naming names. Of course on any wiki, we don't always know that all of the info is certified true (let's save debates about the epistemology of "truth" for the geniuses of SMT talk), but we know, via the honor system, that we can trust it most of the time, particularly within a relatively small scholarly community such as ours. When a job goes from being "open" to "accepted," it's significant for anyone else vying for it who hasn't heard back from the search committee (especially for those who have completed on-campus interviews and whose cell phone nearly causes cardiac arrest anytime their dry cleaner calls). And for me, seeing a name confirms the information a great deal more. Is there any reason why this practice has changed?

Application Etiquette Thread
12/19 - What do we think about sending "follow-up" emails to SC chairs after applying? A no-no? Helpful?

12/21 - I'll bite: a no-no. It comes across as pushy and they're overworked and assuming they got your materials they'll ask if interested.

12/21 - I have a related question. Should we contact the SC if a publication of ours, "forthcoming" on our C.V., gets published?

12/22 - Yes, that's a legit reason to contact the SC.

1/8 - Although, "forthcoming" means that it has already been accepted for publication... in the situation 12/21 describes, the only change is that the item has become available in print/electronic versions. I'm not sure that's all that significant (although, download it and send it out as requested!). I would definitely contact the SC if an item goes from "under review at X" to "forthcoming" or "accepted pending revisions." Just be sure to reserve the word "forthcoming" for articles that have been accepted at a journal and that are now in production. "Forthcoming" is not the same as "under review."

1/9 - Right: "forthcoming" is different from "published," as per 12/21, or "in print,"  or etc., etc.

1/12 Better to use the phrase "in press," which in my experience is more standard and is as good as being in print for a SC.

1/12 - On wording standards, see: 

1/29 - For small liberal-arts schools, how negotiable do you all suppose pay is? When should one inquire about this? On-site interviews seem to be a good time, except that a good deal of money has been spent (and time wasted) on a candidate by that time - is there an acceptable way to ask about salary flexibility *before* on-site interviews? One job has a specific range of pay that seems quite low, consider the cost of moving states (in my case), consequential loss of spousal income, etc. Thoughts?

1/30 - The advice I've been given from multiple advisors is that they only opportunity you have to negotiate is after you've received an offer. Until then, you risk any offer you *might* get if they think you won't accept it. It is bad and difficult for most departments to have an offer declined so many places are cautious in this regard. Missing the offer is a problem for a few reasons, first among them that you can't really evaluate it until you have it in hand and know what else they offer in addition to salary. If the range really is fixed and you really won't accept it then perhaps you don't mind missing out on the offer in the first place, but in the event you have a current position (even adjunct) or, dare I say it, get another offer the leverage might be useful. So, I say: mums the word until they offer you something. Then, negotiate. If the salary is a no-go for you at that point, be honest and clear and provide them with logic they can use to get the administration to up the offer so they don't lose the candidate of their choice. Good luck!s

1/30(2) - Never, ever, ever negotiate anything (especially anything monetary) until a formal offer has been made (normally via phone call after the interviews). During your interview, the only questions you should be asking are those that fall under the "I want to get to know your institution a little bit better" variety. Questions about the area (city, neighborhood, etc.) are also fine. If they want you, you'll be given the opportunity to negotiate.

1/31 - I have a bit of a different take than yesterday's posters. I think it depends on how much you need a job. The fact is, there are some jobs that pay too low to bother to apply for, IF you are already in a position that is OK. I think schools should provide a salary range, so that applicants can decide if it's worth their time. I'm involved in a search (non-theory) now, and that's in fact one of our concerns: that the salary will be too low for the candidate. All our SC members want to make clear to the candidates what the range will be BEFORE they come to campus, because if they won't work for what we're offering, a campus visit is a waste of everybody's time and money. However, I'm not sure that that will happen, because it would have to go through admin, HR, etc. I don't think the last part of 1/30(2)'s answer ("If they want you, you'll be given the opportunity to negotiate") is necessarily correct. I was told that I was the top choice for my current position, and I was told that the offer was the offer, period. This probably depends on the type of institution.

