Habilitation Regulations

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the English translation is provided for information purposes only. The English text is not legally binding. Only the original German document has legal validity. The official language at TU Dresden is German. German jurisdiction applies.

Postdoctoral Degree (Habilitation) Regulations

of the Faculty of Education

as of April 3, 1996

Content:

§1    Postdoctoral qualification (Habilitation)

§2    Habilitation Committee

§3    Prerequisites for the postdoctoral qualification

§4    Postdoctoral work

§5    Submitting the postdoctoral thesis to the Dean

§6    Withdrawal and repetition

§7    Admission to the postdoctoral qualification

§8    Evaluation of the postdoctoral thesis

§9    Acceptance of the postdoctoral thesis

§10 Academic presentation and colloquium

§11 Trial lecture

§12 Completing the postdoctoral qualification

§13 Extending the teaching qualification

§14 Revocation of the postdoctoral qualification

§15 Negative decisions

§16 Access to documents and files

§17 Entry into force and interim regulations

(Translator's note: The English version of these regulations uses gender-inclusive pronouns i.e. the “singular they” that includes all genders)

On the basis of § 37 para. 5 of the Act on Universities in the Free State of Saxony (Saxon Higher Education Act - SHG) of August 4, 1993 (SächsGVBl. p. 691), the Faculty of Education adopted the following Postdoctoral Degree Regulations (Habilitation Regulations) on April 3, 1996, which were approved by the Saxon State Ministry of Science and Art by decree of July 27, 1996 (Ref.: 2-7843.11/22).

§1        Postdoctoral qualification (Habilitation)

  • The postdoctoral qualification serves to formally ascertain a particular proficiency for independent research and teaching in a specific subject or field (teaching qualification). As a result of the successful postdoctoral qualification, the candidate obtains the academic title of a habilitated doctor (Dr. phil. habil.). The doctoral degree is supplemented by the abbreviation "habil."; if the doctoral degree already awarded does not correspond to the doctoral degree awarded by the Faculty of Education, the nomenclature which is customary at the faculty is added (Dr. .... et phil. habil.).
  • The postdoctoral qualification is only possible if the chosen subject or field is represented by a university lecturer mainly working at TU Dresden (§ 48 SHG) and a university lecturer of TU Dresden agrees to evaluate the postdoctoral thesis.
  • The postdoctoral procedure is carried out by the Faculty of Education. If a postdoctoral qualification is carried out by several faculties, a joint Habilitation Committee may be established by mutual agreement of these faculties. In cases of doubt, the Senate decides on the assignment.

§2        Habilitation Committee

  • Unless otherwise provided for in these regulations, all decisions regarding the postdoctoral procedure are made by the Habilitation Committee, which is appointed by the Faculty Board to carry out the habilitation procedure.
  • The Habilitation Committee is formed in accordance with the scientific requirements of the postdoctoral procedure. It consists of the chairperson, the reviewers and, as a rule, four other university lecturers or Privatdozenten (private lecturers) working mainly at TU Dresden.
  • The chairperson shall oblige all members of the Habilitation Committee who are not public service staff to maintain confidentiality.
  • The meetings of the Habilitation Committee are not public.
  • The Habilitation Committee has a quorum if the majority of its members is present. It passes resolutions based on the majority of the valid votes cast. In the event of a tie, the chairperson has the deciding vote. Abstentions are not permitted.
  • Minutes shall be kept of the deliberations of the Habilitation Committee. The minutes must contain the wording of the resolutions and recommendations as well as the results of the votes.

§3        Prerequisites for the postdoctoral qualification

  • Candidates can only be admitted to the postdoctoral procedure if they
    • hold a doctoral degree of a German academic university in one of the disciplines of the faculty and
    • as a rule, have been scientifically active for several years.
  • Upon application by the candidate, the Faculty Board may recognize a doctoral title from another field or an equivalent title from an international university as a prerequisite for admission to postdoctoral studies. The recognition of an international academic title requires that the candidate is officially authorized to use the title in the Federal Republic of Germany according to the legal regulations.

§4        Postdoctoral work

For the postdoctoral studies, the following work must be completed:

    • submitting a postdoctoral thesis or equivalent academic publications. They must be written in German. If a review in a foreign language can be assured, the Faculty Board may allow work written in another language.
    • an academic presentation followed by a discussion (colloquium),
    • a teaching session with discourse character (trial lecture).

