Qualification for professorship

Habilitation is the top level of higher education examination in Germany and some other countries. It qualifies individuals to independently and in the context of a university professorship. Habilitation extends beyond a and requires an extensive habilitation thesis, substantiation of independent research, a successful disputation and a probationary lecture.


Which is higher: PhD or habilitation?


These are two different stages of an academic career. A PhD is the first qualification stage after studies. It substantiates the aptitude for academic activities. A habilitation additionally confirms competence in independent teaching and research.


Habilitation – the pathway to a university professorship


A habilitation is frequently a prerequisite for becoming a and equates to the highest substantiation of academic qualification in many countries. It indicates that lecturers qualified to teach at professorial level are in the position to convey a research and teaching subject in both a technical and didactic manner.

Many lecturers qualified to teach at professorial level are assigned the title ‘private lecturer’ or ‘private tutor’. This title signifies their authorisation to teach. It therefore entitles them to provide teaching courses and conduct examinations at universities. The habilitation is evidence of qualification for appointment to a .

with a university professorship are public employees. A habilitation persists, by the way, irrespective of whether it’s followed by appointment to a professorship.

Who can take a habilitation?

Academics with a doctorate who have substantiated their abilities for conducting independent research and for teaching by means of outstanding academic work are entitled to take a habilitation. The habilitation takes place at a university.

After successful habilitation, academics, scientists and researchers can be appointed to professorships. This appointment is arranged by universities and is a formal process in which teaching skills and personal aptitude are assessed in addition to academic qualification.

What does the habilitation procedure entail?

• Habilitation application: an application to be admitted for habilitation is submitted to the relevant faculty. It includes the habilitation application, an exposé of the habilitation thesis, a CV and substantiation of academic performance and publications.


• Review of the application: the faculty reviews whether the admission requirements are satisfied according to the habilitation regulations. These include an exceptional PhD and further academic performance.


• Habilitation thesis: the candidate submits to the higher education institution an independent academic paper that delivers new insights into the relevant field of expertise. This can either be presented as a monograph or as a collection of publications.


• Peer review: the habilitation thesis is sent to multiple evaluators who assess its academic quality and produce reports.
 • Disputation and probationary lecture: a candidate defends their paper in a public disputation and gives a probationary lecture to demonstrate their teaching skills.


• Decision: the habilitation committee decides whether to award the teaching authorisation, also known as venia legendi. In the case of a positive decision, the candidate receives the teaching authorisation for a specific field of expertise. The formal prerequisites for assuming a professorship are thus satisfied.

Each university and faculty has its own habilitation regulations. They generally include the following aspects:


• Admission requirements


• Stipulations relating to the habilitation thesis


• Rules regarding the examination procedure


• Award of the teaching authorisation


• Formal prerequisites


• Commissions and committees


• The possibility of appeal

Habilitation and appointment

The significance of habilitation varies depending on the discipline. It continues to remain relevant in medicine, the humanities and law. In the case of physicians, a habilitation often represents a career step that facilitates the pathway to senior positions in hospitals. In the humanities and law, a habilitation is frequently a prerequisite for appointment to a professorship, even if candidates already hold a .

It is now somewhat different in the natural sciences and engineering: research performance has become more important than a habilitation in the STEM domains since the conventional route to a professorship was opened up to qualification pathways including junior professorships.