Qualification and Eligibility

Full professors have to demonstrate outstanding academic achievements after the completion of their doctoral degree and proficiency in research and teaching. In Germany, it is still common to pursue a so-called “Habilitation” – a qualification bestowed by a university that used to be necessary to embark on a career as a full professor, and now stands alongside other options considered to be ‘equivalent to Habilitation’. It includes a scientific or scholarly study similar to a second doctorate (“habilitation treatise” – usually a monograph in the humanities or a set of excellent publications, or ‘cumulative treatise’, in the natural and social sciences) as well as a proven teaching record. In recent years, other academic achievements (e.g. positive evaluation of a six-year assistant professorship) have begun to replace the habilitation.

Besides research and teaching, professorial duties entail supervising and supporting young researchers, applying for third-party funding, being involved in committees on the departmental, faculty and university level, as well as having administrative responsibilities, such as financial and HR management in their teams or departments. 

Advertisements for professorships will include formal requirements as well as subject-specific qualifications in terms of publishing record, knowledge of methods or equipment.