Habilitation Procedure

The application for admission to habilitation must be submitted in writing to the Dean of the Faculty, specifying the subject or field in which the habilitation thesis is to be completed. The Admission Committee for Habilitations decides whether the submitted habilitation thesis is thematically and in scope sufficiently aligned with the intended habilitation subject or subjects.

To apply for admission to habilitation, you must submit the following documents by the deadline, both in written form to Ramona Reincke, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146 Hamburg, and by email as a PDF to PB Dean’s Office Assistant: dekanatsassistenz.pb"AT"uni-hamburg.de.

1. A short CV with a particular focus on your academic and research career
2. Degree certificates from all universities and higher education institutions attended
3. Your doctoral thesis and doctoral certificate (PhD diploma)
4. Your academic work (written habilitation thesis), on the basis of which your academic qualification for a professorship will be assessed (§ 2 paragraph 1), in 10 printed copies and additionally in electronic form
5. A statutory declaration (affidavit) confirming the independent authorship of your submitted academic work
6. A complete list of publications
7. A declaration stating whether you have previously applied for a habilitation, and if so, with what outcome
8. Three proposed topics for the habilitation colloquium, which should relate to the broader field of your intended habilitation subject but not directly to the specific topic of your written habilitation thesis
9. Where applicable, suggestions for members of the habilitation committee
10. A letter of support from a full professor of the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science
11. A signed declaration confirming that you have read and understood the “University of Hamburg Bylaws for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice" dated 15 May 2014 in its current version

The Admission Committee for Habilitations decides, after receiving the application and the required documents, whether to initiate the habilitation. If approved, the committee appoints a habilitation committee. As part of this process, the Admission Committee verifies whether the formal requirements have been met. If the evaluation is positive, the habilitation is officially initiated.

The committee’s decision is communicated to the Faculty Council at its next meeting. You will also receive written notification of the decision from the Dean. Any negative decision must be justified and include information about legal remedies. Following the decision, you may request access to your files in writing within one year by submitting an application to the Admission Committee.

Once the habilitation is initiated, the habilitation committee convenes. It is responsible for evaluating both the written habilitation thesis and the oral examination in the habilitation colloquium. Further details can be found in the Habilitation Regulations of the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science at the University of Hamburg (PDF-DE), dated 14 September 2022, §3.

The ability to conduct independent academic research and teaching, as outlined in §1, is demonstrated through the habilitation requirements. These consist of a written habilitation thesis and the habilitation colloquium.

The written habilitation thesis should be characterized by the originality of its research findings and/or research methods, adherence to high academic standards, and should contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the respective field.

As a rule, the habilitation thesis must go significantly beyond the doctoral dissertation and clearly demonstrate the candidate’s ability to conduct independent scholarly work.

Further details can be found in the Habilitation Regulations of the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science at the University of Hamburg, dated 14 September 2022, §§1 and 2.

Once the written habilitation thesis has been accepted, the Dean, in consultation with the Chair of the Habilitation Committee and the candidate, sets the date for the colloquium in accordance with §2, paragraph 6. The Dean invites the members of the Habilitation Committee as well as the professors in the relevant subject area. The remaining members of the faculty are informed of the time and place of the colloquium via an electronic circular.

The colloquium consists of a presentation by the candidate, lasting approximately 45 minutes, followed by a discussion of at least 30 minutes. The purpose of the colloquium is to give the Habilitation Committee the opportunity to assess whether the candidate is sufficiently familiar with the state and development of the key issues in their academic field, beyond the specific topic of the habilitation thesis.

Further details can be found in the Habilitation Regulations of the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science at the University of Hamburg, dated 14 September 2022, §8.

A positive decision on the habilitation colloquium concludes the habilitation procedure. The candidate receives a certificate signed by the Dean and the President of the University of Hamburg, bearing the seal of the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science. The certificate specifies the research area in which the habilitation was completed.

After completion, two copies of the habilitation thesis are archived and published in the library of the relevant institute within the faculty. An additional two copies are submitted to the "Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg" for publication.