The Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Denmark, invites applications for 2 positions as either tenure-track assistant professor or associate professor in Media Studies to be filled by Aug. 1, 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job content

The candidates are expected to have keen research interests in media studies as a distinct field within the broader field of communication studies and to add to and strengthen the department’s already strong international profile in media studies, within one or more of the following areas:

- Institutional, industrial and cultural aspects of digital media, including digital value creation, power, societal and cultural innovation, and digital business models.

- Digital methods in media studies, especially strong methodological and analytical skills in and proven experience with computational and/or quantitative approaches

- Digital strategic communication, promotional culture and cross-media communication, theoretically and in practice

It will be a strong advantage, if the applicants have comprehensive knowledge about the Nordic media context.

The Department of Communication is home to approx. 80 faculty members, 40 PhD students, 25 postdocs, 40 part-time lecturers, 23 administrative staff, and 2200 students. The department annually generates approx. 30 million DKK in external research funding, and it produces research and scholarship that is world leading, and which sets the agenda for many national initiatives and conversations. The department offers seven degree programs: Philosophy, Rhetoric, Education, Film and Media Studies, Communication and IT, Information Studies, and Cognition & Communication educating successful candidates to many sectors and parts of the Danish society and beyond.

Read more about the Department of Communication at: https://comm.ku.dk

Copenhagen is a highly diverse and international Scandinavian capital with a green profile. Education is free and child-care is subsidized. Public transport is well-developed and most Copenhageners take their bikes to work. There are lots of green areas in and around Copenhagen, the water in the harbour is clean enough for swimming, and the city has multiple museums and other cultural venues. The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is the largest in Denmark.

Qualification requirements for assistant professors

A tenure-track assistant professorship is a six-year, fixed-term academic position involving both research and teaching. The successful candidate post will be obliged to complete a teacher-training course designed especially for assistant professors, and will be expected to be able to take part in all the activities of the Department, including examinations and administration.

Approximately six months before the end of the six-year period as assistant professor, a committee set up by the Dean will assess whether the assistant professor can be considered for promotion to a tenured position as associate professor. 

Read more about the tenure-track program at the UCPH at this homepage: https://employment.ku.dk/tenure-track/tenure-track-at-ucph/.

The duties of the position are evenly distributed on tasks related to teaching and tasks related to research (including relevant administration and knowledge-sharing). Documented competences in both of these main fields of activity, as well as the ability to reflect on them, will be weighted in the assessment process (see further below).

Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on the following academic and personal qualifications:

• Research qualifications, which will be assessed in relation to the period of active research, the degree of originality, and academic output, e.g. number of publications published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals or in comparable high-ranking series published with internationally recognized publishing houses. 
• The applicant’s scientific record, academic breadth and depth, rigour, thoroughness, and accuracy.  
• Research qualifications, which will be assessed in relation to the period of active research, the degree of originality, and academic output, e.g. number of publications published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals or in comparable high-ranking series published with internationally recognized publishing houses.
• The applicant’s scientific record, academic breadth and depth, rigour, thoroughness and accuracy
• Teaching qualifications: The applicant is expected to provide a statement of his/her academic and pedagogical approaches to university teaching. Read more about our Educational Charter at https://www.humanities.ku.dk/about/vision_and_goals/educational_charter/ and Pedagogic Basis and Guidelines at https://uddannelseskvalitet.ku.dk/quality-assurance-of-study-programmes/university-guidelines/pedagogic-basis-and-guidelines/
  Applicants are encouraged to read the University guidelines for teaching portfolio when appointing staff at the UCPH https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio/
• Experience and qualifications with regard to dissemination of research, knowledge-sharing and engagement with the wider public, the media and the world of politics
• Documentation of possible administrative qualifications

Tenure-track assistant professors must hold an academic record demonstrating internationally competitive research, and/or have internationally recognized potential to make a future impact.

Assessment of applicants will primarily consider their level of documented, internationally competitive research. Teaching qualifications are not mandatory, but documented teaching qualifications and teaching experience will be taken into account. Applicants’ outreach qualifications, including the ability to attract external funding, will also be considered.

Six overall criteria apply for assistant professor appointments at the University of Copenhagen. The six criteria (research, teaching, societal impact, organisational contribution, external funding and leadership) are considered a framework for the overall assessment of candidates.

You can read more about the criteria UCPH criteria here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/

You can read more about the criteria for recognizing merit for assistant professors here: 

https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-videnskabeligestillinger/

dokumenter-til-meritering/5a_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-Assistant_professors.pdf

Qualification requirements for associate professors

The applicant is expected to be able to take part in all the activities of the department, including examinations and administration, and to manage research projects, provide pedagogical supervision, support assistant professors and participate in academic assessment panels.

