Assistant Professor in History

Assistant Professor in History, 3 Year Fixed Term Contract

Dublin City University
Dublin City University is a leading innovative European University with a mission to ‘transform lives and societies’. DCU ranks as one of the world’s Top 350 Universities, Times Higher Education, and is proud to be Ireland’s No. 1 Young University. The University is known for the ‘transformative student experience’ it offers, and is also recognised for its impact in addressing global challenges in collaboration with national and international stakeholders. 

Overview of the department
The School of History and Geography is an ambitious, research-intensive School in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. While possessing and promoting an international perspective, the School has a particular focus on Ireland – its geography, history and landscape. The School is unique in Ireland in its interdisciplinary range and research potential, and plays a leading role, nationally and internationally, in the disciplines of History, Geography, Environmental Science and Irish Studies. Both History and Geography are offered on the Bachelor of Arts (Joint Honours programme) and are consistently among the most popular subjects. The School offers an innovative BA in Climate and Environmental Sustainability and also teaches History on the Bachelor of Religious Education and History. At postgraduate level both subjects offer a PhD programme; the School delivers an MA in History and contributes to the MSc in Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society. The School has a growing and dynamic postgraduate community.

Role Profile
The successful candidate will be given the opportunity to teach in their research specialisation and will also teach survey modules in global history and allied areas. Consequently, the successful candidate will design and teach a combination of core and optional modules on the BA Joint Honours and Bachelor of Religious Education with History programmes, and may teach on other School programmes, such as the MA in History, and Faculty programmes, such as the BA Single Module programme, as deemed appropriate by the Head of School. 

The School also offers opportunities to supervise postgraduate students and encourages and supports applications for external research funding. The School is committed to high quality research, expects its staff to publish regularly in leading journals and with leading university and academic presses, and assists its staff in such work.

Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not restricted to, the following:

Teaching and Learning

Prepare, deliver and assess a range of modules in a manner consistent with DCU’s high academic standards and in a hybrid environment which combines on campus and elements of remote delivery. Teaching extends to assisting innovation in curricula development.

Typical activities include:

• Developing and delivering new or reconceptualised modules (including in the area of global history) and resources in line with School practice.
• Designing, grading and providing feedback on examinations and other types of coursework.
• Using a wide range of teaching and assessment methodologies to foster a deep approach to learning and equip students with the skills and attributes needed to be lifelong learners.
• Engaging proactively with the renewal of existing courses and programmes. 
• Embracing professional development for teaching.
• Contributing to the design and development of new programmes.

Research and Scholarship

Conduct research and engage in scholarship of quality and substance in keeping with DCU’s high academic standards and research strategy. The appointee will be expected to have clearly articulated research interests and plans to develop their research profile that assists the school’s current research priorities.

Typical activities include:

• Publishing to the highest international standard both individually and, where appropriate, in partnership with colleagues in DCU and elsewhere.
• Disseminating research to diverse audiences.
• Generating research income. 
• Supervising postgraduate students.

Service and Contribution to the University and Society

Contribute to administrative functions related to the activities of the School, the Faculty, the University and the profession. 

Examples include:

• Performing administrative roles as identified by the Head of School.  These may include some of the following: degree programme coordination; participation in School and/or Faculty committees; visiting students on placement; student recruitment.
• Engaging with planning, quality review and improvement processes, and external programme accreditations. 
• Participating in appropriate professional bodies and associated initiatives. 
• Developing and delivering of the international activities of the School, including international travel to do so.
• Contributing to the collegial environment of the School. 

Qualifications and Experience

• Applicants must hold a PhD in History.
• Applicants’ research specialism must be non-European and pre-1800 in focus, with a preference for expertise that would complement existing strengths in the School and/or University. 
• Applicants must have teaching experience at undergraduate level, preferably including module design and coordination. This experience should encompass innovative pedagogies and/or assessments, and/or online or technology-assisted teaching. 
• Applicants must have a demonstrated capacity to teach undergraduate modules in global history and the history of empires.
• Applicants must possess strong research accomplishments in their field of history and a publication record appropriate to their career stage.
• The successful applicant should have an independent research programme and have demonstrated the potential to attract research funding from competitive research funding schemes and/or industry. 
• The successful candidate will ideally have a minimum of three years’ relevant post-doctoral experience. 
• The successful candidate must possess excellent interactive and communication skills consistent with the highest quality of teaching and learning, collectively with evidence of successful teamwork and a collegial approach.

Desirable

• Teaching experience at postgraduate level.
• Experience of postgraduate supervision and/or examination.
• A track record of public engagement.

Essential Training 

The postholder will be required to undertake the following essential compliance training: 

• Orientation
• Health & Safety
• Data Protection (GDPR)
• Cyber Security Awareness 
• Performance Review & Development (PRD) (People Managers only)
• AI Literacy 

Other training may need to be undertaken when required.

Salary Scale: Assistant Professor (Above bar) - €64,583 - €103,501

Appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and in line with current Government pay policy

Closing date: Monday, 6th April 2026

Remote Working Policy
DCU operates a Remote Working Policy. Employees may be approved for up to 2 days of remote working per week (or an appropriate pro-rata amount for those part time). Any remote working arrangement will be reflective of the predominant on-campus working environment and the core University value of 'Student Focused'.

Employees will be based on campus for the majority of their working week to ensure a sustained on campus engagement and experience. The terms of the remote working policy will apply.

For more information on DCU and our benefits, please visit Why work at DCU? 

Informal Enquiries in relation to this role should be directed to:
Dr William Murphy, Head of School of History and Geography, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dublin City University. 
Phone + 353 (0)1 7009125 Email: will.j.murphy@dcu.ie

Please do not send applications to this email address, instead apply as described below.

Application Procedure:

Please submit your application through the online system at www.dcu.ie/people/jobs, in order to be considered for the role to which you are applying for, you must upload:

1)  Curriculum Vitae

2)  Cover Letter

3)  Completed application form (blank forms can be downloaded from the bottom of the Vacancy).

Please note, if all items are not uploaded, the application will be deemed incomplete, and will not be processed.

Dublin City University is an equal opportunities employer.    
In line with the Employment Equality Acts 1998 – 2015, the University is committed to equality of treatment for all those who engage with its recruitment, selection and appointment processes.

The University’s Athena Swan Silver Award signifies the University’s commitment to promoting gender equality and addressing any gender pay gaps. Information on a range of university policies aimed at creating a supportive and flexible work environment are available in the DCU Policy Starter Packs