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UK Lectureship Interview Questions

Preparing for University Academic Panel with Sample Questions

Jul 11, 2008

Securing a desirable UK university lectureship can be difficult. Here are some sample questions from academic interview panels about teaching and a lecturer's role.

All candidates who have made the shortlist for a university lectureship could be appointed on the day of the interview. The Academic Faculty and Human Resources representatives on the interview panel will have followed selection criteria sent out to all prospective applicants.

The Day of the Interview

Some candidates may not meet all the criteria as well as others, yet making the shortlist means that any one of the applicants can be appointed to the university lectureship on the day of the interview. Candidates should try not to be distracted by conversations with other candidates when entering and exiting the room.

Many university departments will arrange a sit-down lunch, buffet or barbecue as a social event for candidates to meet each other and the members of academic faculty not sitting on the selection interview panel. This should be considered as part of the recruitment process however informal the talking and eating feels.

Expect the interview to be at least 45 minutes long and to cover questions relating to teaching, research, administration and availability. Jeffrey G. Allen J.D., C.P.C. writes "There is no way to learn how to respond to something so predictable as an interview" in The Complete Q & A Job Interview Book (John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2000). Jeffrey Allen, an authority on the interview process, continues "There's no positive reinforcement - no disciplined practice, either. How unfortunate when your livelihood and personhood are on the line."

Only one person’s efforts on the day of the interview can be prepared for. Here are some sample questions from academic panels relating a lecturer’s role in teaching his subject or academic discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Sample Interview Questions

Once the general questions, often asked by the Chair of the academic interview panel or committee, have allowed each lectureship candidate to settle nerves and find her voice, a set of questions relating to university level teaching usually follow.

The Director of Education, Head of Teaching Unit or Department Chair may lead on these questions with other panel members adding towards the end. In many better universities, there will be one or two student representatives who will ask candidates questions at the lectureship interview day.

If the overall expected time for the interview is one hour, prospective lecturers should prepare for 25 to 30 minutes of questions and answers relating to teaching. Example questions by important areas within the teaching contribution of lecturers to academic university departments are summarised below:

Teaching Practice

How would you describe your philosophy of teaching?
How do you encourage and motivate students to complete coursework?
Outline what challenges there are, if any, when teaching international students.
What are the best moments of teaching for you?

Teaching Preparation

How would you go about planning a lecture?
Describe a time plan for a tutorial/workshop

Teaching Administration

What units/ modules/ courses would you offer for the undergraduate programme?
When do you foresee that you would offer them?
What teaching could you offer at postgraduate level at the University?

Supervising Research

Outline how you would approach supervising an undergraduate project to completion.
Describe how you would approach supervising a Masters dissertation.
How would you describe your philosophy of research supervision?
What do you see as the main role and responsibilities as a supervisor?
What do you see as the main responsibilities of a student?
In your opinion how do you offer the best supervision possible?
How do you encourage and motivate students to complete within the designated time?

There are no right or wrong answers, just personalized responses grounded in the experience of the candidates about their potential teaching, research and administration contributions. With quality preparation of answers to sample interview questions, candidates for lectureships can ensure that once shortlisted, they perform well to secure the university post they desire.

The copyright of the article UK Lectureship Interview Questions in Universities is owned by Susan Morris. Permission to republish UK Lectureship Interview Questions in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.