Assistant Professor in Composition (MUS_01)

Working at Durham University

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK's leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career. The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it's also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Our University Strategy is built on three pillars of research, education and wider student experience, but also on our keen sense of community and of inspiring others to achieve their potential.

Our Purpose and Values

We want our university to be a place where people can be free to be themselves, no matter what their identity or background. Together, we celebrate difference, value one another and are each responsible for creating an inclusive community that is respectful and fair for all.

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Durham area on our Why Join Us? - Information Page

Discover more about our total rewards and benefits package here .

The Department

Durham University's Music Department is one of the very best in the UK with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability. We attract exceptionally talented undergraduate, MA and doctoral students, and focus on high-quality research-led teaching. We have a thriving and supportive research culture, with funding from national and international research councils and foundations and a community of postdoctoral fellows in the Department. In student-facing guides and league tables we are regularly ranked as the number one Music Department in the UK (Complete University Guide 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; The Sunday Times 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022; Guardian 2019, 2021 and 2022). We pursue equality, diversity and inclusion and are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and student bodies as well as our curriculum.

We have internationally renowned research and teaching strengths in musicology, theory and analysis, music technology and computational musicology, music psychology, ethnomusicology, composition, and performance. Our strategic priorities include nurturing innovative connections and interdisciplinary dialogue between these areas and enhancing the diversity and inclusivity of our base. Our academic environment features world-class facilities, wide methodological expertise, opportunities for discussion and feedback, mentoring and other support schemes. We also benefit from university policies which support staff work-life balance and needs, for example by offering additional research leave following a period of parental leave.

The Department of Music at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the role of Assistant Professor in Composition, tenable from 1 January 2025. We welcome applications from those with teaching interests in the broad field of Composition and we are particularly eager to hear from applicants whose expertise ranges from contemporary acoustic and/or electroacoustic composition to historical stylistic composition (pastiche), and who also have expertise in performance. We are keen to appoint an individual who can contribute to all three of these areas in our teaching (Composition, Historical stylistic composition, and Performance).

You will contribute to high-quality teaching and curriculum development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including the Department's ongoing efforts to address challenges relating to gender equality, race and decolonisation. The Department provides a working and teaching environment that is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect; we actively promote the values of equality, diversity and inclusion, and in joining us, you would contribute to ongoing initiatives and conversations to further these principles.

This post offers an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of internationally excellent pedagogy and teaching while allowing unrivalled opportunities to progress and embed your career in an exciting and progressive institution. For more information, please visit our Department pages at https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/music/

Assistant Professors (Education) at Durham

Assistant Professors on the Education track contribute to teaching, innovation, and citizenship, with opportunities to enhance their own development, support their department and discipline, and contribute to the wider student experience.

Teaching quality and innovation is critical to ensure a first-class learning environment and curricula for all our students. You will be supported to develop your teaching expertise, to engage in teaching innovation, to enrich our student experience, and will be assigned a designated mentor.

You will be expected to engage in scholarship related to pedagogy, noting that any other independent research (beyond pedagogy) is not part of this post. The appointment will be on the University's 'Education Track' career path, which provides clearly defined opportunities for progression against defined criteria.

We are confident that our recruitment process allows us to attract and select the best talent to Durham. We therefore offer a reduced probation period of 1 year for our Assistant Professors (Education) and thereafter, subject to satisfactory performance, your position will be confirmed as permanent.

Applicants must demonstrate teaching excellence in the field of Composition, as well as expertise in the areas of Historical stylistic composition (pastiche) and Performance, with the ability to teach our students to an exceptional standard and to fully engage in the services, citizenship and values of the University.

The University aims to provides a working and teaching environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate these key principles as part of the assessment process.

Key responsibilities:

• To deliver lectures, seminars and tutorials at undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels, with the opportunity to teach more widely within the Department, as well as engaging in related activity such as assessment
• Engage in pedagogic activity at Departmental level that supports a high quality, academic professional community of practice within the Department and beyond.
• Maintain an active membership and engagement with a professional body (e.g. HEA or discipline-specific bodies).
• Contribute to ongoing curriculum development, demonstrating innovation in educational practice to enhance the quality of the educational environment in the Department and wider University in support of our continuing emphasis on international excellence as well as equality, diversity and inclusion.
• To contribute to the administrative work, citizenship and values of the Department.
• Engage in and enhance the values of the Department with regard to its commitment to its vibrant and international postgraduate culture.
• Carry out such other duties as specified by the Head of Department.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key component of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our Purpose and Values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It's important to us that all colleagues undertake activities that are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from those who are currently under-represented in our work force, including people with disabilities and from racially minoritised ethnic groups.

If you have taken a career break or periods of leave that may have impacted on your teaching achievements or pedagogical outputs, such as maternity, adoption or parental leave, you may wish to disclose this in your application The selection committee will recognise that this may have reduced the quantity of your research accordingly.

The University has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer status. If ...