An academic chair is an organisational unit at a university that is managed by a . It generally comprises multiple members of staff, including research associates, doctoral candidates and administrative staff. There are numerous highly renowned German university professorships. For example:

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What does a university professorship involve?

An academic chair is a specific sector within a faculty or an institute on a university campus. The university professor is also referred to as ordinarius and is responsible for the and within a certain field of expertise. He or she shapes teaching courses, mentors students and conducts research.

What is the difference between an academic chair and a professorship?

The term ‘chair’ relates to the entire organisational unit that is managed by a professor. A ‘professorship’ conversely denotes the position occupied by an individual professor. An academic chair comprises multiple members of staff, whereas a professorship is the individual of a person to a position.

An academic chair is usually located on the campus. Academics, scientists and researchers who aspire to an academic career at the university can apply for professorships and at some point in the future potentially take on their own chair.