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Tenure-Track or Tenured Professor in Medieval Islamic Cultures and Societies

Harvard University

Cambridge, MAJob$100–310K/yrSeen 2w agoSeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$100–310K/yr
Location
Cambridge, MA
Work Authorization
Visa required • Visa sponsorship

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Doctorate

Job overview

Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations seeks a tenure-track or tenured professor specializing in medieval Islamic cultures and societies (600–1500), including areas such as Islamic history, classical Arabic literature, and non-Muslim communities. The appointee will teach and advise undergraduate and graduate students. Candidates must have a defended PhD in hand when applying; strong commitment to teaching, advising, and research is desired.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Arabic ReadingArabic Primary SourcesTeachingAdvisingResearchIntellectual Leadership

Qualifications

PhD in HandStrong Teaching CommitmentStrong Advising CommitmentStrong Research CommitmentIntellectual LeadershipField Impact

Full job description

Details

Title Tenure-Track or Tenured Professor in Medieval Islamic Cultures and Societies

School Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Department/Area Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Position Description

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations seeks to appoint a tenure-track or tenured professor in Medieval Islamic Cultures and Societies. We welcome applicants who specialize in the medieval period (600-1500) and in various subfields, including (but not limited to) early and medieval Islamic history, classical Arabic literature, and non-Muslim communities in medieval Islamic societies. The successful candidate will be expected to teach and advise at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, will have an excellent reading knowledge of Arabic, and will have the ability to guide graduate students in the reading of Arabic primary sources, both printed and in manuscript. In Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, tenure-track positions are untenured. The appointment is expected to begin on July 1st, 2027. The appointee will teach and advise at the undergraduate and graduate levels. External applicants and finalists considered for a tenured appointment will need to complete the same procedures (https://faculty.harvard.edu/phase-1-cond-inq-components) as external applicants and finalists in a search designated specifically for a tenured appointment.

Basic Qualifications

Candidates are required to have defended their PhD and to have their doctoral degree in hand at the time of application. Applications from current PhD students will not be considered.

Additional Qualifications

Demonstrated strong commitment to teaching, advising, and research is desired. Candidates for a tenured appointment should also evince intellectual leadership and impact on the field and potential for significant contributions to the department, University, and wider scholarly community.

Special Instructions

Please submit the following materials through the ARIeS portal (https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/16920). Candidates are encouraged to apply by November 15, 2026; applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.

  • Cover letter

  • Curriculum Vitae

  • Teaching/advising statement (describing the candidate’s teaching philosophy and practices as well as their approach to creating a learning environment in which every student is encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas)

  • Research statement

  • One published, article-length writing sample.

  • Service statement describing efforts to strengthen academic communities (e.g., the candidate’s department, institution, and/or professional societies)

  • Candidates for a tenure-track position are also required to submit names and contact information of 3-5 referees, who will be asked by a system-generated email to upload a letter of recommendation once the candidate’s application has been submitted. Three letters of recommendation are required, and the application is considered complete only when at least three letters have been received. For candidates for a tenure-track position, at least one letter must come from someone who has not served as the candidate’s undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral advisor.

  • External applicants to a tenured position are required to complete, sign, and upload/submit the form entitled “Authorization to release information for external applicants” (https://faculty.harvard.edu/phase-1-conduct-inquiries) as part of the Conduct Inquiry Process (https://faculty.harvard.edu/phase-1-conduct-inquiries) and Procedures for External Applicants and Finalists to Tenured Positions (https://faculty.harvard.edu/phase-1-cond-inq-components) .

If visa sponsorship is needed, Harvard retains the discretion to determine which visa status is appropriate and whether a visa sponsorship application will ultimately be submitted, including payment of any applicable fees.

Harvard University is committed to equal opportunity (https://hr.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum6281/files/2025-04/reaffirmation\_statement.pdf) and non-discrimination (https://provost.harvard.edu/files/provost/files/non-discrimination\_and\_anti-bullying\_policies.pdf) . We seek talent from all parts of society and the world, and we strive to ensure everyone at Harvard thrives. Our differences help our community advance Harvard’s academic purposes.

Harvard has an equal employment opportunity (https://hr.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum6281/files/2025-04/reaffirmation\_statement.pdf) policy that outlines our commitment to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or identified in the university’s non-discrimination policy (https://provost.harvard.edu/files/provost/files/non-discrimination\_and\_anti-bullying\_policies.pdf) . Harvard’s equal employment opportunity (https://hr.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum6281/files/2025-04/reaffirmation\_statement.pdf) policy and non-discrimination policy (https://provost.harvard.edu/files/provost/files/non-discrimination\_and\_anti-bullying\_policies.pdf) help all community members participate fully in work and campus life free from harassment and discrimination.

Contact Information

Carrie Mountain, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Contact Email [email protected]

Salary Range

Tenure-Track Salary: $100,000-$130,000

Pay offered to the selected candidate is dependent on factors such as years of experience, training or qualification, field of scholarship, and accomplishments in the field.

Tenured Salary: $170,000-$310,000

Pay offered to the selected candidate is dependent on factors such as experience, training or qualifications, field of scholarship, and accomplishments in the field.

Minimum Number of References Required

Maximum Number of References Allowed

Keywords

assistant, associate, faculty, instructor, tenure track, tenure, professor

Boston, Cambridge, Massachusetts, MA, Northeast, New England

Medieval Islamic Cultures and Societies

EEO/Non-Discrimination Commitment Statement

Harvard University is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination. We seek talent from all parts of society and the world, and we strive to ensure everyone at Harvard thrives. Our differences help our community advance Harvard’s academic purposes.

Harvard has an equal employment opportunity (https://pa-hrsuite-production.s3.amazonaws.com/606/docs/1678254.pdf) policy that outlines our commitment to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, religion, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or identified in the university’s non-discrimination policy (https://pa-hrsuite-production.s3.amazonaws.com/606/docs/1674140.pdf) . Harvard’s equal employment opportunity policy and non-discrimination policy help all community members participate fully in work and campus life free from harassment and discrimination.

Supplemental Questions

How this job compares

Set against the 2,966 open Professor jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 29, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$100–310K/yr
  • Massachusetts median$120–165K/yr52 salary ranges
  • US median$115–165K/yr794 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $205K, is 41% above the Massachusetts median midpoint ($146K) — in the top quarter of Professor salary ranges in Massachusetts.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 73 open Professor jobs in Massachusetts and 2,966 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Massachusetts
Experience
Professor postings that state a minimum ask for 3 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 2 to 5 years (362 postings).
Education
This posting asks for a doctorate or professional degree; 1,852 of the 2,966 open Professor jobs (62%) ask for a doctorate or professional degree.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 29, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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