University of Helsinki

Call for Applications

Application Deadline: December 12, 2017

Founded in 1640, the University of Helsinki is one of the best multidisciplinary research universities in the world. The University of Helsinki is an international academic community of 40,000 students and staff members.

The Faculty of Arts of the University of Helsinki is Finland’s oldest institution for teaching and research in the humanities and the largest in terms of the structure and range of disciplines. It is also a significant international community fostering research, education and cultural interaction.

The Faculty of Arts invites applications for the position of assistant professor / associate professor / professor of Study of Religions.

The study of religions involves empirical and comparative research on religious phenomena and traditions from a religion-neutral perspective and with a focus on empirical field work. At the University of Helsinki, students can pursue the study of religions at both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Theology. At the Faculty of Arts, the study of religions will be included as of the beginning of 2018 in the new multicultural Department of Cultures.

The successful applicant may be appointed to a permanent professorship or a fixed-term associate/assistant professorship (tenure track system), depending on his or her qualifications and career stage.

A professor will carry out and supervise scientific research, provide teaching based on it, follow developments in research and participate in societal interaction in his/her field and in international cooperation. He or she shall also participate in the development of teaching and acquire research funding.

An appointee to the position of assistant/associate professor within the tenure track system shall hold a doctoral degree, have the ability to conduct independent scholarly work and have the teaching skills necessary for the position. In addition, applicants for assistant professorships shall demonstrate their capability and motivation as regards an academic career through publications and other means.

An appointee to a full professorship shall hold a doctoral degree and possess top-level scholarly qualifications and experience in the supervision of scientific research, along with the ability to provide top-level research-based teaching as well as to supervise theses and dissertations. In addition, the appointee shall present documentation of international cooperation in the field of research that he or she represents. Holders of professorships shall also have the skills necessary to serve as academic leaders.

Holders of teaching and research positions at Finnish universities must be proficient in the language in which they provide instruction, i.e., Finnish or Swedish. They must also have at least satisfactory spoken and written skills in both Finnish and Swedish. Foreign citizens, non-native Finnish citizens or citizens who have not been educated in Finnish or Swedish language may be exempted from this requirement without a separate application. However, if the appointee to this position is not proficient in Finnish or Swedish, he or she is expected to acquire moderate proficiency. Support for language studies is offered. To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must also have good English skills.

The salary for the position will be based on levels 8−10 (professor) and 7 (assistant/associate professor) of the requirement scheme for teaching and research positions in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, a salary component based on personal performance will be paid.

Source: academicpositions.fi