Assistant Professor in Conservation and Museum Studies

At Maastricht University, we value the study of heritage in all its facets, recognizing it as a dynamic field that encompasses artistic, cultural, social, historical, and material dimensions. Our approach is inherently interdisciplinary, bringing together perspectives from the humanities, social sciences, and beyond to address complex questions about the past and its relevance in the present. We place strong emphasis on collaboration with relevant partners, including academic institutions, cultural organizations, policymakers, and local communities.

Through these partnerships, we aim to generate knowledge that is both academically rigorous and socially engaged, contributing to the sustainable preservation, interpretation, and innovation of arts and heritage in an international context. You will join an international academic community where critical thinking, collaboration, and curiosity drive everything we do – and where your perspective, expertise, and skills help students and colleagues engage thoughtfully with today’s most pressing challenges.

Assistant Professor in Conservation and Museum Studies

• Our goal: We aim to strengthen our expertise in museum studies, the conservation and curating of contemporary art, and conservation theory and ethics.

The position and profile
We offer a Sector Plan position in the field of Cultural Heritage and Identity. At the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), research and education in this area cover a range of topics, including digital heritage, 3D collection management, the creative economy, and music and landscape heritage. The new position will focus on the conservation of contemporary art and issues relevant to contemporary museum studies, such as decision‑making in museums, artists’ legacies, long‑term custodianship, and the decolonization, queering, and cripping of conservation curricula.

With this position in Conservation and Museum Studies, we also aim to further contribute to the themes identified in the Nationale Wetenschapsagenda Erfgoed 2026‑2030 (NOE).

What you do
You will contribute to the teaching in a variety of BA and MA programs at FASoS, such as the BA program in Arts and Culture and the minor and MA specialization Arts and Heritage. Teaching tasks include tutoring, coordinating, and lecturing courses, as well as supervising internships and BA and MA theses. You will engage in field‑leading research in the areas of conservation and museum studies, publishing in leading journals, presenting at conferences, and organising research activities.

At FASoS, teaching and research duties follow the regular division of 60% teaching and management and 40% research. The research time can be extended through external fundraising at the national and European level. FASoS is a collaborative environment, and you are expected to actively collaborate with colleagues from across departments in interdisciplinary teaching and research activities, especially the colleagues in Sector Plan positions related to Cultural Heritage and Identity.

You contribute to the goals and deliverables of this Sector Plan, in collaboration with partners at the local and national level.

What you bring
We’re not looking for check boxes; we are interested in who you are and what you bring.

• Expert in conservation and museum studies. Your research focuses on the conservation of contemporary art and relates to contemporary strands in museum studies, for instance professional ethics and care, and inclusive practices.
• Interdisciplinary thinker. You connect theoretical and societal debates with more empirical research, such as through an ethnographic approach that includes fieldwork driven by collaboration with institutions and museum visitors.
• Experienced researcher. You have a growing publication record, appropriate to your career stage, in internationally recognised venues, and are motivated to develop collaborative grant proposals.
• Engaged scholar. You actively share your insights beyond academia and collaborate with relevant partners and stakeholders in the Maas‑Rhein Euregion, the Netherlands, and beyond.
• Inspiring teacher. You have demonstrated experience in course coordination,…