With regard to the specific question and the range seeming low, perhaps the OP could call HR and ask what the range applies to. For example, at my school, if a range is given, the specific salary would depend primarily on whether the person has the terminal degree and how many years of FT experience they have.

2/3 - I once flew out to a job interview and the dean told me they were surprised I was interested in the job given I already had a TT job and their salary was only $25k (for an 18 contact hour per semester job). I replied that they were correct about being surprised: no one bothered to tell me that the job only paid $25k otherwise I wouldn't have flown out - it was the first I'd heard about money b/c it wasn't on the job ad or brought up by the SC! I decided at that moment that if there was no salary range or it was "commensurate" or whatever they put on job ads, that I would ask what the hiring range was before flying out. Just the range, mind you, to make sure we were in the same ballpark, and just the question, no complaints or negotiation or "couldn't you raise that range some" etc. I only ask it when they call to invite me out, where I think it is a reasonable question to ask. The school doesn't want to fly you out if their offer is going to be rejected out of hand, and you don't want to waste your time flying out there for something that is already decided in the negative without your knowledge. So, my take is, if you have a requirement salary-wise that you're sticking with, go ahead and ask when they call to fly you out (they've never backed out of flying me up, and in a couple cases I was glad to have asked).

2/27 - OK, so let us say, hypothetically, I did receive an offer, and almost everything about that position was great (faculty, benefits, perks, facilities, neighborhoods, family atmosphere, etc.), and I may be planning to accept the offer, except the salary was on the low side. The above discussion says to wait until there's an offer in hand, and now, hypothetically, I have that offer. How to proceed? Do I negotiate before verbally accepting? After verbally accepting? Or do I say that "I'm planning to accept the offer, but I'd like to address the salary issue first." I'm not the type of person to play such hardball that they fear they're going to lose me, but I'm willing to do what will get the best results — hypothetically.

Then, what kinds of factors/reasons should I introduce as to why I'm interested in more money? I'm assuming that simply saying "I want more money" is about the worst way to proceed — akin to being asked "Why are you interested in this position" and answering "Because it's a job, duh!" I feel like they want to hear things about what I would do with the "extra" money, things like childcare, buy a house large enough for the family, etc. Thoughts?

(3/3) While they do relate to your overall well-being as a person and employee, things like childcare and the size of your house are not really the chair/dean's problem. Any time you ask for a higher salary in negotiation, it has to be because you believe your scholarship and/or teaching experience justifies it. If you are given an offer--and they tell you you are the first choice--use that to your advantage. "You are getting a scholar with X, Y, and Z on the table and I'm ready to go, so now you need to pony up." Just be ready for the answer to be no. Then you have to decide if it's worth it to you.

3/4 I have to disagree slightly with the 3/3 poster on this matter. the caveat of course is this is all much easier if you have a position currently. While it is not the chair/dean's problem where you live, etc. it is fair to say "the salary you're offering me is not a financially viable option. I have a family to support, and my partner will have to leave their job and try to establish something new here if possible...". Certainly you want to make your case that you're a great scholar and they are getting their money's worth but the people making these offers know that there are many factors when accepting a position and many of them are personal. On top of this if they know if you accept the position but are unhappy with the low salary you will most likely be acitively seeking employment elsewhere so you can attain a better salary. It will save them money in the long run if they offer you a slightly higher salary and keep you there long term then having to do a new search, retrain a new candidate, etc. The final thing I will say is that almost every administrator leaves a cushion of a couple of thousand dollars to increase the salary during a negotiation. It's not a garuntee but it is a standard practice.

