Kiel University aims to attract more qualified women to professorships.
The Institute of Scandinavian Studies, Frisian Studies and General Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Kiel University invites applications for a
limited term W 2-Professorship tenure track to W 3 in General Linguistics
for an initial period of five years to start at the earliest possible time.
The future job holder shall be responsible for the subject area of General Linguistics in research and teaching. The successful candidate will contribute to the coordination and further development of the BA programme in Empirical Linguistics and the MA programme in Language and Variation, strengthen typological research, with a particular focus on smaller languages, and engage in interdisciplinary research collaborations, including active participation in the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence.
Applicants must hold a completed university degree and a doctoral degree of outstanding quality (at least magna cum laude or equivalent), as well as additional relevant academic qualifications in General Linguistics or a related field. These qualifications must be demonstrated through a junior professorship, a habilitation, or equivalent academic achievements. Applicants are also expected to have an outstanding publication record, including monographs or peer-reviewed articles in academic journals or edited volumes; a clearly defined research focus in linguistic typology; university-level teaching experience in General Linguistics or a related field; and experience in applying for external research funding. Finally, applicants are expected to submit a concept outlining their prospective contribution to the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence. Applicants who do not speak German should note that, no later than three years after appointment, they will be expected to teach courses in German.
Additional research experience in one or more of the following areas is desirable: sociolinguistics, structural language description, contact linguistics, and historical linguistics. Applicants should also be willing, beyond their involvement in ROOTS, to contribute thematically to the research priorities of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, in particular to the focus area Societal, Environmental and Cultural Change (SECC), and to participate in the Research Centre for Areality and Sociality in Language.
Please refer to the recruitment requirements of § 61 of the Higher Education Act of the State of Schleswig-Holstein.
After successful evaluation and if the additional requirements of § 62a of the Higher Education Act of the State of Schleswig-Holstein are met, the aim is to upgrade the professorship to a W 3-Professorship. To this end, in accordance with the current statutes, an evaluation procedure is carried out, usually one year before the limited professorship ends. More information can be found at www.berufungen.uni-kiel.de (in German).
Kiel University sees itself as a modern and cosmopolitan employer. We welcome your application regardless of your age, gender, cultural and social background, religion, ideology, disability, or sexual identity. We promote gender equality. You can find out more about our values in our Code of Conduct: https://www.uni-kiel.de/gf-praesidium/de/recht/interne-richtlinien/code-of-conduct
Kiel University is committed to the employment of people with disabilities: Applications from severely disabled persons and persons of equal status will be given preferential consideration if they have the equivalent qualifications.
We expressly welcome applications from people with a migration background.
The university is committed to increasing the proportion of female scientists in research and teaching and therefore strongly encourages suitably qualified women to apply. Women will be given priority if they have the same aptitude, qualifications, and professional performance.
Please note that we expressly do not require application photographs and therefore ask that you refrain from submitting any.
Applications with the usual documents (curriculum vitae, list of publications, list of courses taught, concept outlining the prospective contribution to ROOTS, copies of academic certificates) along with your private and business address, telephone number and e-mail address should be sent (preferably in electronic form as a single PDF document) to the following address by November 15th, 2026:
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Kiel University, Olshausenstr. 40, 24098 Kiel, Germany (bewerbungen@philfak.uni-kiel.de)
