Duke Kunshan University (DKU) invites applications for a position as visiting assistant professor in philosophy. The successful candidate will hold a PhD in philosophy and possess demonstrable competence related to areas of social philosophy, value theory, and/or epistemology. The primary responsibility in this position will be teaching sections of a required course for 3rd-year students entitled “Citizenship and the Examined Life.” Special consideration will be given to candidates with a strong record of positive student engagement in philosophy courses.  The successful candidate will obtain a contract of between two and three years. As part of this appointment, in year two of the appointment, candidates have the option to complete a non-credit bearing certificate in “Innovative Curriculum Design and Pedagogy” offered by DKU’s Center for Teaching and Learning. 

In order to meet Chinese visa requirements, prior to the position start date international (non-Chinese) candidates must have worked full-time (work experience obtained while studying full-time is not considered as full-time work experience) for at least two years in a relevant area (including post-doctoral work) after receiving their Bachelor’s degree, or begin their appointment at DKU within 12 months of obtaining their master’s degree/Ph.D. and without having work experience between graduation date on master’s degree diploma/Ph.D. diploma and position start date.  

DKU is a collaborative partnership of Duke University, Wuhan University and the Municipality of Kunshan, China (https://dukekunshan.edu.cn/).  Our campus provides an innovative and robustly interdisciplinary undergraduate liberal arts experience to a student body that will number 2000 students and 150+ faculty, with an acceptance rate of <8% and a student body represented by over 60 countries. We also offer a discrete number of Master’s level graduate programs. The DKU pedagogical model draws on the best of Duke’s educational experience and resources to reimagine undergraduate instruction on an intimate campus setting.   

Similar to the best liberal arts colleges in the United States, DKU values dedication to teaching excellence in a liberal arts environment, as well as a strong commitment to successful scholarly engagement and research. This includes research with undergraduate students.  As a whole, the Duke Kunshan faculty will have strong commitments to teaching and research, and outstanding quality in both areas will be highly valued.  

Candidates must hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent in a relevant field. Research experience at a postdoctoral level (or greater) and teaching experience are desirable, as is experience working in an interdisciplinary setting. Applicants should provide a cover letter including a clear statement of the candidate’s specific interest in DKU, a curriculum vitae, a research statement, a teaching statement, and three reference letters. All materials should be submitted through Academic Jobs Online: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/28169. The search committee also invites and encourages letters of nomination for potential candidates. Nominations and questions about the positions may be sent to arts-humanities-search@dukekunshan.edu.cn using the subject “VAP Philosophy” as the subject line. Priority will be given to applications received by November 15, 2024; we will accept applications until the positions are filled.   

The DKU campus is 37 miles west of Shanghai in Kunshan, and is connected to Shanghai via an 18-minute high-speed train and a subway-light rail train system. DKU provides internationally competitive compensation, housing allowance, child education benefits (for applicable faculty positions), and a discretionary fund or start-up package.