The School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, invites applications for one or more Full Professorships within the field of archaeology. The position is permanent and is available from 1 September 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The successful applicant will be based at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, located at Campus Moesgaard (Højbjerg).

In its pursuit of academic excellence, the Faculty of Arts is committed to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore welcomes applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of background.

The position

The Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at Aarhus University offers a dynamic, collegial, and internationally orientated research and teaching environment. The professor will take a leading role in the future development of our thriving research and educational ecosystem. Candidates must be able to document excellence in archaeological research and an outstanding publications record. Success in gaining external research funding and experience of managing research projects is an essential qualification, as is the ability to nurture international collaboration. The professor will also be expected to take an active role in supervising and supporting early career scholars, in knowledge dissemination beyond academia, in teaching at BA and MA level, and in the Department’s strategy overall.

Research

The successful applicant will be expected to take a leading role in the core research activities of the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies and the multi-disciplinary research activities of the School of Culture and Society, the Faculty of Arts, at Aarhus University at large, and beyond. Applicants should explicitly present their vision for the development of research and research training in their field, and how this articulates with the Department. This should include a short-, medium- and long-term research plan demonstrating how the applicant will consolidate, develop, and expand existing research foci in the Department. The Department has the ambition to further increase its external research funding, and candidates are invited to include proposals for how this might be achieved in their application.

Past research achievements will be assessed based on the active research time available to the applicants, so your application should specify any career breaks or periods of leave you have had.

Education

Candidates should document extensive university teaching and supervision experience, including evidence of active involvement in the development of educational programmes and environments. The professor will be expected to teach and supervise across all the degree programmes at the department (BA, MA and PhD), and to take an active role in their development.

We emphasise the importance of maintaining a dedicated and respectful relationship between staff and students. As part of their teaching portfolio, applicants should demonstrate and exemplify their commitment to participatory teaching initiatives and student involvement, and they should address how their teaching vision articulates with the Department’s teaching activities at large.

Talent development

The Department wishes to attract and nurture top-quality PhD and post-doctoral researchers. The successful candidate will demonstrate well-documented qualifications regarding supervision and research management, including experience of recruiting, mentoring, and supporting the career development of early career researchers (PhD students, post-docs and assistant professors). The professor will also be expected to contribute to developing and teaching PhD courses.

Knowledge exchange

The Department has a long history and a strong track record as a public institution, routinely facing both local and global audiences, thus enriching and challenging people’s notions of the past with perspectives from the Department’s research. The Department cooperates closely with all Danish museums, notably nearby Moesgaard. The successful candidate will take a leading role in continuing to develop the public-facing side of the Department’s research.

Qualifications

Applicants should hold a PhD in archaeology or equivalent qualification, and research and teaching qualifications equivalent to those acquired for a professorship, in line with the Faculty of Arts’ criteria.

Applicants must be able to document:

• Original academic publications at the highest international level, showing evidence of excellent research
• Experience of active participation in international research collaboration.
• Experience of success in attracting external funding and administering collaborative research projects, and well-developed plans for acquiring external funding in the future.
• Evidence of excellence in teaching and supervision at BA, MA and PhD level, including evidence of contribution to teaching innovation.
• A vision for the development of research and research training in the applicant’s field. This should include a short-, medium- and long-term research plan demonstrating how the applicant will consolidate, develop or expand existing research, including how this might be achieved in terms of funding. 

Further:

• Experience of initiatives relating to talent development and/or management of research and educational environments will be an asset.
• Research and teaching experience in the archaeology of Southern Scandinavia will be valued.

A maximum of five publications should be uploaded alongside the application. A list of publications is not sufficient and applications without submitted publications will not be assessed.

References or recommendations should not be included with the application but please provide details of two or three people willing to provide a letter of recommendation. Applicants who are selected for a job interview may be asked to provide professional references.

Applicants are expected to contribute to the Department’s academic environment. We emphasise the importance of good working relationships among colleagues and with our students and therefore expect the successful candidate to be present at the Department on a regular basis during the teaching semester.

Language and further information

Most of the Department’s BA and MA teaching is conducted in Danish and/or English. Applicants must also be able to teach and supervise in English at university level. Applicants who are not fluent in Danish will be expected to acquire the language within a period of approximately two years.

Applications must be uploaded in English.

For further information about the content of the position, please contact Head of School of Culture and Society Marie Vejrup Nielsen (head@cas.au.dk).

For further information about the application procedure, please contact HR support (iks-hr-sag@au.dk).

