Full Professorships in Journalism and International Politics at University of Southern Denmark

The Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, invites applications for a number of permanent professorships in political science and journalism as of March 1, 2026, or as agreed. With this call, the department is looking for strong profiles that can contribute to the department’s research section in either Journalism or International and Regional Politics. 

Successful applicants must be able and willing to take a leading role in realizing the department’s four strategic objectives to:

• produce high-quality and original research
• build a sustainable portfolio of attractive, research-based study programmes 
• strengthen the outreach of our research and our focus on high societal relevance. 
• secure a motivating and inspiring work environment for all employees. 

For more information about the department’s strategy see the website.

The department values a diversity of competences and profiles. The expectations for a full professorship at the department are described in the Scholarly Qualification Matrix – REEAD for the Department of Political Science and Public Management. Based on the criteria in the Scholarly Qualification Matrix – REEAD, the applicants must present a clear academic profile. By academic profile, the department understands the combined quality of research, education, external funding, academic citizenship, and dissemination. 

The successful applicants will be affiliated with the department’s research section for International and Regional Politics (IRP) or Journalism. The applicant is expected to outline how their academic profile and future research plans contribute to the strategy and current activities in one of these units. 

International and Regional Politics

Research in international politics at the IRP section focuses mainly, though not exclusively, on contemporary security issues. The researchers have a strong research profile and a dynamic doctoral training program and extensive partnerships with other Danish and European institutes and universities. The IRP section is responsible for teaching introductory IP courses at bachelor level and specialized graduate courses in Political Science, especially in the Master’s program in International Security and Law and in the professional Master program in Intelligence and Cyber Studies. The international politics researchers of the IRP section are associated with the Center for War Studies (CWS), which facilitates inter-disciplinary research into fundamental questions of war, peace, and international order. For a detailed description of the research and activities of the Center for War Studies, please visit the CWS website.

Applications are invited for appointment as Professor of International Politics. We seek a candidate with a strong specialization in security studies and security practices. We particularly welcome applicants who have demonstrated the ability to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practice and who will be able to contribute with research-based teaching at the Master’s in Intelligence and Cyber Studies. We also emphasize the candidate’s ability to build up and lead strong research environments within the field.

Journalism Studies

Research at the Centre for Journalism is multidisciplinary and covers a wide range of topics, including media language, journalistic practices, political communication, digitalization, automation, news consumption, and the effects of both journalism and political communication. Research at the Centre is carefully grounded in various methods that can address the key questions within journalism studies and includes everything from qualitative methods, such as close textual analysis, interviews, and ethnographic studies, to statistical analyses of quantitative data.

The Centre for Journalism offers both bachelor and graduate degrees in journalism, short-term mid-career courses for journalists, and trains doctoral students. The Centre staff also teach courses in political science and public management. For a detailed description of the Centre’s profile and activities, please visit the CfJ website. 

Applications are invited for appointment as Professor of Journalism. We seek a candidate with a strong specialization in journalistic practice and production. We particularly welcome applicants who have demonstrated the ability to collaborate closely with the news industry to both advance research and translate academic knowledge into practice. We also emphasize the candidate’s ability to build up and lead strong research environments within the field.

In addition to the criteria in the Scholarly Qualification Matrix – REEAD, it is important that applicants have good interpersonal skills and are dedicated to taking part in the everyday professional and social environment at the department. Within a three-year period, applicants with no current Danish skills must master the language at a level which enables them to read Danish exam papers and administrative documents (free language courses will be offered).

For further information about the positions, please contact the Interim Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Management Melike Wulfgramm wulfgramm@sam.sdu.dk.

Application

The application must include the following:

• A cover letter (including the applicant’s motivation to apply for the specific position)
• Detailed CV, including the required documentation of the REEAD criteria and any periods of leave.
• Certificates/Diplomas (Master and PhD degree, and relevant additional education in research, teaching, and management)
• An elaborated research plan (describing the applicant’s plans for future research, funding, collaborations, and publications covering the next 4-5 years (max 4 pages)
• An elaborated teaching portfolio (Formal application instructions and a teaching portfolio guide is found here)
• Complete list of publications, indicating which publications are most relevant for the position.
• Up to 5 publications relevant for the position for qualitative assessment 
  • If the publication has been co-authored, a co-author statement must be attached to the relevant pdf file, describing the candidate’s own contribution. See this example of such a document.

All non-Danish documents must be translated into English, and all documents must be in pdf format, no more than 5 MB per file. 

Documents should not contain a CPR number (civil registration number) – in this case, the CPR number must be crossed out.

Applicants are encouraged to read the information “How to apply” before applying. If you experience technical problems when uploading the application, please contact hcm-support@sdu.dk. 

UPLOAD GUIDE: Motivated application should be uploaded as ‘Cover letter’, Curriculum Vitae should be uploaded as ‘Resume’. All other documents should be uploaded as ‘Miscellaneous documents’. 

The application deadline is August 1, 2025, at 11.59 PM/23.59 (CET/CEST) 

Assessment and selection process

Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee. Shortlisting may be applied, and only shortlisted candidates will receive a written assessment. Read about shortlisting at SDU.  The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material. Incomplete applications may be rejected without any substantial evaluation.

When the assessment committee has submitted its report, applicants will receive the part of the assessment that concerns themselves. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Management, who will form an appointment committee. Interviews and tests may be part of the overall evaluation by the appointment committee. 

Based on information from the entire recruitment process, the Head of Department determines which applicants will be offered a position.

Conditions of employment

Appointment as a full professor is permanent. Appointment to the position will be in accordance with the collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for academics in the state with the associated circular on the protocol for the job structure for academic staff at Danish universities and the provisions for full professor as described herein. 

Employment as full professor requires academic qualifications at PhD level as well as scientific qualifications with a high level of international academic production, experience with teaching on more academic levels, and contribution to development of teaching and teaching materials as well as the documented ability to administer scientific- and educational management tasks. 

For a detailed description of the entry criteria and a job description for a professorship, as well as a descriptions of the assessment and hiring processes at the Department of Political Science and Public Management, please consult the department’s Scholarly Qualification Matrix – REEAD.

The person employed in the position may, based on a specific individual managerial assessment, be exempted from time registration, also known as a “self-organiser”.

SDU recommends that international applicants take the time to visit Work in Denmark, where there is information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU.

About the Department of Political Science and Public Management

The Department of Political Science and Public Management is part of the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences and currently has approximately 90 permanent employees as well as several part-time employees. Currently, the department attracts around 2,500 students in its various full-time bachelor and master programs as well as part-time professional master programs. The department is located on three of the University of Southern Denmark’s campuses in Odense, Sønderborg and Esbjerg, respectively. 

The department is organized around three research sections in Public Administration, Welfare and Politics, International and Regional Politics, and Journalism as well as several cross-disciplinary research centres and research groups. 

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

For a detailed description of the Department of Political Science and Public Management’s profile and activities, please visit the department’s website.