Information for applicants

As a professor at Viadrina you will:

• enjoy independence in research and teaching: you choose your topics, projects and methods freely   
• perform teaching duties and carry out examinations: as an associate or full professor, you will have to teach 8h (~ 4 courses), as a junior professor 4h-6h (~2-3 courses) per week
• support new academic talent: you (co-)supervise graduate students and Postdocs
• be involved in the self-government of the university: you may participate in examination or appointment committees and in decision-making bodies
• be able to apply to funding organizations for research funding: you may initiate, manage and implement research projects or international partnerships
• have human resources responsibility for your team: you will usually have control over staff, rooms and equipment.

Viadrina will support you by:

• providing a stimulating environment shaped by personal interactions with people from over 100 countries, short distances across the university campus, and close connections with your colleagues on both sides of the Oder river
• promoting a gender equal, diversity-sensitive and family friendly university which allows for flexible and attractive working conditions
• providing user-orientated services and efficient administrative procedures which allow for participation and involvement
• supporting your research activities by providing information on funding opportunities, allowances for successful research initiatives, and a release from teaching duties every eighth semester
• supporting your teaching skills and your career development by providing targeted training opportunities
• currently providing one of the highest salaries for professors in Germany given its location in the federal state of Brandenburg

The formal requirements for a professorship are regulated in § 43 (for associate/W2 and full/W3 professors) and in § 47 (for W1/junior professors) of the Brandenburg Act on Higher Edcuation (Brandenburgisches Hochschulgesetz, BBgHG).

As an associate (“W2”) or a full (“W3”) professor at Viadrina, the formal requirements are:

• a completed University degree at least at the BA level
• pedagogical suitability (e.g. teaching experience)
• special qualification for academic work (as a rule, the quality of a doctorate)
• further academic achievements, which can be demonstrated either by
• a (cumulative) habilitation degree or
• without a formal habilitation procedure: similar academic qualifications, which have been achieved in the framework of an employment as a junior professor or a research associate or at a job outside higher education
• extensive expertise in science management, particularly in areas with high third-party funding or significant personnel responsibility

As a junior (“W1”) professor at Viadrina, the formal requirements are:

• a completed University degree at least at the BA level
• pedagogical suitability (e.g. teaching experience)
• special qualification for academic work (as a rule, an excellent doctorate)

In addition to these formal requirements, it is generally also necessary to demonstrate proven knowledge of the subject, relevant publications and experience of research and teaching. These substantial criteria are specified in the Call for applications.

The appointment process involves several steps and can take up to one year or longer before a decision is made. Candidates can check the status of the application process anytime in the University’s recruitment portal. These are the most important steps:

• The Call for applications is advertised internationally and on Viadrina’s website and is usually open for six weeks. All applications should be submit-ted via the University’s recruitment portal.
• A university appointment committee (Berufungskommission) is specifically established for the purpose. It involves representatives from all status groups of the University (professors, research associates, students, and administrative staff) and meets at least four times during the application process.
• Prior to examining the applications, the appointment committee operationalizes the criteria set out in the Call for Applications and discusses any conflict of interest of committee members.
• The committee then discusses to which extent the applications fulfill the formal and the substantial requirements.
• It selects the most promising applicants and invites them to a hearing, which usually consists of a research talk, a mock teaching session, and an interview with the committee.
• After the hearing, the best candidates (generally, three) are put on a recommended list (appointments list) without a ranking.
• External reviews relating to the academic and personal suitability of these applicants are requested from professors at other universities.
• A ranking is established on the appointments list after discussing the external reviews. The appointment committee then forwards this list to the university committees.
• Several decision-making bodies of the University, such as the Faculty Council, the Academic Senate and the Foundation Board, make the final decision about the appointment. At the end of this process, the President of Viadrina officially offers the position to the selected candidate (“Ruferteilung”).

Once the selected candidate has been offered the position, s/he will negotiate the conditions of employment before being appointed.

Once the selected candidate has been offered the position (“Ruferteilung”), the formal appointment process involves a number of steps and can take several months prior to the formal appointment and the start at Viadrina. These are the most important steps:

• Along with the offer for the position (“Ruf”), the selected candidate is invited for an appointment interview, in which the candidate explains his or her teaching and research concept and the resulting requirements for the chair with regard to space, funding and human resources. The professor’s own remuneration is also negotiated at this point.
• After the interview, the candidate receives a detailed job offer (“Berufungsangebot”) including the conditions of employment, to which s/he has to respond with a specific deadline.
• If the candidate accepts the offer, Viadrina has to inform the other applicants about the outcome of the application process, including the name of the successful candidate and the prospective appointment date. This is a legal obligation to ensure their rights to potentially appeal the results of the application process.
• Prior to the formal appointment, the candidate will have to submit a “police clearance certificate” and – if s/he wants to become a civil servant (more information on this status below), s/he will also have to undergo a health check.
• The federal state of Brandenburg, in which Viadrina is located, also requests that “constitutional loyalty checks” are carried out for candidates.
• Once all these steps have been successfully completed, the candidate is formally appointed as a professor by the President. This includes taking an oath on the constitution. Following the successful appointment, the onboarding process starts (see section “Professors”). Congratulations!

Professors are remunerated in accordance with what is known as W-Besoldung, a salary scale for scholars (W stands for “Wissenschaft”, which means scholarship or science). Since Germany is a federation in which the individual states (Länder) have jurisdiction over their civil servants’ basic pay, salaries vary depending on the state in which the university is based. Viadrina is located in the state of Brandenburg, which currently offers one of the highest base salaries for professors within Germany.

As a rule, associate and full professors are paid according to the W2 or W3 salary scales, assistant professors according to the W1 scale.

• W3 professorships are usually higher positions that involve, for example, responsibility for a professorial chair or managing an institute. The monthly gross basic salary of a W3 professor is currently 8.407,12 Euros per month. In addition to this, there are appointment and retention bonuses, family allowances, special performance-related bonuses and functional performance bonuses.
• W2 professorships are regular positions for researchers who independently carry out research and teaching. Initially, the monthly gross basic salary is currently 7.114,57 Euros per month. Here, too, salaries can be increased by family, appointment/retention and performance-related bonuses.
• Junior professors (W1) are grouped as university teachers. As a rule, they are paid according to the W1 salary scale. The monthly gross basic salary is currently 5.445,67 Euros.
• The budget of the professorship and the level of additional payments depend to a large extent on the appointment negotiations and the specific situation of the university and the department.

You should bear in mind that deductions are made from the respective gross monthly salary to cover taxes and possibly also social contributions for medical, unemployment and retirement pension insurance. These contributions enable you to acquire rights to the excellent benefits of the German social security system.

In Germany, professors are usually civil servants (“Beamte”) and do not need to pay social insurance contributions. However, professorships can also be awarded with employee status (“Angestellte”). This means the net salary is lower than that of a professor with civil servant status, since social insurance contributions will have to be paid. In Brandenburg, professors are usually hired as employees if they are 50 years or older at the day of appointment.