Bielefeld University Research Position in Romance Linguistics 2026

The position is situated in a research and teaching context that addresses questions of language contact (including Creole languages) and/or sociolinguistics (including migration linguistics) in relation to Romance varieties in the Global South. Particular emphasis – though not exclusively – is placed on three regions: the Caribbean, Central Africa and Southeast Asia (e.g. Romance languages in multilingual repertoires, intra-regional migration processes, French-, Portuguese- and Spanish-based creole languages, etc.). 

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineJune 4, 2026
• Study LevelPhD
• SponsorBielefeld University
• City to studyNorth Rhine-Westphalia
• School to studyBielefeld University
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• Salary according to Remuneration level 13 TV-L
• Fixed-term (3 years) (§ 2 Abs. 1 Satz 1 WissZeitVG; entsprechend den Vorgaben des WissZeitVG und des Vertrages über gute Beschäftigungsbedingungen kann sich im Einzelfall eine abweichende Vertragslaufzeit ergeben)
• Part-time 65 %

• Internal and external training opportunities
• Variety of health, consulting and prevention services
• Reconcilability of family and work
• 30 days holiday and additional days off on 24.12. and 31.12.
• Good transport connection
• Supplementary company pension
• Collegial working environment
• Open and pleasant working atmosphere
• Exciting, varied tasks
• Modern work environment with digital processes
• Various offers (canteen, cafeteria, restaurants, Uni-Shop, ATM, etc.)

Requirements

We expect

• good to very good scientific university degree in Romance Philology, General Linguistics, or a related field with a focus on linguistics
• very good proficiency in at least one of the following Romance languages: French, Portuguese, or Spanish
• knowledge of German or the willingness to acquire sufficient German for academic purposes within the first three years of employment
• sensitivity and a strong academic interest in societies of the Global South
• willingness to engage with non-European cultures and languages alongside Romance varieties
• independent, self-responsible and committed work
• pronounced organizational and coordination skills
• cooperative and team-oriented working style

Preferred experience and skills

• experience with non-European cultures and languages alongside Romance varieties (for example: Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia, Fang, Kikongo, Lingala, Tagalog, among others)
• interest in a dissertation project in the field of Romance varieties in the Global South
• interest in learning and applying empirical research methods, ranging from ethnographically oriented fieldwork and corpus creation to the statistical analysis of linguistic data
• confident command of contemporary media and presentation formats

Application Documents

In addition to the standard application documents, you may include:

• A copy of your master’s thesis, including the evaluation, if available and relevant to a potential dissertation project.

Check also:
2026 Fully Funded Humboldt Research Fellowship
2026 Eutopia PhD Co-tutelle Call

Application Deadline

How To Apply

• To apply, please preferably use the online form via the Application Portal. 

For more information, kindly visit the Bielefeld University webpage.