Useful information | Professorship Vacancies
Information on the job profiles, application deadlines and required application documents can be found in the respective advertisements, where you can also find details of the contact persons for any queries you might have regarding the post or the application procedure.
Your application will be assessed on the
basis of the criteria specified in the advertisement. When submitting your
application, please take note of our privacy policy.
In all selection decisions within appointment procedures, Goethe University is committed to equal opportunities and transparency and campaigns actively for diversity and inclusion. When composing appointment committees, care is taken to ensure the greatest possible parity between male and female members. The Equal Opportunities Officer or her representatives are involved in all steps of the appointment procedure.
Goethe University particularly welcomes applications from qualified women and people with a migration background and attaches great importance to making working conditions at the university family-friendly. Goethe University advocates an inclusive academic culture. That is why we are particularly pleased to receive applications from academics with a (severe) disability or equal status. In such cases, the representative for severely disabled persons is involved in the appointment procedure, unless you, as a severely disabled applicant, declare in writing that you decline their involvement.
Legal provisions for professorships in Hessen
Professorships are governed by the provisions of Section 67, 68 and 70 of the Hessian Higher Education Act (HessHG) in the version of 14 December 2021. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research also provides general information on professorships in Germany on the following website: research-in-germany.org.
We
have summarised some of the main passages of the Hessian Higher Education Act
for you here in a reading version in English and also included some further
references. Please note: This English translation is intended to provide
English-speaking readers with a better understanding of the legal framework. It
is exclusively for information purposes and only the German version is legally
binding.
Professorial tasks (Section
67 Hessian Higher Education Act)
In
accordance with their role in science and art, teaching and research, professors
work independently in their subjects. Among others, their task is to:
- Implement
research or development projects
- Support
and supervise the next generation of academics and artists
- Hold courses in their subjects in all degree programmes
- Contribute
to the reform of studies and provide academic advice
- Play
a part in examinations
- Participate
in self-administration at the university, e.g. by becoming a member of elected
committees or holding office.
Employment relationships (Section
67 Hessian Higher Education Act)
Professors
are engaged either as civil servants or as employees. In principle, both
options are possible if our job advertisements do not explicitly include only
the prospect of an employment relationship. An employment relationship can be
permanent or temporary, and a civil service relationship can constitute either
a limited or an unlimited tenure. The civil service relationship is a special
feature of the German higher education system, where, for example, health
insurance and pension provisions are organised differently and there are
additional rights, privileges and duties vis-à-vis the German state. It is not
necessary for you to decide already at the time of your application whether you
would like to have civil servant status. There is time for this until the
actual appointment procedure, and we are happy to discuss it with you during
our negotiations.
Appointment requirements (Section
68 Hessian Higher Education Act)
Apart from
the requirements specified in the respective advertisement, there are minimum statutory
requirements for professorial appointments. These include:
- Completed
university studies, as a rule a doctoral degree
- Capability
for scientific or artistic work, as a rule demonstrated by the quality of the
doctoral degree
- Additional
academic achievements
- Aptitude
for teaching
If you are
appointed as a civil servant, the general service requirements of the Civil
Servant Status Act additionally apply.
Assistant professorships
(tenure track) (Section 70 Hessian Higher Education Act)
Assistant professorships
(W1) are professorships with a probationary period during which the additional
academic achievements mentioned under Section 68 must first be accomplished in
order to then qualify for a tenured professorship. As a rule, assistant
professorships are limited to six years. The teaching duties of assistant professors
are reduced accordingly in favour of independent research. Whether the
probationary period has been successfully completed is then determined within an
evaluation procedure involving external academics.
As a rule,
assistant professorships are advertised as tenure track appointments, that is,
with the prospect of a permanent professorship with a higher salary grade (W2) following
successful evaluation.
In the case of assistant professorships, further special requirements apply concerning applications. The applicant should not have completed a doctoral degree at Goethe University or have undertaken academic work outside Goethe University for at least two years after completing it. The duration of academic work during and after the doctoral degree should not exceed nine years or the duration of academic work after the doctoral degree should not exceed four years. In the case of the successful completion of further training as foreseen in medical disciplines, the duration of academic work after the doctoral degree should not exceed seven years.
Appointment procedure
As a foundation university, Goethe University is
autonomous in its professorial appointments. As a basic principle, professorships
are advertised publicly and internationally. After the closing date for
applications, the appointment committee convenes and selects suitable
candidates from all the applications received on the basis of the criteria specified
in the advertisement. These candidates are invited to what is referred to as "Vorsingen" (an
"audition"), which usually consists of an academic presentation before the
university public and a teaching demonstration as well as an intramural discussion with the
appointment committee (job interview). The university then obtains comparative external
appraisals of the shortlisted candidates. Finally, the appointment committee
prepares a proposal, which generally consists of a list of three names. This
proposal is approved by the Executive Board and the Senate, and the first
person on the list is invited for an interview. Following the appointment negotiations
regarding resources and personal remuneration, the President calls the
candidate to the chair. Having accepted the appointment, they can then take up service
at Goethe University.
Professorships at Goethe University
The Hessian Higher Education Act,
the Appointment Statutes 2016 (PDF)
and the Tenure Track Statutes 2016 (PDF) form the legal framework for professorial
appointments at Goethe University. The basic salaries for the W1, W2 and W3 ranks
are statutory. Universities are free to structure performance-related
components of the “W" salary individually. For this, Goethe University uses the
Frankfurt Model for Professorial
Salaries (PDF in German).
The Principles of Good Scientific
Practice (PDF in German) and
the Guidelines on the Handling of
Intellectual Property (PDF in German) also apply and are binding at Goethe University.
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