§5        Submitting the postdoctoral thesis to the Dean

  • The candidate submits a written application for admission to postdoctoral studies, stating the subject or field for which they wish to obtain the teaching qualification to the Dean of the Faculty of Education.
  • The following documents must be included:
    • the postdoctoral thesis or equivalent academic publications in five copies each,
    • a declaration that the postdoctoral thesis and other submitted academic work have been written independently by the candidate without any aids other than those indicated, and that the content included as quotes or reformulated is indicated as such; in the case of joint work, a detailed statement of the candidate’s contribution,
    • a list of the candidate's academic publications, if possible including offprints. Research results that have not yet been published may be submitted in manuscript form.
    • a curriculum vitae providing information about the candidate’s personal and professional achievements,
    • suitable proof regarding the requirements pursuant to § 3 para. 1, in particular the doctoral certificate, the dissertation and a statement of previous academic teaching activities,
    • a declaration about any previous postdoctoral study attempts at other universities and their results, if any,
    • three topic proposals for the academic presentation and three topic proposals for the trial lecture; the candidate may change the proposed topics until the decision on the acceptance of the postdoctoral thesis is made.
    • a declaration that a certificate of good conduct (Führungszeugnis) according to § 30 para. 5 Federal Central Register Act (Bundeszentralregistergesetz) which is to be submitted to the Faculty of Education has been applied for at the registration office,

The submission of the postdoctoral thesis to the Dean may be accompanied by a proposal for three possible reviewers. The proposal does not constitute an entitlement for consideration.

  • The documents enclosed in accordance with para. 2 must be submitted in written form and must be authorized by the candidate's signature or be officially certified.
  • Upon opening of the procedure, the submitted documents become the property of TU Dresden.

§6        Withdrawal and repetition

  • The candidate may withdraw the submitted documents at any time of the postdoctoral procedure.
  • If a postdoctoral procedure has not resulted in a habilitation, a new postdoctoral thesis may be submitted at the earliest one year later. A postdoctoral thesis accepted in the earlier procedure may be resubmitted in the repeat procedure. In all other respects, the provisions of these Postdoctoral Degree Regulations shall apply.

§7        Admission to the postdoctoral qualification

  • The Dean checks the subject compatibility of the faculty as well as the completeness and validity of the submitted documents; they may reject an incomplete application for submitting the postdoctoral thesis.
  • Otherwise, the Faculty Board decides on the admission to the postdoctoral qualification. The decision on admission must state the title of the postdoctoral thesis and the subject or field for which the candidate wishes to prove their teaching qualification. Moreover, the Habilitation Committee and the reviewers pursuant to § 37 para. 3 SHG must be appointed.
  • The Dean will notify the candidate in writing without delay of the decision on admission to the postdoctoral procedure.
  • Admission to the postdoctoral procedure may only be refused if
    • the prerequisites mentioned in § 3 are not fulfilled,
    • the documents to be submitted alongside the thesis are incomplete,
    • the candidate has submitted an application for postdoctoral studies elsewhere and this procedure has not yet been completed,
    • the candidate has repeatedly failed a postdoctoral procedure,
    • the requirements for revoking the academic title or for prohibiting the candidate to work as lecturer are met.
    • the postdoctoral thesis concerns a subject or field which is not represented by any university lecturer at the faculty, or if the faculty does not feel professionally able to assess the postdoctoral thesis.

§8        Evaluation of the postdoctoral thesis

  • The evaluations by the reviewers appointed in accordance with § 7, para. 2, sentence 3, must be submitted in writing. The reviews must contain a recommendation on the acceptance or rejection of the submitted work as a postdoctoral thesis.
  • If a review is not submitted within six months, the Faculty Board may appoint a new reviewer.

§9        Acceptance of the postdoctoral thesis

  • After receiving the reviews, the postdoctoral thesis and the reviews are made available to all university lecturers and Privatdozenten (private lecturers) working mainly at the faculty by display for inspection for a period of at least two weeks or by circulation; they have the right to comment in writing.
  • The Habilitation Committee decides on the acceptance or rejection of the postdoctoral thesis on the basis of the submitted reviews and statements. If the reviewers do not come to a unanimous decision or if the Habilitation Committee wishes to deviate from a unanimous recommendation of the reviewers, it must justify the reason in writing in a comprehensible manner.
  • If the postdoctoral thesis is not accepted, the Faculty Board deems the postdoctoral procedure to be unsuccessful but complete.

