Associate Professor in cognitive science with a focus on linguistics

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The Department of Language Studies at the Faculty of Humanities at Umeå University conducts teaching and research in language, literature and language didactics in Swedish, English, Finnish, French, Italian, Linguistics, Meänkieli, Russian, Sami, Spanish, Swedish and German. For more information about the department, please visit: https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-language-studies/.

Description and duties

The position includes teaching, supervision, and development of courses in linguistics within the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in cognitive science, as well as freestanding courses in linguistics and cognitive science at both first-cycle and second-cycle levels. Contributions to other programmes, such as teacher education, special education, and speech‑language pathology, may also be required. Supervision and teaching at the doctoral level in linguistics may be part of the duties.

Teaching takes place on campus and online.

A significant proportion of the responsibilities requires proficiency in Swedish as a language of communication. Candidates who do not speak Swedish are expected to acquire a good command of spoken Swedish within three years. Umeå University’s Language Programme offers staff a variety of courses at different levels and other opportunities to improve their Swedish language skills.

The position consists of 80% teaching and 20% professional development, which is typically devoted to research. In addition to teaching and research, duties include course‑related administration as well as participation in staff, subject, and planning meetings.

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities offers staff the possibility to apply for dedicated research time through a publication‑based research resource system.

Qualification requirements

A person qualified for appointment as associate professor is a person who has demonstrated teaching expertise and has been awarded a doctorate in a relevant field or has attained equivalent research expertise or other professional expertise relevant with regard to the subject area and the duties included in the position.

High proficiency in English and ability to teach in English are requirements for the position.

Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria in the selection process are: research and teaching expertise in the field of cognitive science with a focus on linguistics or another focus relevant to the position, documented experience of interdisciplinary work in research and education, administrative skills and experience in management assignments in the higher education sector.

Research expertise must have been demonstrated by independent research contributions. Assessment criteria include:

• breadth and depth of research
• quality and scope
• originality of research
• productivity
• contributions to the international research community
• assignments within the research community
• ability to obtain external research funding in competition
• ability to collaborate and engage with the wider community

Teaching expertise when appointing an associate professor must have been demonstrated through documented experience of teaching on a scientific or artistic basis within higher education, or equivalent expertise demonstrated in artistic contexts outside academia. Assessment criteria for teaching expertise for appointments on a scientific basis include:

• an ability to plan, implement and evaluate teaching, and an ability to supervise and assess students at all levels of education
• an ability to vary teaching methods and examination formats in relation to intended learning outcomes and the nature of the subject
• experience of collaboration with the wider community in planning and implementing education
• participation in the development of learning environments, teaching aids and study resources
• a reflective approach to student learning and one’s own role as a teacher

This expertise can be obtained through teacher training for higher education, other training relevant for teaching higher education, or documented, proven experience of teaching in higher education

Other assessment criteria are a good ability to cooperate and the expertise and suitability required in general to complete the work duties well.

Weighting of assessment criteria against each other

Equal importance will be given to teaching and research expertise in the evaluation.

When weighing these two assessment criteria, research expertise will be given greater importance.

Research and teaching expertise within the field of cognitive science with a focus on linguistics or another specialization relevant to the position, will be weighted as of special importance.

In the assessment of research expertise, research within the field of cognition, language, and learning will be weighted as of special importance.

In the assessment of teaching expertise, documented experience in teaching linguistics and/or cognitive science at both first-cycle and second-cycle levels, as well as documented experience in developing education in cognition, language, and learning, will be weighted as of special importance.

Documented experience of interdisciplinary work in research and education will be weighted as of great importance.

Experience of administrative skills, experience in management assignments in the higher education sector as well as other assessment criteria will be weighted as of importance.

The qualification and evaluation criteria can be found in the Appointments procedure for teachers at Umeå University: https://www.umu.se/globalassets/fristaende-webbar/regelverk/personal-lika-villkoroch-arbetsmiljo/rule-appointments-procedure-fs-1.1-1134-21-1.pdf.

Application

The application must be submitted through Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi no later than January 30, 2026.

Information about which documents must be submitted with the application can be found in the guidelines for applications for employment and promotion at Umeå University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities: https://www.umu.se/humanistisk-fakultet/tva-dokument/

Further information

The position is full-time and permanent, starting on September 1, 2026 or according to agreement. The place of work is Umeå. Physical presence on campus, in order to carry out teaching, attend planning meetings, and actively contribute to the educational and research environment of the department, is a requirement.

For more information about the position, contact Head of Department, Kristina Persson,+46 90 -7865488, kristina.persson@umu. se or HR coordinator, Helena Botold, helena.botold@umu.se

We look forward to receiving your application!