OCAD University (OCAD U) acknowledges the ancestral territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishnaabeg and the Huron-Wendat, who are the original owners and custodians of the land on which we gather and create.
OCAD University, Canada’s largest and oldest art and design university, is a vibrant community of bold, curious, and compassionate artists, designers and scholars who are imagining and creating a joyful, equitable, and sustainable world. The University is an internationally renowned hub for art, design, digital media, research, innovation and creativity, and arts administration. It embraces collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to change-making through art, design-thinking curriculum, and research, making OCAD U a local, regional, national, and global leader in art and design.
Students benefit from hands-on studio learning and have access to state-of-the-art shops and studios for both traditional and digital creation. Alongside a diverse and supportive team of instructors and peers, students gain employable skills. The School of Graduate Studies offers numerous programs where students may earn a Masters of Fine Arts or Masters of Design: Strategic Foresight and Innovation, Inclusive Design, Design for Health, Interdisciplinary Art/Media/Design, Digital Futures, and Criticism and Curatorial Practice. The University offers BA, BFA, and BDes degrees in Advertising, Creative Writing, Criticism and Curatorial Practice, Digital Futures, Drawing and Painting, Environmental Design, Experimental Animation, Graphic Design, Illustration, Indigenous Visual Culture, Industrial Design, Integrated Media, Interior Design, Material Art and Design, Photography, Printmaking and Publications, Scultpure/Installation, and Visual and Critical Studies.
OCAD U graduates work in a variety of sectors such as advertising, art history and curatorial studies, digital futures, strategic foresight, inclusive design, health design, urban planning, environmental design, gaming, film, animation, publishing, illustration, graphic design, product design and consultancy, material-based design, visual arts, and arts administration.
TENURE-TRACK POSITION: ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
TIER II CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR
in Artificial Intelligence and Creativity
Posted August 7, 2026
OCAD University invites applications for a full-time Tenure-Track Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Creativity at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank. The position is expected to commence January 1 or July 1, 2028, and is subject to budgetary approval. In addition, this position is contingent on the candidate’s successful application to the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) program. The successful candidate will be required to participate in preparation of a CRC nomination package for submission in April 2027.
The successful candidate will demonstrate intersectional expertise in the context of or related to AI & Creativity in areas such as:
- generative art and computational creativity
- studio-based AI research,
- artist-led machine learning,
- creative coding and software art,
- digital fabrication and AI-assisted making,
- interactive and immersive media,
- performance and time-based AI practice,
- human-AI collaboration in creative process,
- critical making and speculative design,
- sound art and AI-generated composition,
- film, animation and AI cinematics,
- interactive and immersive media,
- game design and procedural world-building,
- wearable and embodied AI systems,
- decolonial approaches to creative AI,
- AI and craft-based practice,
- community-engaged creative AI practice,
- algorithmic justice,
- ethical making.
Bringing together studio practice and computational research, the Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Artificial Intelligence and Creativity will provide visionary leadership for the development, critique, and application of artificial intelligence within expanded creative and artistic fields - centring the studio as a site of critical inquiry, cultural production, and technological imagination.
The Canada Research Chair Tier 2 is for exceptional researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. The successful candidate should have experience as a Principal Investigator on at least one major, multi-year Tri-agency grant (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR) or other major national/international academic grant, either held within the last five years or currently active.
SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES
The successful candidate will:
- Build research capacity and outputs in keeping with the OCAD University Strategic Research Plan and program criteria for a Tier 2 CRC;
- Maintain an active research and practice profile with a focus on AI and Creativity;
- Demonstrate a broad understanding of the impact of AI on areas such as creative practice, business, health, climate change, social, and cultural contexts;
- Promote and augment interdisciplinary research as an individual and a leader of collaborations;
- Build and maintain internal and external networks of scholars, stakeholders and collaborators;
- Teach in one or more undergraduate and graduate programs within the most appropriate home faculty or across faculties;
- Assume a key role in curriculum development related to the AI and Creativity;
- Provide service to the Faculty and University-wide governance system, as well as activities and outreach initiatives that contribute to the quality of academic and student life and University culture;
- Develop a plan to attract major national and international grants to support their research program;
- Engage in development of policies and training at the University.
QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will have:
- A PhD in a field relevant to AI and Creativity; exceptional creative scholars/practitioners with a Masters degree will also be considered as a doctoral degree is not required by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
- A minimum of 5 years relevant teaching experience at the post-secondary level (or equivalent experience);
- Outstanding and innovative research skills and accomplishments which will lead them to a strong international reputation as a leader, innovator, and cultural practitioner with demonstrated commitment to AI and Creativity;
- An original and innovative cross-disciplinary research program of the highest quality.
- Experience and conceptual understanding of intersectional AI and Creativity practices;
- A significant research/exhibition and publication record consistent with a Tier II CRC including a proven successful track record with scholarly and/or arts granting councils
- Familiarity and proven funding success. Canadian applicants must show success with one or more of the Tri-agencies (SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR) demonstrated by holding principal investigator status on past or current Tri-agency grants; International candidates must show success with one or more major research grants at a federal or senior external level.
- Participating as co-applicant and/or collaborator on tri-agency or other national grants will be an asset.
- Experience supervising graduate students at the Masters level (PhD supervision experience is an asset)
- Capacity to attract excellent graduate students and future researchers as well as play a leadership role in developing new talent and increasing the research capacity of OCAD University;
- Experience in curriculum development and working to develop and enhance undergraduate and graduate programs
- A demonstrated commitment to the principles and lived experiences of equity and diversity, and proven ability to work effectively and collegially with a diverse population;
- A proven record of research and/or professional practice relevant to qualifications, experience and discipline;
- Experience proactively advancing equity and sustainability in curriculum, teaching, scholarship, and creative/professional activities;
- Demonstrated understanding of the ways in which equity, Indigenous knowledge, and sustainability are fundamental to the quality of student experience, to innovative scholarship, and to creative production; and
- A proven record of promoting a respectful and inclusive work and learning environment for students, staff, and faculty.
Tier 2 Chairs are intended for exceptional emerging scholars. Applicants who are more than 10 years from their first independent academic research-related appointment may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process. Please contact research@ocadu.ca for more information.
OCAD University recognizes that life circumstances such as illness, disability, family and community responsibilities (e.g., maternity leave, parental leave, leaves due to illness, leaves due to caring for family members, or slowdowns due to chronic illness or disability) may have an impact on a candidate’s record of research achievement. These impacts will be taken into careful consideration during the assessment process.
REMUNERATION
Salary and rank will be commensurate with experience and qualifications with access to full benefits, and pension contribution after one year of service.
Canada Research Chairs are subject to review and approval by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS & DEADLINE
Applications should include:
A letter of intent stating the candidate’s interests in the areas of research, teaching, professional practice, and service to Faculty and University-wide governance;
A curriculum vitae;
A statement demonstrating the candidate’s research philosophy and equity/diversity work;
Evidence of teaching and research effectiveness (such as sample assignments, student feedback, course evaluations, records of successful research grants, etc.);
A link to a digital portfolio of recent work/publications;
The names and contact information of three referees.
Please upload all six (6) components (including the URL to work) as one PDF. Please name your upload: FirstName_LastName-Job Code
Interested applicants are invited to submit their electronic application through the portal in confidence addressed to:
Ashok Mathur, Ph.D., Vice-President, Research & Dean, School of Graduate Studies OCAD University
The review of applications will begin on November 6th, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.
As an institution committed to art, design, digital media and related scholarship, OCAD University recognizes the profound and essential value that diversity brings to the creation, reception and circulation of creative practices and discourse. OCAD University understands that valuing diverse creative practices and forms of knowledge are essential to, and enrich the institution’s core mission and vision as an art and design university with a local and global scope.
As an employer committed to employment equity, we encourage applications from members of equity seeking communities including women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions.
We encourage members of equity-seeking groups to self-identify within their letter of intent in their application.
In order to alleviate the under-representation of racialized individuals and Indigenous persons in the ranks of tenure-track faculty and academic administrators, priority in hiring will be given to qualified persons who self-identify as such in the application process. This initiative is a special program under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
OCAD University is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier free experience to applicants with accessibility needs. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact People & Culture or Alli O’Shea, People & Culture Advisor, for more information or refer to OCAD U’s Policy of Accommodation in Employment for Persons with Disabilities
All qualified persons are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. While we thank all candidates for their interest, only those short-listed will be contacted.
