Associate Professorship, Centre for Journalism

The Centre for Journalism at the Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Odense invites applications for an associate professorship as of March 1, 2023, or as agreed. We are looking for ambitious individuals with the potential to become an international leader in their field of research.

The successful candidate must be able and willing to support the department in realizing it's two overarching strategic objectives: First, we strive to produce original ideas through high-quality and pioneering research and teaching. Second, we want to address major societal challenges and to exchange knowledge with society through high-quality study programmes and genuine engagement with societal actors and the wider public. The department values a diversity of competences and academic profiles, and, thus, applicants must present a clear academic profile. By academic profile, we understand the combined quality of research, teaching, and societal engagement. For more information about the department and its strategy, please visit the website.

The Centre for Journalism offers both bachelor and graduate degrees in journalism as well as short-term, mid-career courses for journalists. The Centre furthermore trains doctoral students. Research is multidisciplinary and covers the following research areas: journalism studies, political communication, media rhetoric and language, digital journalism, and applied journalism research. For a detailed description of the Centre’s profile and activities, please visit the CfJ website. Applicants with a research profile cutting across the Centre’s research areas are preferred over applicants with a narrower research focus.

The successful applicant will be affiliated with the Media Research and Innovation Centre. The Centre aims to improve journalism in multiple ways by producing new knowledge about journalism in the 21st century, by reviewing and condensing existing knowledge and - not the least - by working closely together with the journalism industry. Thus, our ideal candidate will not only be a talented and internationally oriented researcher but also someone who engages in development projects (of, for example, formats, business cases, technologies) and knowledge exchange activities (e.g., acting as an expert on committees or offering courses to professional journalists and/or editors). Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with aims, goals, and activities of the Media Research and Innovation Centre

The associate professor will be tasked with a range of obligations at the department, including:

• Conduct and publish research at a high international level in areas of relevance to journalism
• Conduct teaching and supervision within the department's entire portfolio of study programmes
• Acquire individual/collective external grants to develop the research environment to the benefit of not least junior colleagues
• Perform a number of research-related tasks such as engaging in knowledge exchange activities with the surrounding society, conducting research management including supervision and mentoring of assistant professors, postdocs and PhD students, and participation in academic assessment committees

For applicants to qualify for the position, the following criteria must be met (please also consult the Scholarly Qualification Matrix:

• Delineate a research profile aligned with the strategy of the Centre for Journalism, as well as the Media Research and Innovation Centre, indicating po­tential of making international scholarly impact and facilitate research cooperation within the Centre
• Document a substantial publication record at an inter­nationally recognized level
• Document an ability to form and develop professional networks
• Document ample experience with various teaching and supervision formats as well as good teaching results
• Document an ability to develop and implement new pedagogical or didactical techniques
• Have experience with and genuine interest in outreach or knowledge-sharing activities and/or cooperation with external partners

It is important to us that applicants have good interpersonal skills and are dedicated to take part in the everyday academic and social environment at the department. Such engagement can be documented by, for example, past engagement in social and professional activities.

Within a three-year period, applicants are expected to master Danish at a level which enables them to correct Danish exam papers and read administrative documents. Within a five-year period, foreign applicants must be able to document Danish language skills at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This can be satisfied by passing Prøve i Dansk 3 (3.5) or an equivalent test. The department offers free language classes and a reduction in workload to support non-Danish speaking employees.

The department believes in fostering a stimulating and inspiring environment for both faculty members and students. The department's ambition is therefore to recruit, develop, and retain talented scholars committed to both academic excellence and departmental development. Furthermore, the department wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and, thus, welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

For further information, please contact Head of Department, Signe Pihl-Thingvad [email protected] or Head of Centre for Journalism Ralf Andersson [email protected].


Application, salary, etc.Appointment to the position requires a PhD or equivalent and will be in accordance with the salary agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

An application must include:

• A detailed CV
• A letter of motivation
• A detailed research plan (max 3 pages) for the next 4-5 years that describes the applicant's:
• Potential to advance the field (both empirically and theoretically)
• Relationship to the aim and goals of the Centre for Journalism
• Planned national and international collaborations
• Potential to obtain external funding


• Certificates/Diplomas (Master and PhD degree)
• A complete list of publications, indicating the publications most relevant for the position
• Up to 5 of the most relevant publications. Please upload a pdf file for each publication. NOTE: If publications have been co-authored, co-author statements must be a part of this pdf file and must include information like in this example. The statement is just for your inspiration.

Furthermore, applicants are requested to submit a teaching portfolio as documentation for teaching experience as well as supervision qualifications. Formal application instructions and guide for teaching portfolio may be found here.

All non-Danish documents must be in or translated into English.

Incomplete applications may be rejected without any substantive evaluation.

Assessment of applications will be done under the existing Appointment Order for Universities. Applications will be assessed by an academic assessment committee that determines whether applicants are qualified for an Associate Professorship. The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material. The committee reserves the right to arrive at a decision solely based on the material submitted.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process.

When the assessment committee has submitted its report, the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointment committee. The appointment committee will manage and complete a series of job interviews with especially promising applicants. On the basis of the applications, the written assessments, the job interviews, and a deliberation within the appointments committee, the Head of Department determines which candidate(s) will be offered the position.

Applications must be submitted electronically no later than October 20, 2022, using the link "Apply online". Uploaded files must be in Adobe PDF (unlocked) or Word format.

Read the guideline for applicants.

Each field can only contain a single file of max. 10 Mb.