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Scientific Career

Paths to the Professorship at the University of Freiburg

The prerequisite for embarking on the path to a professorship is a doctoral degree. At the University of Freiburg, it is possible to fulfill the eligibility requirements for a professorship in the following ways:

  • habilitation
  • as a leader of a junior research group (e.g., Emmy Noether Group, ERC Starting Grant)
  • junior professorship
  • tenure track junior professorship
     

The following – as a rule temporary – positions and funding formats are common at the University of Freiburg during the qualification phase for a professorship:

  • research assistant/lecturer under a professor or at a department
  • senior lecturer with a fixed-term contract under a professor or at a department
  • research assistant in an externally funded project (so-called project collaborator)
  • research assistant/lecturer with an externally funded position for which one has secured funding on one’s own (so-called own position)
  • junior professorship
  • tenure track junior professorship
  • research fellowships (e.g., fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, fellowship from the Gerda Henkel Foundation)

 

Alternative Career Paths

In addition to the career goal “professorship,” there are a variety of other ways for postdoctoral researchers to pursue a career outside of the university, e.g., in the following areas:

  • external research institutes
  • industry/business/social organizations
  • research management
     

Advising for Specific Career Phases

The Science Support Centre and the EU Office at Freiburg Research Services offer advising for researchers in specific career phases on selecting suitable funding instruments, e.g., to finance your own position, a fellowship, or a junior research group.
 

Qualification Program for Career Development

Freiburg Research Services offers a transdisciplinary Qualification Program for Postdocs. The program addresses the needs of postdoctoral researchers pursuing an academic career as well as those interested in professions outside the university and is open to members of all faculties at the University of Freiburg except the Faculty of Medicine. It includes courses designed especially for postdoctoral researchers as well as joint workshops for doctoral candidates and postdocs.
In addition, the Freiburg Research Services website provides an overview of further courses offered at the University of Freiburg for postdoctoral researchers in the qualification phase.
 

Good Academic Practice

All researchers working at the University of Freiburg are bound to observe the rules of good academic practice. In particular, this includes the following general principles of academic work:

  • working in accordance with accepted rules (lege artis),
  • documenting research findings,
  • showing honesty toward the work of partners, rivals, and predecessors,
  • avoiding academic misconduct and taking precautions to prevent it.


As a means of communicating the rules of good academic practice as well as the principles of research ethics, Freiburg Research Services regularly holds workshops on these topics in the Qualification Program for Postdocs. For advice on issues concerning research ethics, please contact the Ethics Commission.