Full Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology Universität Wien

Job description:

The University of Vienna is internationally renowned for its excellence in teaching and research, and counts more than 7,500 academics from all disciplines. This breadth of expertise offers unique opportunities to address the complex challenges of modern society, to develop comprehensive new approaches, and educate the problem-solvers of tomorrow from a multidisciplinary perspective.

49 Faculty of Social Sciences
Working hours: 40 |

Reference no.: 5765

At the Faculty of Social Sciences, the University of Vienna invites applications for a

Full Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology with an Emphasis on Religions and Religious Movements

The position:

Religion plays a critical role in shaping politics, subjects and societies in the contemporary world. We are seeking an outstanding candidate, who has a clearly recognizable research profile in the anthropology of religion and represents the discipline of social and cultural anthropology broadly. Through a focus on religion and/or religious movements, the future professor contributes to the further development of the discipline and of religious studies as a whole at the University of Vienna. In teaching, the professorship represents social and cultural anthropology in a significant theoretical and methodological range. Extensive experience with ethnographic fieldwork and a proven track record in research on topics such as religious practices, religious movements, and relations between religion and power, particularly in the context of  global processes, are expected.

Your academic profile:

• Doctoral degree/PhD
• Outstanding research achievements, excellent publication and funding record, international reputation
• Proven leadership qualities
• Gender and diversity competence
• Experience in designing and managing large research projects
• Enthusiasm for excellent teaching and supervision at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level
• Willingness to take on organisational and administrative responsibilities within the Faculty/Center and/or the University

The University of Vienna expects the successful candidate to acquire, within three years, proficiency in German sufficient for teaching in bachelor’s programmes and for participation in university committees. 

We offer:

• a dynamic research environment
• a wide range of research and teaching support services
• attractive working conditions in a city with a high quality of life
• an attractive salary according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for University Staff (§98 UG, level A1, to be negotiated individually) and an organisational retirement plan
• a “start-up package”, in particular for the initiation of research projects
• comprehensive relocation support 

Application documents:

Please submit a single PDF file (LastName_FirstName.pdf) containing the following information in English via e-mail to the Dean of the Faculty, Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Pol. Dr. Michaela Pfadenhauer (dekanat.sowi@univie.ac.at):
1.    Letter of motivation
2.    Academic curriculum vitae
o    education and training
o    positions held to date
o    career breaks (e.g. parental, family or other care periods)
o    awards and honors
o    commissions of trust
o    previous and current cooperation partners
o    list of most important acquired third-party funding as principal investigator, and, if applicable, of inventions/patents
o    list of most important scientific talks (max. 10)
o    teaching and mentoring
o    supervision experience (Master and PhD)
3.    List of publications and a link to your ORCID record 
4.    Research statement    
o    most important research achievements (max. 2 pages) and planned future research activities (max. 4 pages)
o    synopsis of five key publications with relevance to the position advertised 
5.    Teaching and supervision statement    o    teaching and supervision concept, including a description of the previous and planned priorities in academic teaching and supervision (max. 2 pages)

Appendices to application document:

a.    Five key publications as electronic full text version 
b.    Teaching evaluations (if available, compiled into a single PDF file)
c.    Copies of certificates of academic degrees (mandatory, compiled into a single PDF file)

The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We place particular emphasis on enhancing women’s representation among the academic and general university staff, particularly in leadership roles, and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

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Reference no.: 5765

Application deadline: 09/15/2026

Professorship Vacancies dekanat.sowi@univie.ac.at

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