§10 Academic presentation and colloquium

  • After the postdoctoral thesis has been accepted, the Habilitation Committee sets the date for the academic presentation and colloquium, and selects the presentation topic based on the candidate’s proposals. The Habilitation Committee can reject topics which it considers to be unsuitable and request that the candidate proposes different topics.
  • The Dean invites the candidate to the academic presentation and colloquium no later than two weeks before the set date and informs them of the selected topic.
  • For the academic presentation and the colloquium, the Dean invites in writing the members of the Habilitation Committee, all university lecturers and Privatdozenten working mainly at the faculty, the representatives of the academic and other staff, as well as the students of the Faculty Board. In addition, they may invite professors from other faculties or universities, representatives of other academic institutions, or other candidates for the postdoctoral qualification.
  • The academic presentation and the colloquium are open to the faculty. Date and place will be posted on the bulletin boards. The academic presentation should usually last 45 minutes. The colloquium should not exceed a total duration of 60 minutes. The colloquium is conducted by the Dean or, on their behalf, by the chairperson of the Habilitation Committee and covers the entire subject or field for which the teaching qualification is to be demonstrated; the topic of the academic presentation should form a major focus of the colloquium.
  • Upon completion of the academic presentation and the colloquium, the Habilitation Committee deliberates and decides on the result. The chairperson of the Habilitation Committee announces the result to the candidate in the presence of the Habilitation Committee. The consultation, decision-making and announcement are not public.
  • If the result is not considered sufficient, the Habilitation Committee may decide that the academic presentation and colloquium may be repeated once with a different topic within a reasonable period of time.

§11 Trial lecture

The trial lecture should usually last 45 minutes. In all other respects, § 10 applies accordingly.

§12 Completing the postdoctoral qualification

  • If the candidate has successfully completed all postdoctoral work, the Faculty Board decides on the proposal of the Habilitation Committee on the successful completion of the postdoctoral procedure. The Habilitation Committee thereby specifies the subject or field in which the teaching qualification has been obtained. § 9 para. 2 sentence 2 applies accordingly.
  • The candidate receives a postdoctoral certificate and is awarded the academic title habilitated doctor. The certificate must include:
    • last name, first name, date and place of birth of the person who obtained the habilitation,
    • the academic title awarded,
    • the topic of the postdoctoral thesis,
    • the subject or field for which the teaching qualification has been obtained,
    • the date of the decision of the Faculty Board on the successful completion of the postdoctoral procedure according to para. 1,
    • the signatures of the Rector and the Dean of the Faculty of Education,
    • the seal of TUD Dresden University of Technology.

§13 Extending the teaching qualification

Upon application of the habilitated person, the Faculty Board may extend the teaching qualification granted with the postdoctoral qualification. The candidate shall provide evidence of their special qualification for research and teaching in the extended or new subject area by means of academic publications. § 8 and § 9 shall apply accordingly to the review and decision-making process.

§14 Revocation of the postdoctoral qualification

  • The revocation of the postdoctoral qualification and the withdrawal of the academic title are governed by the statutory provisions. The Faculty Board makes this decision.
  • If it becomes apparent before the certificate is issued that the candidate obtained admission to the postdoctoral procedure by deception or was guilty of deception in the postdoctoral procedure, the Faculty Board will declare the examined assessments invalid and determine that the postdoctoral procedure failed.

§15 Negative decisions

Decisions that adversely affect the candidate, negative decisions, as well as the decision on the withdrawal of the postdoctoral qualification will be issued by the Dean; they must be justified in writing and must be accompanied by instructions on how to appeal.

§16 Access to documents and files

Within one year after completion of the postdoctoral procedure, the habilitated person must be granted access to the documents regarding the postdoctoral procedure upon request.

§17 Entry into force and interim regulations

  • These Postdoctoral Degree (Habilitation) Regulations will enter into force on the day after publication in the Official Announcements of TU Dresden.
  • Postdoctoral procedures that have already been opened will be continued in accordance with these Postdoctoral Degree Regulations, unless the candidate requests continuation in accordance with the previous regulations.

Dresden, April 3, 1996

Prof. Dr. Norbert M. Seel Dekan

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