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The University of Kassel is a modern and growing University with round about 22.000 students. The university’s wide range of expertise covers subjects in the natural, applied, cultural and social sciences.

The Sigmund Freud Institute is a research institute for psychoanalysis and its applications and an independent foundation under public law. The institute concentrates its efforts on scientific and scholarly investigations of the relations between psyche and society. Its research is based on psychoanalytically oriented approaches of a sociological/socio-psychological, psychological and medical/psychosomatic nature.

In cooperation with the Sigmund Freud Institute, Frankfurt am Main, the University of Kassel invites applications for the following position available at the Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Education, as of 1 October 2026:

Application deadline: 08.04.2025
Date of hire: 01.10.2026
Vacancy number: 38205

The professorship is affiliated equally with the Department of Education at the University of Kassel and the Sigmund Freud Institute Frankfurt (SFI). At the SFI, it comprises a Director’s position as well as that of Head of the Department of Psychoanalysis with an emphasis on psychoanalytical approaches to developmental psychology. The teaching load is reduced to 4 hours per week in view of the professorship’s executive responsibilities at the SFI.

The successful candidate will be an outstanding expert in psychoanalysis whose psychoanalytic research relates to educational processes in childhood and adolescence. Applicants are notable for their empirical research activities in education or psychology, relevant expertise in psychoanalytic research and theory development as well as pertinent publications. Experience in acquiring third-party funding and a willingness to engage in interdisciplinary cooperation are essential. International research contacts are desirable.

Teaching at the University of Kassel will be dedicated to representing psychoanalysis within the core curriculum of the Educational and Social Science programme for pre-service teacher training, establishing links with the developmental, pedagogical, and social psychological foundations of teaching. Strong didactic skills and experience in university-level teaching are required.

At both institutions, responsibilities include the support of early-career researchers in their academic qualification, participation in academic self-governance and interdisciplinary research networks, and – particularly at the SFI – the acquisition of third-party funding. With regard to the executive position at the SFI, substantial leadership skills and experience are required, along with visions and initiatives for the further development of the Institute.

Prerequisites

The employment prerequisites and performance requirements according to §§ 67, 68 of the Higher Education Act of the Federal State of Hesse (HessHG) apply. The requirements for the position include an outstanding doctorate and a post-doctoral thesis (Habilitation; or equivalent academic achievements in line with the profile of the professorship).

Additionally, applicants must have completed psychoanalytic therapy training and have clinical experience to their credit at the time of taking up the post. Since courses will be taught in German, a C1-level proficiency in German must be attained within the first two years of employment. Experience in psychoanalytic child and adolescent therapy would be advantageous.

Please submit the following documents with your application:

• academic curriculum vitae and certificates of qualifications
• list of publications and talks/presentations
• overview of previous research projects and third-party funding obtained
• list of independently taught courses
• outline of a teaching and research strategy (maximum 2 pages) to advance the research profile of the Sigmund Freud Institute as well as the Psychoanalysis Section at the University of Kassel’s Department of Education

Please send your application with the usual informative documents, stating the reference number the subject line, via the online form. We have complied further information for you in our . The protection of your personal information is very important to us, so we will handle your personal information with care. By your application, you allow us the storage and use in the sense of the Hessian Data Protection and Freedom of Information Act. You can object to this at any time. Your personal data will be deleted.

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