3/5 - New question: I have an on-site interview out of state, and I leave in four days. I have still not received any details about what I'm supposed to be prepared to teach/present. The committee chair has told me this information is forthcoming, and most recently promised this information would be available... yesterday. To me this seems like absurdly late notice for giving me this information. I generally like to be prepared for things like this, and teach full time currently, so the prospect of having to plan any lecture(s) at the nth hour does not seem appealing, nor will it likely give me the best chance for success. Has anybody encountered this before? What is "normal" in terms of notice? I have been in touch, politely, a few times since the visit was arranged, but feel a bit uncomfortable continuing to do so. Any suggestions? I suspect that I am the first on-site interview (since this information is not already known and available), so I can't help but feel unfairly disadvantaged.

3/5: To the poster above, this has happened to me three times. Twice I was asked to prepare materials/lectures with under a week's notice. Once I received an e-mail the evening prior to my flight out informing me that I would now be teaching a class on X topic. We all know that committees have multiple members, not all of whom are responsive to one another in a timely manner. I expect poor internal communication as the primary cause. However, I did get the sense of it being more purposeful in two of those three occassions. You either roll with it or decline the request knowing what affect that has on your prospects of getting hired. Certainly, many of us can do better by one another in this process: no candidate feels respected when their time and existing commitments seem inconsiquential to a hiring committee.

Interview Advice
A question for those with search committee experience:  Can you give some insight into the first-round to second-round transition? I'm a composer/theorist; I've been reasonably happy with the number of requests I've gotten for phone interviews, calls for more materials, and the like, but disappointed at the number of times that's led to an on-campus interview. Probably there's no single explanation for this, but I'd be interested to hear what sorts of considerations go into making the cut for second round consideration. Obviously, committees can't give feedback directly to interviewees, and while there are advice columns on this sort of thing on CHE and elsewhere, they're pretty generalized, so I'd like to hear if anyone has thoughts specifically from a theory/comp perspective.

(2/26) This is a great question, if nearly impossible to answer with any degree of specificity that'd apply to all situations (as you're already aware). The winnowing process (from short list to finalists) involves conversations and negotiations between SC members, as they try to come to a unanimous decision about which candidates, during their phone interviews, made the case for themselves as the best, most closely-matched choice for the position described. All things being equal, the process is straightforward: the SC will have heard, together, each candidate responding to the same basic prompts; it'll be self-evident that some number rose to the occasion and some did not, and those who rose to the occasion will get the nod.But of course, all things are not equal, ever. Some SCs choose (or are forced, by institutional policy) to give phone interviews to a larger-than-normal pool of candidates (the norm, from my experience, is between 8 and 12 on the short list), making the narrowing-down process convoluted. The opposite can also be true. In my early days on the market, I was one of four (!) candidates selected for a phone interview. When I asked the SC chair about this, s/he told me that the SC had already decided, pre-phone interview, which candidates they'd be inviting to campus (i.e., all four of us); thus, the phone interview was purely a formality, and the SC was using it simply to make sure "none of [us] were nuts" (I quote). And, being made up of humans, some SCs will inevitably have members who, for political or personal reasons, insist on bringing to campus a candidate who, in the minds of the other SC members, bombed the phone interview (and thus not give the chance to someone who did really well). So candidates really don't have any way of knowing much about what's going on behind the scenes (unless they happen to have inside connections who can tell them how/why decisions are made). If you are going into each phone interview as well prepared as you possibly can be -- having internalized the job description; having given some thought to how you, uniquely, are equipped to meet/exceed the qualifications and duties they've outlined; having done your homework on the faculty and the institution so you can speak as knowledgably and relevantly as possible; speaking with confidence and clarity, and staying on-topic and concise -- then you really, honestly, cannot do anymore. (FWIW, as someone who's served on several SCs, I can confidently say that, if you're doing those things, then you are doing more -- by far -- than several of the others in any phone-interview pool.)

