Job Announcement:


Faculty Positions in the Fields of Humanities, Science. or Social Science

The University Scholars Programme (USP), a premier undergraduate honours programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS), plans to hire dedicated individuals to fill multiple full-time and renewable lecturer positions that include both the opportunities for research funding and for promotion to Associate Professor on the NUS Educator Track, as described below. The primary responsibility of these positions is to contribute to an interdisciplinary and student-centric curriculum through the teaching of innovative, self-designed, small class modules, including both our team-taught freshman and senior seminars and our mandatory first-year course in academic writing and critical thinking, to which you will be expected to bring your own disciplinary expertise.
Candidates with a PhD in any field are therefore eligible, and we would particularly welcome applications from candidates with backgrounds in history of science, STEM, sociology, anthropology, politics, cultural and technology studies, as well as scholars of performance studies or the visual arts. Academics whose research involves fieldwork in the Southeast Asian region are likewise encouraged to apply, as are candidates whose research interests are explicitly interdisciplinary. In short, USP seeks innovative and creative candidates who will further diversify our already multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary faculty.
The successful candidate’s primary responsibility will be introducing our first-year students to the practices and conventions of academic thinking and writing in our mandatory first-year Writing and Critical Thinking (WCT) module, and while prior experience in teaching undergraduate writing courses is not a requirement for these positions, evidence of aptitude for teaching the conventions of academic thinking and writing, broadly conceived, would be advantageous. WCT modules are capped at 12 students per section, and all other USP modules likewise maintain small faculty-to-student ratios. The position also offers ample opportunities to design and teach non-WCT classes in your own fields of interest and areas of research expertise.
Most importantly, we are looking for candidates who have a commitment to innovation in undergraduate education, are devoted to both their own research and teaching excellence, and who have the willingness and ability to engage students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Candidates must hold a PhD by December 2018 and should be able to begin in January 2019, although an August 2019 start-date may also be possible. Remuneration and benefits are highly competitive on the global research university level.
Appointments begin at the level of Lecturer on the Educator Track, and possibly Senior Lecturer if previous work experience warrants it, as late careerists dedicated to undergraduate education are also encouraged to apply. Although the USP Educator Track is not a tenurable line, it offers a flexible pathway to promotion to Associate Professorship, as well as opportunities for research funding, including overseas research and conference travel. The contract is for three years in the first instance and is renewable subject to good performance, with the eventual possibility of promotion to Associate Professor on an open contract. Salary is competitive with worldwide standards and includes both re-location assistance and housing subsidies for the first nine years.
Interested applicants should submit a brief cover letter, CV, and short synopsis of no more than 500 words each describing briefly two different courses (one WCT and one non-WCT) that you would be prepared to design and teach to the interdisciplinary undergraduates of the USP. Examples of the kinds of WCT and non-WCT modules that we currently offer can be found HERE.
In addition, applicants should download and complete the NUS Personal Data Consent for Job Applicants HERE.
Interviews for overseas candidates will normally be conducted through Skype. Candidates who are further shortlisted will be asked to provide three letters of reference (though you may also feel free to send them along with your initial application if you wish) and will be invited for a campus visit in August and September of this year. Please email all applications to uspbox23@nus.edu.sg. Applications received by 15 July 2018 will receive full consideration.

More information about USP and the WCT can be found on USP website and additional information about Academic Appointments at NUS can be found HERE.