The duties of the position are evenly distributed on tasks related to teaching and tasks related to research (including relevant administration and knowledge-sharing). Hence the assessment of applicants’ qualifications will assign equal weight to documented competences in the field of teaching, pedagogy and didactics as in the field of research, research collaboration and research organization. Applicants with documentation of excellent teaching skills including experience with development of teaching and with experiences and reflections on how most effectively to integrate research and teaching activities will be given priority.

Applicants are encouraged to read the University guidelines for teaching portfolio when appointing staff at the UCPH https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio/

Six overall criteria apply for associate professor appointments at the University of Copenhagen. The six criteria (research, teaching, societal impact, organizational contribution, external funding and leadership) are considered a framework for the overall assessment of candidates. Furthermore, each candidate must be assessed according to the specific requirements stated in the job advertisement.

You can read more about the criteria UCPH criteria here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/

Find more information for recognizing merit for associate professors here:  

https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-videnskabelige-stillinger/dokumenter-til-meritering/5b_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-Associate_professors.pdf

Requirements for positions at both levels

Within a reasonable period of time (max. 2 years), non-Danish-speaking appointees are expected to acquire proficiency in Danish sufficient to be able to interact with colleagues and students.

For further details about the qualification requirements for assistant and associate professorships, please read the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2019 here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/dokumenter/Ministerial_Order_no._1443_of_11_December_2019_on_Job_Structure_for_Academic_Staff_at_Universities.pdf

For further information about the positions, please contact Head of Department Jens-Erik Mai, e-mail: jemai@hum.ku.dk

Application 

Submit the application online in Adobe PDF or Word format.

Please note that each field in the application form must only contain a single file of max. 20Mb.

Please click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page.

Applicants should indicate if they apply at the assistant professor or the associate professor level.

The application must be written in English and include the following enclosures:

• Application letter/cover letter
• Curriculum vitae (with the applicant’s email address, telephone number and list of referees (maximum five names))
• Documentation of qualifications (examination certificates/PhD diploma, etc.).
• Complete and numbered list of publications. The enclosed publications must be marked with star*.
• Research plan, including a short description of previous research and a plan for the coming years that includes an account of involvement in organising research, establishment of research seminars, symposia and congresses, etc.
• Teaching portfolio. Documentation of teaching qualifications and research dissemination (organisation of classes, materials, courses and other forms of teaching) (see https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/job-application-portfolio/)
• Publications. Applicants may choose a maximum of five publications for assessment, of which at least two (three if you apply for the associate professorship) must have been published within the five years immediately preceding the deadline for applications. At least two of these publications must have been published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals or in comparable high-ranking series published with internationally recognized publishing houses. Publication dates must be clearly marked on the publication list. The publications selected must be uploaded as attachments and listed from 1 to 5.

Should any material submitted consist of work with named co-authors, or work that is otherwise the result of collective academic endeavours, the extent of the applicant’s contribution to the work must be clearly stipulated. The Faculty may ask for a signed statement from the co-authors stipulating the extent and nature of each individual’s contribution.

Only material in English, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish will be assessed.

Appointment procedure 

After the application deadline, the Head of the Department selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointment Committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been accepted for assessment. The Dean subsequently appoints an expert assessment committee tasked with carrying out an assessment of the selected applicants for the specific post. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee. Applicants are ultimately offered the opportunity of commenting on the part of the assessment relating to themselves before the appointment is finalized.

Further information about the application procedure is available from HR, e-mail: hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk. Please refer to ID number 211-0085/21-2N #1.  

Salary and conditions of employment 

Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). For assistant professors the salary range starts at DKK 34,655 (EUR 4,657) + a 17,1 % contribution to the pension scheme. For associate professors the salary range starts at DKK 38,000 (EUR 5,067) + a 17,1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis. A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited abroad, read more at this homepage: https://ism.ku.dk/salary-tax-pension/tax/

The Faculty of Humanities offer a starting package for tenure-track assistant professors, please read more here: https://humanities.ku.dk/about/tenuretrack/

If you consider applying from abroad, you may find useful information on how it is to work in Denmark and at UCPH. Find more information here: https://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-GB, https://www.workindenmark.dk/ and https://ism.ku.dk

The UCPH wishes to encourage everyone interested in this post to apply, regardless of personal background.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disabled status. We are actively promoting a strategy to improve the gender balance among scientific staff.

The closing date for applications is March 14 at 23:59 [*CEST/CET]

Applications or supplementary material received thereafter will not be considered.

*(Centraleuropæisk sommertid=CEST/CET = normaltid)

Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.