Full Professor in Political Science

The Department of Political Science at Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, invites
applications for one or more full professors in political science. The professorship is a
full-time and permanent position starting September 2026 or as soon as possible subject to mutual agreement.

Aarhus BSS is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply
regardless of their personal background.

Job description

The successful applicant is expected to contribute significantly to the department’s
research and teaching environment. You are expected to teach and supervise students
at BA, MA and PhD level and to conduct research of the highest international standard.
Our department is a broad political science department, and your research expertise
can be within one or more of these fields:

• Public Administration and Leadership
• Comparative Politics
• Political Behavior
• International Relations
• Public Policy
• Political Sociology
• Political Theory
• Studies in Research, Innovation and University Policy

Your qualifications

Applicants must possess very strong research qualifications and teaching skills, have
experience with research leadership, and demonstrated and the ability to obtain external funding.

Applicants should typically have a minimum of 4-5 years of experience as associate
professor.

It is required that non-Danish speakers acquire reasonable knowledge of Danish within
the first three years of employment. If relevant, the department will grant time off from
teaching to attend Danish courses during the first two years of employment.

The required qualifications are elaborated below. In the evaluation of qualifications, the
main emphasis will be put on the last 5-10 years when relevant. Due consideration will
be given to periods of leave.

Applications are assessed based on 1) research qualifications, 2) teaching competences and experiences, 3) qualifications relating to research cooperation and leadership, 4) ability to take home and manage external funding, and 5) research impact and outreach

Re 1: Applicants are expected to have a strong international research profile with emphasis on original contributions within their field of research and show progress and momentum in research activities. The Department is particularly looking for applicants who have contributed to defining the research agenda within their field. Research qualifications must be documented through a significant body of high-quality research. The applicant must also demonstrate continuation of productivity since becoming associate professor. The assessment will mainly focus on the scientific originality and contributions of the submitted publications regardless of outlet. However, publication in top political science and general journals carries weight as does publication of monographs with internationally recognized publishers. Applicants are also expected to present promising ideas for future research.

Re 2: Teaching and supervising students at different levels are important activities for a professor at the Department. The Department is ambitious in terms of our teaching at BA, MA, and PhD level. Applicants are expected to have extensive teaching experience at all levels of academic teaching, including PhD supervision, with generally positive student evaluations. Applicants must submit a teaching portfolio that carefully documents didactic/pedagogic competences, coordination of large courses, and contributions to teaching or course development. Applicants must have completed pedagogical training at university level.

Re 3: Applicants are expected to have substantial experience in research leadership and cooperation. Relevant experiences encompass project participation and leadership, editorship of professional journals or edited volumes, and planning and running professional conferences and workshops.

Re 4: Applicants are expected to document the ability to obtain and successfully direct external research funding allowing them to take responsibility for a research team. This may be documented by project-related publications.

Re 5: Applicants are expected to have good communication skills and experience with research dissemination as documented by, for example, publications aimed at the public, participation in the public debate, or public sector services.
 

Who we are

With around 130 academic staff members and 40 PhD students, the Department of Political Science is among Europe’s largest political science departments. The research at the department covers most political science disciplines, including public administration, and represents a variety of methodological approaches. We are among Europe’s highest-ranked departments, and our broad research profile enables us to focus on societal problems as they appear in the national and international political arena. This allows us to contribute actively to the development of the discipline.

We offer a lively and ambitious research and teaching environment characterized by pluralism and openness. We expect active participation in the activities of the department, which includes being present at the department at least three days per week.

For more information about the Department of Political Science, please see here.

The Department of Political Science is part of Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University – a top 100 university. Aarhus BSS has achieved the triple-crown AASCB, AMBA and EQUIS accreditations.

Place of work

Department of Political Science, Bartholins Allé 7, DK-8000 Aarhus.

Further information

Application deadline: 15 December 2025

For further information about the position and the department, please contact Head of
Department, Christoffer Green-Pedersen email: cgp@ps.au.dk.

If you need help uploading your application or have questions about the recruitment
process, please contact HR-supporter Line Møller Kristiansen, email: lmkr@au.dk.

Shortlisting is applied. This means that an appointment committee (assisted by the chair of the assessment committee) advises the head of department on which applicants are the best overall match for the department’s and the faculty’s recruitment needs and which possess the qualifications, competencies, experience and potential described above and in the faculty’s criteria for evaluating candidates to permanent positions here.

Through the shortlisting process, the head of department selects the applicants who are to receive a thorough assessment of their professional qualifications. The assessment committee will then assess these applicants. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been shortlisted and sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee.

 

International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information here:
https://internationalstaff.au.dk/relocationservice/

Please find more information about research opportunities at Aarhus University here: http://international.au.dk/research/

Terms of employment

The appointment is made in accordance with the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities as well as the circular on the Collective Agreement for Academics Employed by the State (in Danish).
The job content and qualification requirements are described in further detail in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure

When you apply for this position it is mandatory to attach the following:

• Application
• Curriculum Vitae. You are encouraged to declare any periods of leave without research activity, including, for example, maternity leave, since your research activities are assessed in relation to your actual research time
• Education (diploma for master's, PhD and possibly higher doctoral degree)
• List of publications (the enclosed publications must be clearly marked on the list of publications)
  Publications. Up to 10 publications can be included in the application. In the event of several authors the publications must be accompanied by a co-author statement concerning the applicant's share of the collaborative work with the consent of the co-authors. This template may be used for the purpose
• Teaching portfolio. The specific requirements regarding the documentation can be found here

Materials which cannot be uploaded together with the application may be submitted in five copies to Aarhus BSS HR & PhD, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 16, DK-8000 Aarhus C.

Read more about how to apply for an academic post at Aarhus BSS here

The evaluation process

After the application deadline, an assessment committee is appointed. Please note that the assessment of applicants is based solely on the material received prior to the application deadline. For further information, see Guidelines for Assessment Committee, Aarhus BSS.

Read more about Aarhus BSS' professorship policy here.
The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

 

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/