One other point, though: you wrote: "Obviously, committees can't give feedback directly to interviewees..." I disagree. When I was first on the market, I did, in fact, make a point of following up with SC chairs after unsuccessful phone interviews (i.e., once I knew, for certain, that they were moving on without me), soliciting (politely) feedback on how I could have presented myself in a better way and, perhaps, pushed myself into the campus-interview pool. Some never responded, and I didn't hound them. Some only responded with banalities, for which I thanked them (and promptly deleted). But a few gave me truly useful and detailed constructive feedback on where I fell down, and how to sharpen my presentation abilities in this unnatural format. There's no doubt in my mind that this information helped me land my current job, and has made me more comfortable with subsequent phone interviews. So, from my perspective, it absolutely doesn't hurt to ask, and could make a real difference in the long run. Good luck!

Grinnell College
(1/22) Is anyone familiar with the program at Grinnell? I was looking at their website to try to find out more about their electronic music facilities/faculty, and I found very little information available. Just trying to get a sense for the lay of the land...

(1/29) FYI, a senior composer who had been at Grinnell for many years is now Dean of the Faculty at Vassar; he may be willing to share some background, etc. re: the situation at Grinnell.

Florida State University
(2/16) This is a visiting position, but one of the tenured theory faculty members at FSU is retiring in two years, so the visitor would likely be an inside candidate for an upcoming tenure-track search.

Brigham Young University
(1/22) Anyone hear anything yet or know when to expect to?

(2/11) Things move slowly at BYU--several layers of approval are needed to proceed with candidates. It's also possible that the search had advanced, but--given the likely smaller pool of applicants--no one has updated the wiki.

(4/3) Email rejection received.

College of St. Rose
(10/22) Any movement here yet?

(11/8) Phone Interviews Scheduled for following week

Texas Christian University
(10/14) Anybody have info on the process going on here? The deadline above says 10/15, but a poster has already indicated that they "contacted candidates" on 10/8.

(10/15) The deadline was 10/1. TCU has also taken the listing down.

(10/28) I didn't interpret 10/1 as a "deadline." It said, "application review will begin October 1, 2013 and continue until the position is filled." HR took down the ad on the 2nd or 3rd I think. Usually an OUF search will remain open longer than a few days past the first review date.

(10/28) I believe the search technically still is open, but they are proceeding quickly in order to make a hire before winter break.

(2/24) Candidate has accepted an offer.

Florida Gulf Coast
(10/3) Wow, never had an application require a letter about mentoring students in research within the discipline.

(11/21) I heard there's a strong internal candidate...

(1/31) There is, and said person has accepted FGSU's offer.

Peabody Conservatory
(11/15) Complete job description copied below. Please note that although the position is housed within the Musicology Department, it entails teaching two graduate seminars in Music Theory.

(3/17) I removed the job description. Is it really important to keep it here? It seemed to be messing people up when they tried to edit elsewhere.

Nazareth College
(11/20) - Anyone heard back from Nazareth College yet?

(12/24) Semi-finalists at Nazareth contacted via email.

(1/8) Were the semi-finalists for position #1 (theory) or #2 (comp/theory), or for both?

(1/9) I can only speak for myself, but I was contacted for position #1.

(1/9) (2) Ditto. I was unaware that there was also a comp search until one of my references relayed the information to me, per his conversation last week with an SC member.

(1/20) Anyone hear anything yet?

Nazareth College (position #2 – comp/theory)
(2/12) Has anyone heard anything further about the composition/theory opening (request for more materials, interviews, etc.)?

(2/13) References have been contacted, but no movement since

(3/18) Interviews for finalists were scheduled for mid-late March.

Tufts University
(12/18) Above lists this as being accepted per 12/16. Um, WHAT?!?!

(12/18)(2) Inside candidate?

(12/18)(3) They interviewed four candidates in early December. (I was one of the three that didn't get the job.)

Montclair State University
(12/21) I'm just curious if almost everyone who applied for this job was asked for more materials. I only know of one person who wasn't but they also never received an email acknowledging their application.

