Paths to professorship

Funding programs for independent junior research group leaders (i.e. by the DFG, ERC) enable young scientists to gain scientific independence at an early stage of their academic career. This implies the opportunity to conduct independently an own research project having an own budget available.

The funding usually includes posts for additional research assistants as well as means for equipment and consumables. The head of an independent junior research group is not subject to directives that provide optimal conditions for enhancing one’s profile as an independent scientist.

Application process for junior research groups

Selection processes for independent junior research group leadership positions are typically extremely competitive. Scientific excellence, primarily proven through an outstanding publication record already during the early postdoc phase, is an essential selection criterion. 

The most important funding programs

• Emmy Noether and the Heisenberg Programme  | DFG
• Starting Grants | European Research Council
• Change! Fellowships and Research Groups | Volkswagen Foundation
• Sofja Kovalevskaja Award | Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
• The Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz Association have
• their own programs for Independent junior research groups.

TUD Young Investigator Status

© TUD

Are you already an independent junior research group leader at the TU Dresden
or a DRESDEN concept partner institution?

Then you might want to apply for the
TUD Young Investigator Status.

The lack of involvement within institutional procedures and decision-making processes at the university/research institute and of teaching experience may be seen as a disadvantage of such a position. Furthermore, heads of independent junior research groups are not admitted as examiners within the doctoral examination procedure. In order to counteract these disadvantages, the TU Dresden has launched, as a measure of its institutional strategy, the program TUD Young Investigators.

The habilitation (postdoctoral university lecturing qualification) is traditionally established within the German academic system as a further academic qualification after the doctorate.

In spite of the recent diversification of academic career paths, in many disciplines, the habilitation still plays a decisive role as a post-doctoral degree that entitles to be appointable for a professorship.

The habilitation consists of a habilitation thesis and oral exams, and it certificates lecturing and researching competency within a particular scientific discipline (the so-called venia legendi).  

Admission and administration

Admission to and administration of the habilitation (post-doctoral lecturing qualification) are subject to the respective habilitation regulations of the faculties, similar to the procedure for a doctoral degree. The habilitation is administrated by a habilitation committee composed of at least six professors. In order to complete the habilitation process successfully, the following tasks have to be performed:

• presentation of a habilitation thesis or proof of equivalent scholarly work;
• an academic lecture with a subsequent colloquium and a course that is discursive in nature to demonstrate suitability for teaching, to be held in front of the panel determined by the habilitation regulations; this panel needs to include student representatives from the relevant subject.

Reviewing of the habilitation thesis is undertaken principally by three university lecturers of whom at least one must not belong to the university awarding the degree. The doctoral degree title can be supplemented with the word "habil" (Doctor habilitatus).

Funding

Usually, habilitation candidates have a fixed-term position at a university. According to the Federal Law on Temporary Employment in Science (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz), a budget-funded employment at the university is limited to max. six years. This time frame corresponds to what is typically set for the completion of the habilitation thesis. However, this six-years period can be exceeded by third-party funded employments. Post-doctoral or habilitation scholarships are an alternative funding option.

Habilitation candidates are subject to directives from part of the chair holder or the head of the institute/department, respectively. This might impose restrictions on the development of scientific independence of the habilitation candidate. 

In addition to scholarship programs for the habilitation from third-party institutions (e.g., Emmy Noether-Programm, Heisenberg-Programm), there are other interesting funding opportunities, such as travel grants for conferences or stays abroad, funding for international cooperation between working groups (AGs) or funding opportunities for developing and sharpening the scientific profile.

Do you have questions about the topic of financing habilitation?
Please get in touch with us!

The junior professorship, introduced in 2002 by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Saxon state law, is an opportunity for young, excellent scientists to teach and research at the university without going through habilitation.

The junior professorship helps to strengthen scientific independence at an early stage of the academic career, removing the hurdle of habilitation towards a chair and boosting international competitiveness of the science hub Germany by the approximate comparability with assistant professorships, e.g., in the US or Switzerland.

Per § 63 SächsHSFG, the following requirements must be met
for an appointment to a W1 junior professorship:

• completed university studies 
• pedagogical aptitude and
• particular aptitude for scientific work, usually evidenced by a doctorate.
• For junior professorships with medical or dental responsibilities, proof should also be provided of recognition as a medical specialist or, if this is not provided for in the respective subject area, of medical activity of at least five years after obtaining the license or permission to practice the profession. If the junior professorship to be filled involves educational or didactic tasks in teacher training, three years of professional experience at a school should be demonstrated.
• In addition, periods of doctoral studies and employment as a research associate or research assistant together should not have exceeded six years, in the field of medicine, not more than nine years.

Appointment

As a general rule, junior professorships are published internationally as temporary positions. Typically, the appointment is for three years, which will be extended to six years in total, after a positive evaluation. In some cases, there is the option for continuation of the junior professorship, so that after a further positive evaluation (without renewed appointment) the appointment is immediately converted into a W2 or W3 lifetime chair (tenure track).

Salaries

Junior professors are typically given the status of civil servant and receive a salary of grade W1. No benefits will be paid, but the salary increases after positive interim evaluation. The facilities of junior professorships are still not satisfactory; often, the human and material resources are acquired through third-party funds.

Mirjam Müller (2014)
Promotion – Postdoc - Professur. Karriereplanung in der Wissenschaft (in German)
Mirjam Müller explains in this book the background and names success factors of the decisive phase between doctorate and professorship:

• What achievements must be made in research, teaching, and management?
• Which unwritten laws must be observed?

Each part of the academic portfolio shows which concrete career steps need to be planned and how one's profile can be presented coherently.

Christine Färber, Ute Riedler (2016)
Black Box Berufung. Strategien auf dem Weg zur Professur (in German)
The book explains the procedures and requirements, from the call for applications to the work of selection committees, from the written application to the “audition” to the appointment hearing and the salary. The authors also provide information on appointment procedures abroad.

Links

TUD - Science Creates Opportunities

Vacancies at the TUD

Deutscher Hochschulverband (DHV)

Young researchers | Career (FAQs)
DHV-Webinar: Die Juniorprofessur - Good to know (in German)
Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions, which are of interest to young scientists concerning their career and their first steps in research and teaching (in German)

Research in Germany (BMBF)

Research in Germany (BMBF) provides you with an insight into the German research landscape, funding opportunities and other topics with the Online Talk Series.

academics

academics | Postdoc
Job description, application tips, salary, and financing options – here, you will find everything essential for the postdoc phase as well as current job offers. (in German)

academics | How to become a professor
Here you will find all the answers and tips for the last steps on the way to becoming a professor and advice on working as a professor. (in German)

academics | Professorship at a university of applied science
The professorship at a university of applied science offers teaching with an application-oriented focus. What can be claimed as work experience, and how is a professorship at a university of applied science remunerated? (in German)