Visiting Assistant Professorships

With a vibrant faculty and a talented, engaged student body, Cornell Law School provides an unparalleled environment in which to prepare for a career in law teaching. By participating in the faculty workshop series, conferences, colloquia, and other facets of the intellectual life of the law school; by having access to the resources of the law school’s remarkable library and support staff; and by experiencing teaching in an atmosphere of great mutual respect and commitment, visiting assistant professors (VAPs) at Cornell Law School receive an ideal entrée into legal academia.

VAPs spend two to four semesters in residence at the law school, gaining both teaching experience and the opportunity to devote substantial time to research, writing, and other scholarly pursuits. In most respects, VAPs are treated as regular tenure-track faculty, although with a reduced teaching load and without administrative obligations. VAPs are given the opportunity to present work in progress to the Law School faculty and, more generally, to receive feedback and mentoring from faculty members in preparation for the academic job market. Course loads and teaching schedules are devised with sensitivity to the timing of the job market process.

Applications are invited from law school graduates and from recipients of a Ph.D. in any field who have demonstrated a sustained interest in law. Members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in law teaching are especially encouraged to apply. VAPs are selected on the basis of an assessment of the candidate’s ability, with appropriate support and mentoring, to secure a tenure-track position at a top law school.

Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, teaching and research statements, law school or other graduate degree program transcripts, copies of any published work in law or a related field, and any available letters of reference from academic advisors who are able to comment on the candidate’s promise as a scholar. We also ask applicants for all faculty positions to share their experiences and/or approaches (past, current, or future) to fostering learning, research service, and/or outreach in a diverse community. Applicants may choose to submit a stand-alone statement or embed the information in other parts of their application materials.

The number of VAP positions available will vary from year to year, and VAP positions may be awarded in any legal subject matter area or methodological approach.

To apply for the 2025-2026 academic year, please visit https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/29174. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2025.

Questions or other inquiries should be sent by email to Liz Flint.