(12/22) Yeah, I got excited at first, but when I got an identical email a few weeks later (even after acknowledgment from the SC of my initial submission of additional materials), I realized that this was almost definitely a generic request. Seems like a bit of a disorganized search. Still, a job I'd love to get...

(12/31) ...conducted skype interviews two weeks ago.

(12/31) Skype interviews two weeks ago? I only received an email stating that they were "still deliberating" 13 days ago. Can someone else confirm.

(12/31) Confirmed skype interviews in December. Campus interviews scheduled for January.

(1/1) Were people already notified about campus interviews?

(1/6) On-campus interviews are starting in a few weeks, but applications are still being accepted. As announcement says, job remains open until it's filled, i.e., no deadline.

(1/20) Never asked for more materials; only received the same generic email about deliberations ongoing, etc.

(2/7) Any word on this job?

University of Memphis
(4/3)  Apparently, they are ramping up to do on campus interviews soon, but have had some administrative hassles that have slowed them down. The SC chair has expressed frustration with how slowly the process is moving.

University of North Carolina - Asheville
(3/3) Anyone have any activity after the phone interviews yet?

(3/4) The head of the search committee told me that I wouldn't hear anything before this week at the earliest

University of North Texas
(1/6) Surely this search has moved beyond the long list by now, right?

(1/7) I was asked for more materials in October and have heard nothing since, so I have been wondering this as well. Has anyone heard anything?

(3/21) UNT just announced a lecturer position — related?

(3/26) Given that Dr. Arthurs was a lecturer before landing the TT position, I'd say yes, it's related.

(3/27) Gotta love inside candidate situations...

(4/9) See Eastern Kentucky U - same deal.

Linfield College
1/8 - Anyone have any news about the job at Linfield College in OR?

1/9 - Phone interview scheduled with Linfield College. (X2)

1/13 - Additional materials requested.

2/7 - Skype interview conducted

2/15 - Any news?

SUNY Albany
1/19 - Anyone have any inside scoop about this position? I've heard that Albany closed several departments a few years back as a cost cutting thing. Any danger of something similar happening with music? Or at least junior positions being not very secure? Also, does anybody know the general load and tenure requirements?

2/27 - So, on 2/27, someone with an IP address at University of Pennsylvania edits "Albany" to "Albania." Also, on 2/27 we learn that someone at UPenn doesn't have anything better to do than mess with our wiki. I'm a little sad and I'm asking nicely: Please person at UPenn, find something better to do and leave our wiki alone. There are much more fun things to do on the interwebs if you look around a little. 4chan seems like it might be your speed; try there. Thanks in advance!

3/11 - Anybody know the deal with Albany? I logged into the system yesterday and it said the position was closed. Was somebody hired? Was the search cancelled? Or is the HR system just wrong?

SUNY Geneseo
1/25 - Did anyone hear back after the Skype interviews?

New England Conservatory
1/27 - This was kind of a strange application, right? I'm a little bit worried that I didn't apply in the right place. Did anybody else feel this way? The application asked for things like current salary, why you left your last job, etc.

2/16 - They use an application system that's normally used by corporations instead of academic institutions - those fields were probably defaults.

Stony Brook University (SUNY)
1/31 - Has anyone else tried to apply for this job via academicjobsonline.org? The maximum total file size is 8Mbs which is far too small to accomodate three scores and recordings. There also seems to be no alternative for submitting and application in the ad.

2/1 - There is an alternative, although tthe instructions are well hidden under FAQ > large files. Upload your files to a location online (youtube/vimeo/soundcloud), go to adding files to your portfolio, and instead of browsing your computer choose adding free HTML text. Then paste your link. All and all, this system is definitely unfriendly :)

2/4 - I also had difficulty with this application platform. Thanks 2/1 for your work-around, though I already submitted my materials with a less elegant but easy work-around: I put my link in a pdf doc with a note explaining why.

Sweet Briar College
(2/14) Any news here?

(2/17) Offer accepted.