Associate Professor (Tenure Track), Museology

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies is currently seeking to recruit a candidate for the position of

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (TENURE TRACK), MUSEOLOGY

starting from August 1st 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. The position of Associate Professor (tenure track) is filled for a fixed period of five years (according to the Tenure Track model).  At the end of the fixed-term assignment, an evaluation procedure will be initiated to assess the employee's qualification for promotion to the next level (Full Professor).

Tasks

The position of Assistant Professor is located within the field of Museology at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies at the University of Jyväskylä. Museology research is a key part of the multidisciplinary research profile of cultural heritage and cultural environment research at the University of Jyväskylä, and it also ensures the domestic and international relevance of the Finnish museum sector. In museums, the significance of research and research is increasingly recognized, and research requires cooperation between museology and the museum sector.

The central research themes of museology have been various processes of cultural heritage and the formation of cultural environments in a culturally sustainable and diversifying society. The contribution of the Museology study track focuses on the five focus areas of the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, especially in the fields of Heritage, environments and time and Belonging, crises and societal change. Of the university's focus areas, it belongs to the focus area Language, culture and society, and in emerging fields it is naturally linked to the theme of sustainability.

The assistant professor is responsible for developing the discipline of museology to meet the expanding needs of education, research and societal impact in the field of museums and cultural heritage. The key objective is to promote the significance of scientific research in the field of museums and cultural heritage and to link it to a high-quality international research field.

Qualifications for this position

The assistant professor is required to be able to teach extensively both in the museology field and in degree programmes cooperating with it. In addition, she/he is responsible for bachelor's and master's degree programmes in museology, Museology in Cultural Environment Studies and Doctoral Programme Coordinator in Museology. The assistant professor must conduct high-quality scientific research in at least one of the department's research focus areas mentioned above. The duties of the assistant professor also include thesis supervision, teaching especially at the master's and doctoral level, university community tasks, societal impact tasks, and planning and management of new research projects. The Assistant Professor strengthens the department's research, external funding acquisition and project management. Obtaining research funding and promoting the discipline in society are key tasks of the Assistant Professor.

The assistant professor is required to have a doctoral degree in archaeology, ethnology, museology, art history or other applicable field of humanities, documented evidence of scientifically high-quality research in the field of museums, cultural heritage and cultural environments, pedagogical competence and the ability to provide high-quality research-based teaching, supervise theses and develop teaching in the field. An essential part of the development of the discipline is the acquisition of complementary funding. The assistant professor teaches and supervises fluently in Finnish and English. Successful performance of this task requires strong theoretical-methodological expertise in the field of tangible, intangible and digital cultural heritage research, as well as evidence of scientific publication and project work in the field. In addition, successful performance of the task requires strong management of the Finnish museum, cultural heritage and cultural environment field. The selected Assistant Professor is expected to contribute to the development of the research aspect of museums, including cultural environment research, and to the societal interaction of the entire department.

Read more about the general requirements for the position of assistant professor.

What does the University of Jyväskylä offer as an employer?

Tenure Track Career Path

The university and department support the formation of the new assistant professor's research group, the implementation of the research plan and success on the career path. Learn more about  the tenure track career path at the University of Jyväskylä.

The start-up funding granted by the Rector supports research and the efficient start of research as soon as the new assistant professor's employment begins. Read more about the Rector's start-up funding for new assistant professors.

The University of Jyväskylä is committed to complying with the national recommendations for responsible researcher evaluation and the principles of the DORA declaration. In recruitment, we also follow the "the Code of Conduct and Recommendations for Recruitment of Researchers" in the European Charter for Researchers.

Competent and prosperous scientific community

At the University of Jyväskylä, you are a valued member of the university community. You will become part of our international and multidisciplinary community, where everyone's well-being is important. Here you will get the opportunity to learn from your colleagues and meet high-level researchers from the full spectrum of science and humanities. The barriers at JYU between the disciplines are low, and we encourage our employees to cross them in their daily work. We offer you a meaningful career here you can make a real impact in your field and society.

We offer a good setting for a mobile and healthy lifestyle on campus and in its vicinity, wide range of staff benefits, such as occupational healthcare, flexible working hours, excellent sporting facilities and several restaurants and cafés on campus with staff discounts. Finland provides one of the most advanced and comprehensive social security in the world, including e.g. sickness benefits, various family benefits and a comprehensive healthcare system. Please read more about working at the University of Jyväskylä, the City of Jyväskylä and living in Finland in our Handbook for international staff.

Get to know the faculty as a workplace by watching this video.

Salary

The salary is based on the job demand level and the employee’s personal performance, in accordance with the salary system for Finnish universities. The annual salary of an Associate Professor is approximately 53 000 – 65 000 EUR (gross income, excluding holiday bonus), depending on the qualifications and experience of the candidate. A trial period of six months will be used in the beginning of the employment.

Applying

 Please attach the following PDF documents to the online application in English:

1. Curriculum vitae (CV), including a personal ORCID identifier (using the template for researcher’s curriculum vitae of the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity (TENK). The absolute maximum length of a CV is four (4) pages;
2. Motivation letter/application
3. A numbered list of all scientific and other publications by which the applicant wishes to demonstrate his/her qualifications and merits for the position (according to the instructions of the Research Council of Finland);
4. Selected publications file with links to selected publications , up to 5 publications that must be numbered according to the list of publications (please make sure that the links work);
5. Previous research and plan for developing research (2-4 pages description of the applicant's previous scientific activities, including external funding and a plan for developing scientific activities);
6. Teaching portfolio, including educational merits, teaching experience and a plan for the development of teaching. (2-4 pages,accorging to the guidelines of the University of Jyväskylä)
7. Social impact and a plan for its development (maximum 1 page).

For further information, please contact the head of the department, Professor Heikki Hanka, heikki.hanka@jyu.fi, +358 400 247 417 or Dean, Professor Mika Lähteenmäki, mika.k.lahteenmaki@jyu.fi, +358 40 805 3206.

The application must be submitted no later than September 15th, 2024 using the electronic application form. For the supplementary question please select "Associate professor" from the answer options. The question is included for reporting reasons.