Information for those interested in habilitation

After you have informed yourself of the acceptance requirements and legal framework and have found a group of subject-specific mentors mentor for your habilitation project, you must submit a written, informal application for acceptance, signed in the original by hand, stating the subject area for which the teaching qualification is to be established, in writing to the dean of the faculty.

The application must be accompanied by the following documents (as per §§ 4 and 5 HabilO 2023):

1. proof of fulfilment of the acceptance requirements according to § 4 HabilO 2023 (certified copy of or original degree certificate from a higher education institution which forms the basis of the application for acceptance; in the case of non-German university degrees, the diploma supplement and transcript of records must be enclosed)

   • proof of degree studies at a university or equivalent higher education institution
   • proof of the right to hold a doctoral degree or equivalent academic degree
   • proof of pedagogical aptitude: this is provided by holding a course of at least one semester at a higher education institution
   • proof of special aptitude for academic work: this is provided by a doctorate that has been graded at least magna cum laude (for doctorates without a final grade, an expert opinion is obtained from within the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences)

2. Curriculum vitae (academic)
3. Report on courses taught and lectures given as well as research work carried out to date
4. Complete list of publications
5. Proposal for the appointment of the group of subject-specific mentors, which must be signed by the members
6. Declaration that you have not yet submitted a habilitation application to other universities and you have not had an academic title withdrawn

Please submit the original signed application together with all listed documents either in person or by post to the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences.

In accordance with § 6 HabilO 2023, the dean decides on acceptance in writing within four weeks.

Once accepted, the habilitation candidate status is generally limited to a period of four years, excluding the time needed for the evaluation procedure.

After acceptance by the dean, the faculty council appoints an interdisciplinary group of subject-specific mentors. This group consists of a chairperson and two other members. The applicant has the right to propose the composition of the group of subject-specific mentors.

The following conditions must be met:

• At least one member of the group of subject-specific mentors must represent the habilitation candidate's chosen subject.
• The chairperson must be a member of the faculty.
• One member should belong to another faculty or university.

The group of subject-specific mentors agrees with the habilitation candidate on the type and scope of the assessments in research and teaching required to acquire the teaching qualification (agreement on objectives, § 9(1) sentence 1 HabilO 2023). The habilitation candidate and all subject-specific mentors must sign (by hand) the agreement on objectives. The subject-specific mentors must then submit the original signed document to the dean pursuant to § 9(4) HabilO 2023).

This contains the agreed assessments and the criteria for the interim evaluation as well as the work facilities to be made available:

• Names of the subject-specific mentors
• Duration of the habilitation (usually four years plus the duration of the evaluation process, § 8 HabilO)
• Date of the interim evaluation
• Expectations to be met by the date of the interim evaluation
• Expectations for the entire duration of the habilitation

Expectations to be met by the date of the interim evaluation can be, for example, “habilitation thesis proposal with preliminary outline”, “report on the state of research”, “formulation of the research desideratum, the epistemological interest and the methods needed to achieve the research objective”, “regular workshop report in the colloquia and senior seminars of the mentors” or similar.

Expectations for the entire duration of the habilitation can be, for example, “Writing a postdoctoral habilitation thesis on the topic of ...”, “Conducting regular courses in the amount of ... SWS courses in the subject of the intended venia legendi” or similar.

You are welcome to use the following sample agreement on objectives [German content] as a non-binding guide.

The original interim evaluation document [German content], too, must be signed by hand by all subject-specific mentors as well as the habilitation candidate and then submitted to the dean as per § 10 HabilO 2023:

• after no later than two years by the subject-specific mentors
• prognosis on the successful completion of the habilitation project
• Possible modifications to the agreement on objectives

The habilitation procedure establishes the candidate's:

1. pedagogical aptitude based on qualifications in higher education didactics and his or her past teaching
2. ability to conduct independent research based on his or her habilitation thesis (monograph or publication-based)

(§ 2 HabilO 2023)

1. Pedagogical aptitude

Assessment of pedagogical aptitude on the basis of teaching performance:

The teaching report is to be prepared by the subject-specific mentors; for this the candidate must submit:

• teaching overviews and
• e.g. evaluations and, if applicable, completed qualification measures in academic teaching, etc.

2. Ability to conduct independent research

The habilitation candidate must submit a written habilitation thesis in the form of a monographic habilitation thesis or in an equivalent publication-based form as per §9(4) sentence 1 HabilO 2023. The purpose of writing the habilitation thesis is for the habilitation candidate to demonstrate his or her qualification to undertake independent research in accordance with international standards and to provide an essential contribution to academic scholarship (see § 9(4) sentence 8 HabilO 2023).

Evaluation of the thesis:

• Two external professors are appointed as referees by the dean in consultation with the subject-specific mentors.
• The external referees and those subject mentors who represent the habilitation subject each prepare a written appraisal and propose acceptance or that the teaching qualification not be granted – outlining the reasons for their decision.
• In total, a minimum of three appraisals are required.
• Each referee receives a copy of the written thesis with an affidavit stating that the written habilitation thesis was written independently and that the sources of the material used or quoted has been properly identified.
• The appraisals must be received by the subject-specific mentors no later than three months after submission of the habilitation thesis.

The recommendation of the subject-specific mentors is to be based on:

• the appraisals and
• the teaching report

The final opinion must be submitted to the dean in writing.

• The habilitation thesis and the appraisals are displayed in the Dean's Office for a minimum of two weeks during the semester teaching period
• The faculty council decides on the proposal of the subject-specific mentors

After the candidate has successfully demonstrated the ability to teach (facultas legendi) by successfully completing the habilitation procedure, the University will, upon application, bestow the licence to teach (venia legendi) upon the candidate.

Process:

Applications to the university president:

• from the dean, requesting that the habilitation candidate be granted licence to teach
• from the habilitation candidate, requesting licence to teach

Once candidates are given the licence to teach, venia legendi, they receive the academic title of Privatdozent or, in the feminine form, Privatdozentin; those holding this status are required to teach courses to maintain this status.