SPECIAL SCIENTIST POSITIONS (TEACHING)

The Department of English Studies at the University of Cyprus invites applications for one or more Special Scientists to teach three (3) courses for the Fall Semester 2026–2027, pending final approval and funding by the university authorities.

TEACHING REQUIREMENTS

The successful candidate(s) will be required to teach the following courses:

ENG 151, Critical Thinking for the Humanities (on the YUFE Bachelor in Urban Sustainability Studies; three teaching hours per week)

ENG 152, English Academic Writing (on the YUFE Bachelor in Urban Sustainability Studies; three teaching hours per week)

ENG 5XX, (undergraduate elective course on the Anglophone Literature & Cultural Studies track of the BA in English Studies; three teaching hours per week).

The successful candidate(s) will also be expected to administer and mark the final exam(s) for the course(s) they will teach. Renewal of a Special Scientist’s contract for one more semester may be possible.

EMPLOYMENT TERMS

Special Scientist (PhD holder) remuneration is 68 euro (gross) per teaching hour and paid employment is for 15 weeks. Teaching duties begin on 7 September 2026, ending on 20 December 2026. Payment is made as follows: €68 per hour x teaching hours x 15 weeks for the Fall Semester 2026–2027.

QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants should hold a PhD on a relevant subject.

Applicants need not be citizens of the Republic of Cyprus. Applicants should however ensure, before applying, that, if they are selected, they will reside in Cyprus on a full-time basis during the employment period; submission of an application implies acceptance of this condition. Acceptance of this term must be also explicitly stated in the letter of application.

If they are selected, candidates from outside the European Union have the responsibility to obtain a visa (if required) and the necessary work permit for their employment in Cyprus in a timely manner, prior to the beginning of their contract and the assumption of their teaching duties.

The employment of persons who have reached the age of 65 years old, at the commencement date of employment, is prohibited.

APPLICATION

Applicants should submit the following:

I. A letter of application (in which applicants are required to clearly indicate the course(s) they are applying to teach, explaining why they believe they are qualified to teach said course(s)) II. A curriculum vitae, with full contact details

III. Copies of degrees and transcripts (the successful candidate(s) will be asked to submit certified copies from the Ministry of Education of Cyprus if their degrees were acquired in Cyprus, or from the respective institution(s) abroad)

IV. Sample syllabi for the course(s) they are applying to teach. Applicants for ENG 151 and ENG 152 should base their sample syllabi on the following course descriptions:

ENG 151: Critical Thinking for the Humanities

The course focuses on the relationship between thinking, reading, and writing and aims to help students develop as critical and creative thinkers, engaged readers, and thoughtful writers. Through careful readings of a wide selection of literary and other works pertaining to the broader area of humanities (such as cultural studies, ecocriticism, gender studies, environmental ethics, and cinema) students will develop the ability to distinguish between logic and thinking, positive and negative criticism, and inductive and deductive reasoning. In addition, they will learn how to ask incisive questions, detect and avoid logical fallacies, formulate and support arguments and counterarguments with clarity, debate effectively, and write short, focused, and informed response and reflection papers.

ENG 152: English Academic Writing is a foundational course which aims to equip first-year students with the necessary writing skills required for meaningful scholarly engagement. The course introduces academic writing not as a mere technical skill but as a medium in which knowledge is generated, disseminated, and assessed in dialogue with various disciplines, including literature. Students will be able to summarize informational content and arguments, paraphrase source material, integrate direct quotations effectively, construct meticulously organized and adequately developed paragraphs, and compose academic essays by engaging with selected literary texts that yield questions on the environment, community, history, subjectivity, and sustainability. This methodological decision is intentional, since the selected literary texts will provide the terrain on which students, through close readings, are introduced to urgent concerns of Urban Sustainability Studies which, in turn, facilitate and advance the students’ capacity for expository and argumentative academic writing.

If applying for the first time to the Department, applicants must also arrange for two academic referees to send letters of recommendation directly to it (see below). The names and addresses of these referees must be submitted with the application.

If an applicant is employed in the public or wider public sector of the Republic of Cyprus, they must obtain in advance permission to work at the University from the appropriate Department/Ministry, or wider public sector authority.

Applications and references should be sent by email to Assistant Professor James Little ([email protected]).

The deadline for receiving applications is the 23rd of June 2026, at 12 pm (noon).

For more details and other information, interested individuals may contact Dr Little.

A minimum of the best three candidates that satisfy the required qualifications will be interviewed.

Candidates shall be informed of the result of their application by the Department of English Studies.

The University of Cyprus shall collect and process your personal data according to the provisions of the General Regulation on Personal Data 2016/679 (EU).

The University of Cyprus (UCY) is committed to promoting inclusivity, diversity, and equality, as well as the elimination of all forms of discrimination in order to provide a fair, safe, and pleasant environment for the entire university community, where students and staff members feel supported both in their professional and personal development, within and beyond their multiple identities. To this end, UCY seeks to create the necessary conditions that will encourage and respect diversity and ensure dignity both in the workplace and society at large. Moreover, UCY has adopted specific policies to promote equal opportunities, as well as respect and understanding of diversity, and it is committed to promoting and maintaining a working, teaching, and learning environment free from any form of discrimination, whether direct or indirect.