The academic environment

The Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies offers a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree programme in archaeology, together with an MA Programme in Sustainable Heritage Management (taught in English).  The Department employs about 12 Full, Associate, and Assistant Professors in the fields of archaeology and heritage studies, plus post-doctoral researchers and a cohort of PhD students. The Department admits approximately 40-50 students to its BA programme every year, and ca. 20-30 MA students. Our degree programmes are robustly linked to the Danish academic and cultural resource management sector through what and how we teach, and through ongoing alumni relations. The Department houses the research programme Materials, Culture, Heritage (MCH) and is based at the School of Culture and Society’s Moesgaard Campus. Here, we enjoy co-location with the Department of Anthropology and with Moesgaard. Based on highly interdisciplinary studies of material culture, biological remains and heritage practice, our research is concerned with culture, environment and society from the earliest times to the present and in exploring how real and imagined pasts can be an asset in the present as well as inform the future. Drawing on fieldwork and excavation, laboratory, archival, ethnographic investigation and applied intervention projects, the Department’s interdisciplinarity is at the core of its research and teaching activities, investigating and challenging our understanding of past, present and future societies seen in a long-term perspective. As reflected across the full range of our activities, the department fosters a genuine wealth of original and productive ideas. Creativity is manifest in our extensive and diverse publication output, in our ability to attract external funding, in our ability to educate highly qualified graduates, and in our many forms of cooperation with external partners, which enable us to deliver innovation and impact that responds to current societal challenges. We host a number of collaborative and externally funded research projects. In 2025, the HYPERLINK "Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies ranked 19 globally (see https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/archaeology).

The School of Culture and Society

The focus of the teaching and research activities of the School of Culture and Society is the interplay of culture and society in time and space:

• from the classical research fields of theology and the humanities to applied social research
• through history from the earliest times to issues of topical interest
• from familiar Danish forms of culture to other and very different worlds
• from local issues to global challenges.

The School encompasses a range of strong research and degree programmes, which in dialogue with each other and with society work to develop innovative ways to solve issues of topical or perennial interest.

It comprises a wide range of programmes, which makes it possible to approach cultural and social conditions from many different angles: Anthropology, Archaeology, Asian Studies, Philosophy and the History of Ideas, History, and Classical Studies.

The School's research competencies are dedicated in particular to global and regional cultural processes, and the School houses a number of the university's international and globally orientated degree programmes and fields of research (anthropology, Asian studies, human security, the study of religion, history, European studies, and international studies).

The School has a strong academic environment for teaching and research in the classical fields, which are decisive for understanding and manifesting Denmark's position in the world (theology, philosophy and the history of ideas, classical studies, archaeology, the study of religion and history).

The School has a comprehensive network of contacts and partners in Danish and international society, and the department’s research and degree programmes contribute to social innovation, the communication of research results, and continuing and further education.

There is a constructive tension within the school between, on the one hand, a scholarly focus on the fundamental conditions of human life and the theoretical opportunities for research and, on the other hand, an empirical investigation of concrete and topical social issues.  This tension serves to strengthen the academic quality of the department's research and degree programmes and is the point of departure for its contribution to resolving the problems facing modern society.

For further information about the School, please see School of Culture and Society - Aarhus University

International applicants

International applicants are encouraged to check Working and living with your family in Denmark and Attractive working conditions for further information about the benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a Relocation Services for Professors and Postdocs at Aarhus University and career counselling for expat partners. For information about taxation, see Taxation aspects of international researchers' employment by AU.

Qualification requirements

Applicants should hold a PhD or equivalent academic qualifications.

Formalities

• Faculty of Arts refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities (the Appointment Order).
• Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.
• Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities .
• Further information on the application and supplementary materials may be found in Application Guidelines.
• The application must outline the applicant's motivation for applying for the position, attaching a curriculum vitae, a teaching portfolio, a complete list of published works, copies of degree certificates and no more than five examples of academic production (mandatory). Please upload this material electronically along with your application.

If nothing else is noted, applications must be submitted in English. Application deadline is at 11.59 pm Danish time (same as Central European Time) on the deadline day.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Shortlists may be prepared with the candidates that have been selected for a detailed academic assessment. A committee set up by the head of school is responsible for selecting the most qualified candidates. See this link for further information about shortlisting at the Faculty of Arts: shortlisting

Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts is one of five main academic areas at Aarhus University.

The faculty contributes to Aarhus University's research, talent development, knowledge exchange and degree programmes.

With its 700 academic staff members, 200 PhD students, 9,000 BA and MA students, and 1,500 students following continuing/further education programmes, the faculty constitutes a strong and diverse research and teaching environment.

The Faculty of Arts consists of the School of Communication and Culture, the School of Culture and Society and the Danish School of Education. Each of these units has strong academic environments and forms the basis for interdisciplinary research and education.

The faculty's academic environments and degree programmes engage in international collaboration and share the common goal of contributing to the development of knowledge, welfare and culture in interaction with society.

Read more at arts.au.dk/en

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/