Associate Professorship in Design Culture Studies

Syddansk Universitet (SDU)

Kolding, Denmark

The Department of Design, Media and Educational Science at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), invites applications for a position as Associate Professor in Design Culture Studies. The position is located at SDU, Kolding and is available from September 1st 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. 

The Department of Design, Media and Educational Science is part of SDU’s Faculty of Humanities and conducts research within a wide range of areas, including Design Studies, Media Studies, Education Sciences, Philosophy, Information Studies, Library Science, Organizational Communication, and Web Communication. 

Profile of the Associate Professorship in Design Culture Studies at SDU

Design Culture Studies at SDU in Kolding is a humanities-based research and teaching environment that includes the studies of cultural, communicative and aesthetic aspects of design in a contemporary, historical and cross-disciplinary perspective. Research and teaching undertaken at the department engage in disciplinary contexts such as visual culture studies, design history, and studies of material culture. Subject matters include, for instance, product design, fashion, graphic design, and design in spatial, interior, and urban contexts, as well as media and mediations of design. Consequently, the candidate is expected to conduct cutting edge research within the humanities-based, cultural studies of design.


The candidate is also to conduct research-based teaching, examination and supervision in the BA study programs Design Culture, Spaces and Aesthetics (only available in Danish), Design Culture, Fashion and Business Economics (only available in Danish), and the MA program in Design Management (only available in Danish). Teaching may be in English. The candidate may be expected to teach fashion and design management subjects, even if these disciplines are not central to the candidate’s current research and teaching profile. Candidates who take on the empirical furthering of design culture studies by integration of anthropological and/or sociological empirical methods will also be welcome for the position.


About the position

As an Associate Professor, you are expected to
 

• conduct high-quality research within the field of Design Culture Studies 
• develop research projects and apply for external funding
• participate in national and international collaborations
• conduct research-based teaching and curriculum development
• supervision at BA and MA level
• supervision of Ph.D. students and postdocs.

Furthermore, an Associate Professor is expected to undertake various administrative tasks related to research and teaching collaboration, such as membership of different boards, councils and committees, course lead or head of study program. 


The teaching and administrative obligation for academic staff is described in the faculty's norm agreement (Danish version / English version).

Associate Professors in the department have the opportunity to apply for the professor promotion programme.


Requirements for candidates

A successful applicant for the position must hold a Ph.D. degree. Candidates are assessed according to the following criteria: 

• a well-defined internationally oriented research profile, as documented by a substantial number of peer-reviewed articles in renowned journals and/or books or book chapters, 
• participation in internationally renowned seminars and conferences, 
• participation in relevant national and international research networks 
• a record of outreach activities 
• experience with applying for external research funding  
• a well-defined teaching profile, as well as experience in teaching and supervising BA and MA students, documented through a teaching portfolio 
• completed lecturer training program (or comparable didactic training program) 

 
Furthermore, it will be considered an advantage if applicants can document 

• experience with research collaboration and research project leadership,  
• experience with supervision of Ph.D.-students 
• experience with administrative tasks related to university education, e.g. course and curriculum development 

Applicants who do not speak Danish at the time of employment are expected to acquire this competence within the first five years of employment.

 
About the Department of Design, Media and Educational Science and the Design Culture Studies research group

The Department of Design, Media and Educational Sciences is one of two departments at the Faculty of Humanities at SDU. The department has approximately 150 employees and houses research and teaching in a wide range of different areas, including design studies, media studies, educational science, philosophy, information studies, library science, business communication and web communication. The department is located at Campus Odense, Campus Kolding and Campus Sønderborg.

The Design Culture group is located at Campus Kolding which is placed in a minor city at the coast of Jutland, with good train connections to Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark and Hamburg in Germany, including the opportunity to commute from larger cities under or around an hour. The city of Kolding also hosts an internationally known School of Design and has a high level of cultural offers, museums and UNESCO World Heritage Sites close by, all of which are collaborating partners of the university.

Researchers in the department are affiliated with a research group which, based on a common academic interest, constitutes an academic working community across job categories. In this collaborative forum, researchers have the opportunity to discuss research issues, develop joint projects and receive feedback from peers. Collaborations between research groups/programs with overlapping interests are encouraged and supported.


The associate professor is expected to actively participate in the Design Culture Research Group. The group has seven senior members and a number of associated younger researchers and is one of Europe’s largest humanities-based research and teaching environments within the field. The group collaborates on both research, education and administrative tasks. The group is accommodating and friendly and has a track record of joint publications and co-authoring. The Design Culture Research Group also has ongoing relations and collaborations within the larger field of design, such as practice-based design, and design from the perspective of economics and business administration, represented by other research environments at Campus Kolding, as well as at Kolding School of Design.

 
Please be advised that continuous physical presence at the Kolding campus is expected of all staff members.


We recommend that as an international applicant, you take the time to visit Work in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working, and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU.  

Contact information

Professor and research group leader Mads Nygaard Folkmann (mnf@sdu.dk)  or Head of Department, Alexandra Holsting (aho@sdu.dk), can be contacted for further information.

For questions related to CV, diplomas etc., please contact humfak-hr@sdu.dk 

If you are not a Danish-speaking applicant, please ensure that you use the English website to access the electronic application form to receive further information in English.

Conditions of employment
Appointment to the position will be in accordance with the salary agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Please check links for more information on salary (only available in Danish) and taxation. 

Application

The Faculty expects applicants to read the information "How to apply" before applying. 

The application must include: 

• Application letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Diplomas/Certificates
• Teaching portfolio (if you are applying for the associate professor - Please read more here)
• Plan for research dissemination and societal impact
• List of publications indicating the publications attached
• A maximum of 6 of the most relevant publications. Please attach one pdf-file for each publication. For any publication with a co-author, a co-author statement must be submitted as part of the pdf-file 
• References letters and other relevant qualifications may also be included.

Application and all appendices must be in English. Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates.  We only accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

The assessment process

Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee, and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns them. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants' qualifications.   

The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Shortlisting and tests will be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment. Here you can read more about shortlisting at SDU. 

Application deadline
Application deadline is February 26th 2026 at 11.59 PM/23.59 (CET/CEST).

The University of Southern Denmark is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of personal background, and strive to reflect the diversity of society in our staff

About SDU

SDU was founded in 1966 and now has more than 27,000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad. It has more than 3,800 employees, and 115 different study programmes in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering. Its main campus is located in Odense, but SDU is present also in Kolding, Sønderborg, Esbjerg and Copenhagen.

Apply