Academic Fellow

Job Posting Title:

Academic Fellow, School of Law

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Hiring Department:

School of Law

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Aug 15, 2028

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General

The University of Texas School of Law strives to create and promote an environment that values kindness and mutual respect and a culture that provides a deep sense of belonging for each member of our community. 

The University of Texas at Austin provides an outstanding benefits package to staff, including: 

• Competitive health benefits (Employee premiums covered at 100%; family premiums at 50%) 

• Vision, dental, life, and disability insurance options 

• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays 

• Teachers Retirement System of Texas (a defined benefit retirement plan) 

• Additional voluntary retirement programs: tax sheltered annuity 403(b) and a deferred compensation program 457(b) 

• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses 

• Training and conference opportunities 

• Tuition assistance 

• Athletic ticket discounts 

• Access to UT Austin's libraries and museums 

• Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Capital Metro buses with staff ID card 

For more details, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards 

Purpose

The Texas Law Academic Fellowships program supports individuals who are committed to obtaining an appointment as a tenure-track member of a law faculty. Academic Fellows are in residence at the University of Texas School of Law for two years and are expected to enter the law school teaching market in the fall of their second year. Academic Fellows are fully integrated into the rich intellectual community at the University of Texas School of Law, will have an assigned mentor, and will have many opportunities to develop their research agenda, writing projects, and teaching skills. 

The term of appointment will be for two years and up to two Academic Fellows will be selected each year. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis starting August 4, 2026.

Responsibilities

• Working with the assigned mentor, actively participate in and contribute to the Texas Law community through research, writing, and other academic opportunities in preparation for a career in legal teaching.

• Each year the Academic Fellow will teach one upper-level course or seminar of the Academic Fellow’s choice or design, subject to the University of Texas School of Law’s needs. The Academic Fellow may teach the same offering each year. 

Required Qualifications

• J.D. earned within the last 3 years

• Excellent written and oral communication skills

• Productive, self-driven, and collaborative scholar

• Proven ability to work as a member or leader of a team and to present research to professional peers

• Professional demeanor and good interpersonal skills

Salary Range

The annual salary for each Academic Fellow is $75,000, plus benefits (including health insurance). Each Academic Fellow also has a $5,000 faculty account (each year) that can be used for travel to conferences, research, or other academic expenses. 

Working Conditions

• Typical office environment

Required Materials

Note that Workday will allow the submission of up to six separate documents. If you have more than six documents, we suggest either consolidating some documents, as appropriate, or emailing additional documents to [email protected].

• Your current curriculum vitae (CV)

• A copy of your law school transcript

• Contact information for 3 references, of which two must be academic references (for each reference, please include name, title, mailing address, email address, and telephone number)

• Copies of any scholarly legal articles that the candidate has written and would like to have considered, whether published, unpublished, or in draft form

• A research proposal (2,000 words or less)

• A list of law school courses the candidate would be willing to teach (listed in order of preference)

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Please make sure you meet all the required qualifications and you can perform all of the essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.