The Research Unit of Literary Studies and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven is seeking a full-time tenure-track professor in Cultural Studies. The professorship will commence on September 1, 2027.
KU Leuven is the largest university in Belgium and is consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in Europe. The university is a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) and places great importance on attracting and appreciating talent. At the Faculty of Arts, research is conducted in the fields of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Archaeology, Art History, Chinese Studies, History, Japanese Studies, Literary Studies and Cultural Studies, Linguistics, Musicology, and Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Faculty employs over 800 junior and senior researchers and provides education to approximately 4,500 students across its campuses in Antwerp, Brussels, Kortrijk, and Leuven. The Faculty strives to be an open and inclusive environment, with attention to dialogue, social safety, sustainability, and a healthy work-life balance.
We are looking for a motivated lecturer and researcher to strengthen the staff of the Cultural Studies Research Group within the Research Unit of Literary Studies and Cultural Studies. The Cultural Studies Research Group is renowned for its research on contemporary cultural practices, cultural policy, cultural theories, and digital humanities, and includes more than 30 senior and junior researchers. Members of the research group teach in various bachelor's and master's programs within and beyond the Faculty of Arts, particularly in the Master of Cultural Studies program.
Website unit
Duties
Research
You are a committed, internationally oriented researcher who conducts both fundamental and applied research in the domain of:
1. Cultural policy in the broadest sense, from both local and international perspectives: arts and heritage policy, the digital transformation of culture, and the institutional organization of the cultural field;
2. One or more institutionally embedded cultural practices, preferably in the performing arts or popular culture.
Your research strengthens the profile of the Cultural Studies Research Group (https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/literatuurwetenschap/english/literary-theory-and-cultural-studies), but you also contribute expertise in cultural policy to the entire Faculty of Arts and collaborate, where appropriate, with relevant partners within the KU Leuven Association.
You strive for excellence in your academic research and develop your own research program. You publish at the highest academic level, initiate national and international collaborations, and help foster and further develop these partnerships.
You succeed in securing competitive research funding and in attracting and supervising PhD students. The faculty supports you in identifying suitable funding opportunities and provides guidance for applications. It places great importance on high-quality and responsible supervision of doctoral students.
You engage in science communication and contribute to public debate wherever possible. You maintain strong connections with the local or international arts sector in which you specialize.
Teaching
You provide high-quality education, primarily within the Master of Cultural Studies program (https://www.kuleuven.be/opleidingen/programmes/master-cultural-studies/index.html), and you are committed to the overall quality of the study programs. You develop your teaching in line with KU Leuven’s vision of active, research-based education, and you make use of the opportunities offered by the faculty and university to further professionalize your teaching (for more information: www.kuleuven.be/english/education/education-at-ku-leuven).
Your teaching assignment comprises 21 to 24 ECTS credits, and includes the following or similar courses:
(1) Cultural Policy: approx. 16 ECTS
F0BR7A Cultural Policy (7 ECTS, possibly co-teaching including coordination of the teaching team)
F0YS8A Cultural Economics (3 van 6 ECTS, including coordination of the teaching team)
N0A60A European Diversity and Cultural Policy (6 ECTS)
(2) Arts Sector: approx. 6 ECTS
1 MA-level course, depending on the candidate’s expertise, to be offered as an elective course in the Master of Cultural Studies
Your teaching assignment also includes the supervision of bachelor's papers and master's theses.
Your teaching assignment is primarily based at Campus Leuven, but may in the future include teaching at other campuses of the faculty.
Together with your colleagues, you will contribute to the further development and renewal of the curriculum, shaping learning trajectories across courses, rethinking academic education in light of future societal challenges, and strengthening ties with the professional field.
Service
You are willing to take on academic service tasks and roles within the faculty and contribute collegially to the visibility and promotion of the education and research of your research unit or study program (e.g., through participation in teacher days, information events, and student recruitment activities). You also take responsibility within the broader academic community, for example through service to academic associations and journals.
Profile
You hold a PhD (or equivalent) in a humanities discipline focused on cultural studies, with relevant expertise for the profile sought. Experience in policy preparation, development, or implementation in the context of cultural policy is considered an asset. You possess excellent teaching skills and have an affinity for designing and delivering university-level education in its many dimensions.
You can present a strong and balanced, internationally oriented research portfolio, with highly regarded publications in your field. You have a clear vision of how your research can further develop in relation to existing expertise.
You enthusiastically contribute to the Master of Cultural Studies program of the future, in a spirit of open collaboration. Organizational skills, leadership qualities, and strong interpersonal skills are essential.
Experience with scientific outreach or collaboration with professional sectors is a plus.
A good command of English is required. The administrative language of KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or not sufficiently) at the time of appointment, KU Leuven offers language training to enable participation in administrative meetings. You will be given the opportunity to acquire the necessary Dutch proficiency before teaching in Dutch.
Offer
We offer a full-time tenure-track professorship (ZAP) in a dynamic faculty that hosts a wide range of disciplines. You will join an intellectually stimulating and international environment, with ample space and opportunities to develop yourself further as a lecturer and researcher, thus making a significant contribution to society.
KU Leuven provides support and benefits for starting professors who have a partner and/or family, cf. www.kuleuven.be/english/life-at-ku-leuven/partner-and-family.
You will be appointed as tenure-track professor for a period of five years. After a positive assessment following the five-year term, you will receive a permanent professorship at the level of ‘hoofddocent’ (associate professor). Within this function promotions to higher academic degrees are possible. All academic degrees have the ius promovendi.
You will work in Leuven, a historic and vibrant city in the centre of Belgium, twenty minutes from Brussels, the capital of the European Union, and less than two hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.
The start date for this position is 1 September 2027.
To facilitate scientific integration and the start-up of research, KU Leuven provides start-up funding of 110,000 euros for new professors.
KU Leuven is well equipped to welcome international professors and their families and offers practical support with immigration and administration, housing, childcare and career coaching for partners.
More information
Research Group Cultural Studies
MA Culturele Studies/Cultural Studies
Education at KULeuven
Partner and Family
Literary and Cultural Studies Research Unit
Interested?
You can apply for this job, through KU Leuven’s online application platform: [upon publication, the link to the online application page will automatically appear here]. To enable review by international experts, we kindly ask you to submit your application in English.
Your application includes the following documents:
- a biosketch summarising the essence of your past career and of your future plans. You may also mention personal factors that have played a role in your career here (e.g. pregnancy, illness, care) so that these can be taken into account when assessing your submission. (max. 2 pages)
- a curriculum vitae, including a full publication list
- an annotated document describing your five most important publications (or other academic achievements)
- a teaching plan explaining how you want to take up your teaching assignment (max. 2 pages)
- a research plan for the next five years (max. 2 pages)
Candidates who are shortlisted by the Faculty Assessment Committee (BeCo) will be invited for an interview and a trial lecture.
KU Leuven attaches great importance to research integrity and ethical conduct and will therefore ask you to sign an integrity statement upon appointment.
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Liesbet Heyvaert, mail: [email protected] or Prof. Demmy Verbeke, mail: [email protected]. For problems with online applying, please contact [email protected].
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
