ALESS & ALESA Programs
College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Recruitment Information for Fixed-Term Positions in English
Title and Hiring Numbers
Project Assistant Professor, one or more positions
Term of Employment
1 September 2025 to 31 March 2026
Renewal of Contract
Your employment agreement may be renewed. Following the initial term of employment, the employment agreement may be renewed annually in 12-month contracts. Renewal of the employment agreement will be determined by all relevant factors, including budget status, job performance, and conduct.
Probation Period
Six months from the date of employment
Place of Work
Six junior division classes:
The University of Tokyo (Komaba Campus)
3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
One senior division class:
The Hongo campus, the Komaba campus, or online
The University of Tokyo (Hongo campus)
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Affiliation
Center for Global Education (https://globe.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/index.html)
* Your affiliation may be changed subject to necessity of the business.
Contents of Work Duties
The appointee will teach six 105-minute English classes (https://eng2.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ale_web/) and one senior division class (Global Liberal Arts https://globe.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/globalliberalarts.html) each week. There are 13 to 14 teaching weeks per semester and two semesters per year. The courses taught include academic writing for first-year undergraduates (science students in the case of ALESS, humanities students in the case of ALESA), classes designed to improve fluency in academic discussion (FLOW), and a Global Liberal Arts course. The appointee will also participate in curriculum development and regular program meetings. Applicants who also possess a native or near-native level of Japanese may be offered a role assisting management in exchange for a reduction of other duties.
Scope of change: Reassignment, concurrent duties, and secondment may be ordered. (In principle, it is not ordered against one's will. Details are in accordance with Article 4 of the University of Tokyo Regulations on Conditions of Employment of Academic Staff).
Working hours
Discretionary work system for professional work applies and working hours will be deemed as 7 hours and 45 minutes per day.
Days Off
Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, and the year-end and New Year holidays (December 29 to January 3)
Leave
Annual Paid Leave, Special Leave, etc.
Wages, etc.
The gross salary is 6,600,000 Japanese yen per year (550,000 Japanese yen per month) including performance / achievement allowance. Commuting Allowance (normally up to JPY 55,000/month, if you meet the requirements.).
Insurance
You will be automatically enrolled in insurance from the Mutual Aid Association of MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) Employment Insurance and Worker's Accident Insurance.
Qualification Requirements
1a) Ph.D. (or ABD with strong record of publication) in the natural or social sciences, medicine, or engineering [ALESS];
1b) Ph.D. (or ABD with strong record of publication) in the humanities or social sciences [ALESA];
2) Use of English as a first language or an equivalent level of English proficiency.
Preferred Qualifications: Prior experience teaching English at the university level.
Documents to be Submitted
- 1) Cover letter;
- 2) CV;
- 3) List of publications by category (books, articles, etc.);
- 4) Two major publications;
- 5) Contact details for two academic referees;
- 6) A 500-word essay in English describing applicant's teaching philosophy and experience teaching either English academic writing or English spoken fluency to university students. (Applicants lacking such experience should describe how they would plan and teach one of these courses.)
- 7) A short (single page) description of a Global Liberal Arts Course (https://globe.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/globalliberalarts.html) for 3rd- or 4th-year students in your area of expertise, including:
- Course Title
- Course Objectives/Overview
- Teaching Methods
- Relevant SDGs (by number) https://sdgs.un.org/goals.
- 8) Declaration regarding past criminal penalties, administrative actions, and disciplinary actions due to sexual harassment and/or sexual violence etc. against students (download the format from the website below.)
https://www.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/faculty/soumu/jinji/download-jinji/en_declaration.docx
Submission Method
Submit the requested documents as PDF files via the following form
(Google sign-in required):
https://forms.gle/yFJGXQ2hHSCTVjuz8
Name each PDF file as follows:
202509ALE_Lastname_Givenname_XXXX.pdf
(Replace XXXX with "cover letter," "CV" etc., as appropriate.)
Application Deadline
Applications must arrive by April 11 (Japan Standard Time). After screening of application materials, interviews of selected applicants will be conducted.
Contact
ALESS/ALESA Personnel Committee
c/o Center for Global Communication Strategies
Komaba International Building for Education and Research (KIBER)
College of Arts and Sciences
The University of Tokyo
3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902
Informal inquiries may be addressed to the Personnel Committee at
search [at] cgcs.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
(Replace [at] with @)
Name of Recruiter
The University of Tokyo
Status of measures to prevent second-hand smoke
No smoking on site in principle (Designated outdoor smoking areas are available)
Other
1) Short-listed applicants will be interviewed in May through early June. Applicants residing abroad will be interviewed by video conference. Applicants may expect to be notified of the results by late June.
2) A term of employment of April 1st, 2026 to March 31st, 2027 may also be possible.
3) Personal information obtained will only be used for recruitment purposes.
4) We welcome proactive application from women in accordance with "The University of Tokyo Declaration for Promoting Gender Equality (March 3, 2009) ."
5) Regarding the handling of contract periods in cases of maternity leave, childcare leave, or family care leave, extension measures for employment periods corresponding to such leave periods will not be applied.
6) If you are personally in contract with foreign governmental bodies, corporations or universities, or you are in receipt of a large benefit (financial or any other form) from foreign governmental bodies during the period of your employment, the provisions of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) may prohibit or restrict the sharing of technology that are designated as controlled technology possibly making it difficult for you to fulfill your duties as an academic or administrative staff of the university as a result. Therefore, in such cases it is necessary to keep such contracts/benefits within the scope where it does not hinder the sharing of technologies necessary for your duties by the university.
7) Outline of the ALESS/ALESA program
The ALESS and ALESA Programs teach compulsory English courses at the University of Tokyo. In ALESS writing classes, science students design a simple controlled experiment and write a scientific essay in the IMRaD format. In ALESA writing classes, social sciences and humanities students conduct research on a topic and write an argumentative essay using proper scholarly apparatus. Half-semester FLOW courses are designed to enhance fluency in academic discussion. The average class size is 15 students. The curriculum of the ALESS and ALESA Programs is under constant refinement through collaboration among all faculty.
