Associate Professor of Animal Welfare and Ethics Full-time NEW

Associate Professor of Animal Welfare and Ethics

The Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, seeks to appoint an associate professor to commence as soon as possible.

The position focuses on the ways in which animals, particularly companion animals, are kept, trained, cared for, and bred. Special focus is on the role of the veterinary profession in dealing with ethical challenges and dilemmas when it comes to animal breeding, veterinary treatments, and end of life decisions regarding companion animals.

The open position is tied to teaching veterinary ethics and philosophy of science as part of the veterinary curriculum and is linked to the Centre for Companion Animal Welfare, an externally funded research centre with diverse research initiatives into the welfare of companion animals. Further information about the Centre can be found at: https://animalethics.ku.dk/centre-for-companion-animal-welfare/

We are looking for applicants with a master's or equivalent degree and a Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science, Biology, or the like, and with documented:

• Research of international standards within the field of animal welfare, preferably with a focus on companion animal welfare
• Experience with interdisciplinary research regarding animal welfare or veterinary ethics, preferably involving natural as well as social sciences/humanities
• Experience with teaching preferably within the field of veterinary ethics and philosophy of science
• Strong organizational skills and a will to support veterinary teaching and the ongoing work within the Centre for Companion Animal Welfare
• A track record for attracting external funding
• Documented contribution to outreach and communication of research results to a broader audience including participation in the public debate
• Experience with developing, organizing, and conducting research-based teaching and supervision regarding companion animal welfare, veterinary ethics or philosophy of science, including associated examination
• Good collaborative skills

The associate professor's responsibilities will primarily consist of:

• Research, including publication/academic dissemination
• Research-based teaching, including associated examination
• Research leadership, including guidance and supervision of researchers
• Obligation to share knowledge with the rest of society, including participation in public debate
• Academic assessments

Required qualifications to be qualified for an associate professor position, you will be assessed according to these five overall criteria for recognizing merit at the University of Copenhagen: Research, teaching, innovation & societal impact, organizational contribution and leadership.

Applicants are encouraged to read the University of Copenhagen's Guidance on the merit criterion Innovation and Societal Impact here.

Furthermore, each applicant must be able to document:

• Research qualifications at the level that can be achieved by satisfactorily completing a period of employment as an assistant professor/postdoc, but may also be obtained in other ways
• Teaching qualifications and pedagogical competencies
• Research-based teaching

The associate professor is also required to possess good interpersonal and communicative skills.

Terms of employment: The position is a permanent position with an average weekly working hours of 37 hours per week. Salary and other terms and conditions of appointment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant professional organizations. The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

For further information, please contact Professor and Centre Director, Peter Sandøe, pes@sund.ku.dk.

Foreign applicants may find the university's International Staff Mobility useful.

The application must be submitted in English and must include the following documents:

• Application (Including motivations for applying for the position (Maximum 2 pages))
• Curriculum vitae (Including information about external funding)
• Diplomas (Master's, PhD, and other relevant certificates)
• A complete list of publications
• Research plan (3‐5 pages)
• Uploads of maximum 5 publications to be considered in the assessment
• Teaching plan
• Teaching portfolio (Guidelines)

The application procedure involves selecting applicants for assessment on the advice of the Appointments Committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The Dean then appoints an expert assessment committee in order to make an assessment of the selected applicants for the specific post. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee and each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at the university's Job Portal.

Please note that the applicant will be contacted if the assessment committee requires further documentation.

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

The University of Copenhagen encourages all interested applicants to apply for this position.

Please submit the application with the required attachments. The closing date for applications is 23.59 p.m. CET, 26 June 2026. Interviews for this position are likely to be held on 2 December 2026.