Käthe Leichter Visiting Professorship
Since 1999, the University of Vienna has granted Visiting Käthe Leichter Professorships in Women’s and Gender Studies to outstanding scholars, for one semester (4 months) at a time. The Professorship, originally founded for the Faculty of Arts (Geisteswissenschaftliche Fakultät), is now divided between its both successors, the Faculties of Historical-Cultural Sciences and Philological-Cultural Sciences, and coordinated by the Gender Studies Board representing both faculties.
By maintaining the Käthe Leichter Visiting Professorship, the University of Vienna seeks to develop the range and quality of the courses on women’s and gender studies, to give them new impetus and to enhance international contacts in the field of women’s and gender studies. To guarantee the versatility of impulses and contacts, this international and interdisciplinary chair is alternately allocated to various departments of the two Faculties involved.
The courses will be held in German or English. Students of these and other faculties will be given credit for attending the courses offered by the Käthe Leichter Visiting Professor. These classes are intended for students of all faculties and also for a larger audience with an interest in and some knowledge of the discourse of women’s and gender studies. Further information on courses can be obtained in the course list of the University of Vienna and from the host institutes.
Announcement: Käthe Leichter Visiting Professorship (2025-26)
The University of Vienna is internationally renowned for its excellence in teaching and research, and employs 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.
The University of Vienna seeks to appoint a
Käthe Leichter Visiting Professor
in Feminist Studies in the Humanities and Cultural Studies
Focus: Social Inequality: Wealth Transfer between the Genders and Generations
75% part-time position, for the period September 15, 2025 to February 28, 2026.
The position:
Founded by the Austrian Ministry of Science in 1998 to promote feminist research, the visiting professorship at the University of Vienna looks back on a long tradition. Käthe Leichter was a pioneer scientist of social science and women's studies. Born Marianne Katharina Pick in Vienna in 1895, she was also the founder and first director of the Women's Department at the Vienna Chamber of Labor (Wiener Arbeiterkammer). Käthe Leichter was murdered in the Bernburg euthanasia center in 1942. The Käthe Leichter Visiting Professorship is awarded by the Gender Committee of the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies and the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies, with a different thematic focus each time.
For more information about previous Käthe Leichter Visiting Professors, please visit the Gender Committee's homepage: genderausschuss.univie.ac.at/kaethe-leichter-gastprofessur/
The successful applicant will teach three courses (two with continuous assessment and one lecture, totaling six hours per week during the semester), as well as one academic talk open to the public. The Käthe Leichter Professorship is assigned either to the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies or the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies, depending on the focus of the professorship. A presence of 5.5 months is required. The weekly courses as well as the public lecture are to be held in person.
Your academic profile:
- Doctoral degree/PhD
- Outstanding research achievements, excellent publication and funding record, international reputation
- Proven Teaching Qualities
- Gender and diversity competence
- Enthusiasm for excellent teaching and supervision at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level
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
- a salary according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for University Staff (§ 99 (1) UG, level A1)
Please submit a single PDF file (LastName_FirstName.pdf) containing the following information in English (additionally, in German is possible) via kaethe-leichter@univie.ac.at.
Application documents:
- Letter of motivation
- Academic curriculum vitae
- education and training
- positions held to date
- career breaks (e.g. parental, family or other care periods)
- awards and honors
- commissions of trust
- previous and current cooperation partners
- list of most important acquired third-party funding as principal investigator, and, if applicable, of inventions/patents
- list of most important scientific talks (max. 10) o teaching and mentoring
- supervision experience (Master and PhD)
- List of publications and a link to your ORCID record
- Research statement
- most important research achievements (max. 2 pages)
- synopsis of five key publications with relevance to the position advertised
- Teaching and supervision statement
- teaching and supervision concept
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 lay special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions among the academic and general university staff and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.
University of Vienna. Space for personalities. Since 1365.
Reference no.: KätLei1
Application deadline: 07 April 2025