Professorship

Hardly any other profession is as versatile and demanding as the professorship, which enables independent research and teaching. Within this framework, young academics are supervised, examinations are conducted and teaching obligations are fulfilled. In addition, there are tasks in the self-administration of the universities. Furthermore, research funds can be raised and research cooperation agreements made. Depending on the regulations, staff and material re-sources are available for these tasks, which are the subject of the appointment procedure. There are usually clear differences between a W2 professorship and a professorship with its own chair (W3).

In addition to the classic university professorship, a professorship at a university of applied sciences is also possible. A doctorate and several years of professional experience are sufficient for this.

Professors are mostly civil servants (probationary, temporary or tenured), although tenured professorships are also awarded.

The exact application modalities can be found in the job advertisements. As a rule, the position is advertised internationally and there is a multi-stage application procedure. The basic requirement for an application is a good to very good doctorate, relevant publications and ped-agogical aptitude.  

In Germany, professorships are paid according to the so-called W pay scale (https://www.hochschulverband.de/w-besoldung). Since the federal states decide on the basic salaries of civil servants and employees, there are sometimes serious differences here. In addition, the classification in one of the three pay scale groups W1 (junior professorship), W2 and W3 (professorship with chair) is decisive for the salary composition.