From application to appointment
Professorships are awarded in an appointment procedure. This is a lengthy process that takes several months. As an applicant, it often pays to be patient until you finally receive a response to your application.
An appointment procedure consists of the following steps1:
Steps in the appointment procedure
You fulfil the requirements for a UAS professorship? Then you can apply.
All UAS professorships are advertised publicly. In your application, clearly emphasize your qualifications for the advertised professorship.
You can find some useful tips on this page.
An appointment committee invites the most qualified applicants to give a trial lecture and attend an interview.
The appointment committee is made up of professors, research assistants, students and technical and administrative staff. At least two external university lecturers are represented on the appointment committee with voting rights.
The Equal Opportunities Officer is involved in an advisory capacity throughout the entire process. She ensures that gender equality is respected and is also available to you as a contact.
You will give a trial lecture for students from the university. This will enable your professional and teaching skills to be assessed. It is very important to involve the students when giving your trial lecture at a university of applied sciences.
After your lecture, the students will deliver their vote. This has a special significance for the appointment committee.
This is followed by an interview with the appointment committee.
If necessary, the appointment committee will seek further opinions, before drawing up an appointment proposal usually consisting of three candidates. The Faculty Council and the Executive Board decide on this list proposal, and the Senate issues a statement.
The Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (MWK) awards the appointment on this basis.
Once you have been offered the appointment, you then negotiate your employment terms (such as salary supplements, equipment, individual target agreements) with your future university.
Congratulations! :)
Footnote 1: Procedure in Lower Saxony. In other federal states, the individual steps in the process are partly organized differently. Please refer to the higher education acts of the individual federal states for information on their procedures.
Tips for your application
Express all your qualifications with confidence. In addition to your certificates from your studies, your doctorate and your professional career, your application documents should also include evidence of your teaching experience and your publications. You should also mention any experience you have in the self-administration of a university, activities in professional associations and experience in supervising theses.
Current vacancies at HAWK
Questions, support and qualification
Would you like to talk directly to a female UAS professor specializing in a HAWK subject and ask her your questions? We’ll put you in touch. Please contact Susanna Pförtsch.
Follow this link to discover the six HAWK faculties and their specializations.
Female applicants with general questions or any other women interested are welcome to contact the HAWK Equal Opportunities Officer, Nicola Hille.
Teaching assignments offer excellent opportunities to acquire pedagogical and didactic experience. You will also gain an insight into everyday university life and the job of a professor at a university of applied sciences and will be able to establish important contacts.
Would you like to take on a teaching assignment? We will be happy to put you in touch with HAWK professors in your subject area. Please contact Susanna Pförtsch.
Follow this link to discover the six HAWK faculties and their specializations.
A doctorate is usually a prerequisite for a UAS professorship. Would you like to do a doctorate? Find out more about this here:
To become a professor at a university of applied sciences, you generally need at least five years of professional experience. At least three years of this must have been gained somewhere other than at university (e.g. in industry, in public institutions, as a self-employed person).
Professional experience counts from the first professionally qualifying university degree, provided it is your main occupation (at least a 50% post).
Your work experience does not have to be carried out in one go. So make sure you note down all the evidence concerning your professional experience at an early stage, including evidence of periods of self-employment.
To be kept informed about vacancies for professorships in your subject area, you can subscribe to the Projekt PROfessur email distribution list. Every fortnight you will receive the latest job advertisements from numerous partner universities.
You can find job advertisements for academic positions throughout Germany at www.academics.de.
We offer regular professorial appointment training courses for women. 12 participants have the opportunity to take part in a workshop with coach Franziska Jantzen to prepare professionally for applying to become a professor at a university of applied sciences. The training course is held in German. Further information.
