Job Description

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Emerging Media Arts: Storytelling to join our unique program.

We are seeking a visionary creative practitioner and educator to join our faculty in a position that bridges screenwriting with emerging technologies and platforms. Whether your scholarship or creative activity examines the pressing issues of our time, produces narratives of lasting significance, generates immersive audience experiences, or contributes to the evolution of narrative form, we invite you to submit your work for consideration. We value storytelling as both intellectual inquiry and artistic practice, recognizing that meaningful stories can change the world.

The successful candidate will have professional experience in screenwriting for film, television/streaming, or episodic narrative, and have familiarity with at least one of the following: writing for theatre, games, XR, immersive or interactive experiences, world-building, transmedia, or Alternate Reality Games (ARGs). You have a compelling vision for the evolving future of storytelling, and you’re eager to guide students in shaping that future.

The Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts is an interdisciplinary center and creative research facility within the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, established with a $57M investment from the Johnny Carson Foundation. Research areas include filmmaking, interactive and immersive storytelling, experience and generative design, XR, machine learning, sonic and data arts, virtual production, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Carson Center brings together world-class faculty and students to reimagine the future of media through inclusive, imaginative storytelling that addresses human-scale challenges, provokes and inspires. As the Center expands its international reach and collaborations, this is a unique opportunity to shape its growing mission.

Nebraska offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with the successful candidate’s background and experience. Faculty status with opportunities for promotion in rank and sabbatical opportunities for continued learning and professional development are additional key benefits.

Key Responsibilities

· Teaching courses in areas such as screenwriting and storytelling.

· Contributing to undergraduate and graduate curriculum development.

· Mentoring undergraduate capstone projects.

· Continuing to gain juried recognition of your work.

· Mentoring students as they develop their unique creative voices.

· Connecting students to internships and professional networks.

· Supporting students in developing pathways toward professional opportunities, career directions, and future graduate study.

· Contributing positively to a community and culture of storytellers and makers.

· Engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations across campus.

· Participating in department, college, and university service.

Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln, Nebraska, is more than a quintessential college community. The University is situated in a dynamic downtown area that includes the state capital and a growing tech industry, as well as restaurants, coffee houses, movie theaters, clubs, bike trails, and urban residences. Lincoln has excellent public schools, a low cost of living, and has been nationally recognized for its high quality of life. It is a friendly, creative, intellectual, and vibrant community that loves the arts and is home to the Lied Center for Performing Arts; the Sheldon Museum of Art; the International Quilt Museum; the Nebraska State Museum with collections including anthropology, botany, and zoology; and the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, an art house cinema that is part of the College, as well as numerous alternative spaces and venues for visual art and music.

Minimum Qualifications

· BA or BFA in screenwriting or a related discipline.

· A portfolio of nationally recognized storytelling work represented by having multiple writing credits (screen, games, plays); optioned, published, or produced works.

· Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and professional growth in a rapidly changing media landscape.

Preferred Qualifications

· MFA or terminal degree in screenwriting or a related discipline.

· Professional experience in episodic screenwriting.

· Two years of teaching at the university level, beyond the teaching assistant level, or equivalent experience in a non-traditional setting.

· Connections to industry partners.

· Active creative research agenda.

Application Process

The search committee will begin formal review of applications on March 2, 2026, and will continue until an appointment is made. Interested applicants must apply online at requisition F_250081. Click “Apply for this Job,” complete the faculty information form, and upload the following required documents:

1. A letter of interest addressing your qualifications specific to this job description.

2. Artist statement.

3. Teaching statement – OPTIONAL (1-2 pages).

4. A current Curriculum Vitae.

5. A link to an online portfolio of writing work – to include one full-length short screenplay and excerpts from at least one full-length feature film, or episodic work, or game, or other form of storytelling.

6. The names and contact details of three professional references.

If submitting a teaching statement, please combine it with the artist statement for upload.

The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment. See

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