The Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, invites applications for a permanent position as Professor in Social Anthropology.

The position is available from May 1, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. The professorship is offered within the broad discipline of social anthropology.

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen is one of Europe's largest anthropological research institutions, with a research and teaching staff of about 35, approximately 450 students at the BSc and MSc levels and approximately 20 PhD students. In addition to the BSc and MSc in Anthropology, the Department also contributes to two cross-disciplinary MSc programs in Global Development and Global Health.

The Department of Anthropology has a strong international research profile and a vibrant and dynamic research and teaching environment. The department has a new strategy (2023-2028) and the new Professor is expected to contribute actively to this, holding responsibility for further development of the Department’s research, teaching, and outreach activities, in collaboration with Department colleagues.

Candidates will be assessed according to the below list of qualifications and the University of Copenhagen’s six overall criteria for professor appointments: 5c_criteria_for_recognising_merit_-professors.pdf (ku.dk)

Your Competencies and Opportunities
In order to be assessed as qualified for a professor position at the University of Copenhagen, the candidate must meet the University’s criteria of academic merit.

Six overall criteria apply for 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. Furthermore, each candidate must be assessed according to the specific requirements stated in the job advertisement.

You can read more about the criteria for recognising merit for professors here: 5c_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-professors.pdf

Qualifications
The following qualifications are required:

• Substantial academic production at an international level within the field of social anthropology,
• Extensive teaching and supervision experience at different levels and experience with course/study program management,
• Solid experience with ethnographic fieldwork, drawing on a variety of research methods and forms of analysis,
• Documented experience with academic management and leadership,
• A proven record of nurturing younger scholars,
• Experience of knowledge sharing with society at large and societal impact through engagement with external partners such as civil society, public or private institutions, or private companies,
• Proven record of attracting and successfully managing externally funded research projects as PI,
• Commitment to collegiality and collaboration at the Department and a strong record of international collaboration.
• The appointed professor must have or acquire the proficiency in Danish required to teach and interact with colleagues in that language.

Job description
Duties include:

• Research in the field of Social Anthropology,
• Teaching, supervision, and examination at all academic levels; Bachelor’s (taught in Danish), Master’s (taught in English and Danish) and PhD,
• Administrative and leadership tasks,
• Knowledge sharing with society and societal impact through engagement,
• Research, teaching, societal impact and organization management,
• Raising funds for research.

With the new Department Strategy for 2023-2028, the Department of Anthropology aims to: 1) Engage in original and cutting-edge anthropological research that pushes the boundaries of existing knowledge in order to contribute to societal change; 2) Consolidate our position as a world-leading center of research-based anthropological education providing students with robust, societally-relevant knowledge, competences, and skills; 3) Be agenda-setting and increase our impact in terms of addressing key societal challenges, and; 4) Be a department with a thriving working environment grounded in our core values.

We expect the candidate to engage actively in the fulfilment of these strategic objectives and associated activities, including to promote employability and the healthy work life of our degree candidates and to attract external funding for research. We therefore expect the candidate to initiate and lead grant application activities.

Strategy of the Faculty of the Social Sciences
The Faculty of Social Sciences strives to put knowledge into action by:

• Engaging partners in the co-creation of knowledge, learning and social change,
• Empowering students to become reflective and responsible citizens who have the vision, the knowledge and the competences to change society for the better,
• Energizing global, European and Danish communities of knowledge by innovating research methodologies and by generating research findings with impact

For more on the Faculty of Social Sciences strategy, see: Strategy for the Faculty of Social Science – University of Copenhagen

You can read the Department’s strategy here: Department Strategy and Action Tracks 2023-2028 - Department of Anthropology (ku.dk)

Terms of employment

• Employment with the Faculty of Social Sciences and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit. We do this by applying academic criteria of the University of Copenhagen which are related to the duties and conditions of each particular post and the needs of the Department concerned.
• The position is permanent, and therefore the appointed professor must have or acquire the proficiency in Danish required to teach and interact with colleagues in that language in 3-6 years. The Department will provide and pay for the necessary language training
• Further information on qualification requirements as professor can be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities 2025 here: Bekendtgørelse om stillingsstruktur for videnskabeligt personale ved universiteter (in Danish only).
• Terms of appointment and salary is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).

Salary and conditions of employment will be in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The monthly salary is currently DKK 59.593,09 plus an 18.07% contribution to the pension scheme. Annual negotiation regarding additional supplements is possible. A special tax scheme is offered to researchers recruited from abroad, see Tax – University of Copenhagen

The recruitment process
Further information on the recruitment process at the University of Copenhagen can be found here: Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

Contact information

Additional information about the position can be obtained from the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Vibeke Koushede (vjk@samf.ku.dk) or the Department’s Head of Department, Professor Ayo Wahlberg (ayo.wahlberg@anthro.ku.dk).

For practical questions regarding the recruitment process, kindly contact HR, e-mail: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk, please refer to ID number: 211-0351/26-2K


How to apply
Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page to apply.

Applications must be in English and include the following documents:

1. Motivated application (2 pages maximum),
2. CV, including a record of research, research management, and international research cooperation,
3. Certificates and diplomas,
4. A complete and numbered list of publications. The publications (maximum 10) that the applicant asks the assessment committee to consider should be marked with * on the list,
5. A vision for the development of the Department’s research in social anthropology (max 2 pages)
6. Teaching portfolio in accordance with University of Copenhagen guidelines, including a vision for the development of the Department’s teaching programmes: Job application portfolio – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
7. Documentation of the ability to disseminate research and share knowledge with society as well as to generate societal impact through engagement (max 2 pages)
8. A vision for how the candidate would contribute to sustaining a thriving working environment as well as making an organizational management contribution (max 2 pages)

If publications marked by * are the result of a joint effort, the nature of the applicant’s contribution to each individual work must be clarified in the application. If possible, a declaration from the co-authors or the head of the institution at which the work was completed should be enclosed.

When you will be affiliated with the University of Copenhagen or otherwise have access to their research, you may be required to undergo a background screening. The purpose is to protect the security and research integrity of the University of Copenhagen.

The closing date for applications is 10 March 2026 at 23.59 [CET].


Applications or enclosures received thereafter will not be considered.