Faculty of Humanities

Habilitation completion scholarships for women* at the Faculty of Humanities

Announcement of habilitation completion scholarships / scholarship for the completion of the "second book" for women at the Faculty of Humanities



1. Goal

The Faculty of Humanities is one of those institutions at the university where the percentage of women graduates is pleasingly high at 70.7%. At the same time, however, the phenomenon of the leaky pipeline – i.e., women dropping out at a certain point in their scientific career paths – is particularly prominent at the point of habilitations.

In order to counteract this trend and to minimize the hurdles to a successful habilitation degree for women*, the Faculty of Humanities offers habilitation completion scholarships or scholarships for the completion of the so-called "second book" for women*. Habilitation candidates/ postdoctoral researchers can work on the completion of their habilitation thesis or "second book" with financial security, concentration and efficiency – without further teaching obligations or other professional commitments. This paves the way to a leading scientific position. The funding is therefore to counteract the socio-cultural gender imbalance in the highest professional positions in life: the professorships.

2. Funding

  • For the year 2022, only one scholarship will be awarded as part of the budget-cutting measures in 2021. In the following years, there will probably again be three habilitation completion scholarships per year.,
  • The application deadlines for the habilitation completion scholarship end on March 01 and September 01 of each year.,
  • Duration: 6 months.
  • Start of the funding can be kept flexible.
  • Calculation of the habilitation completion scholarship according to the DFG guidelines:
    Basic amount: 1.750,00 €
    Material cost subsidy: 250,00 €
    1st child: 400,00 €
    Each additional child: 100,00 €



3. Eligible applicants

Funding is provided for habilitation candidates/ post-doctoral researchers in the disciplines represented at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Göttingen. Applicants must have been in the postdoc phase for at least two years. They can, but do not have to be be employed by the University of Göttingen. Applicants employed by the University will be granted leave of absence for the duration of the scholarship if their application is successful, taking into account the Wissenschaftszeitgesetz (WissZeitVG). The respective institute/seminar may have the position deputized for. The habilitation must take place at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Göttingen. Two reviewers must belong to the faculty. If it is the completion of the "second book", the professorial supervision must be in the hands of at least one member of the Faculty of Humanities. Women* should also be explicitly called upon and encouraged, to apply with a history of migration or flight, with a non-academic family history and unconventional biographies.

4. Application documents to be submitted

The scholarships are advertised internally at the university. The application process runs via an online application procedure of the University of Göttingen.

  • Cover letter (motivation, possibly reference to special personal/family circumstances), transcripts, and academic resume,
  • Summary of the habilitation thesis/"second book": max. 10 pages, incl. one page brief description of the work, font size 12, line spacing: 1.5,
  • preliminary introduction,
  • it must be evident from the submitted documents that the work can be completed in six months,
  • a precise timetable for the completion of the entire writing,
  • in case of employment at the University of Göttingen: Confirmation of a possible leave of absence.



5. Selection procedure

Applications should be addressed to the Equal Opportunity Officer of the Faculty of Humanities. The members of the Equal Opportunity Commission review and evaluate the applications on the basis of a defined list of criteria (see below) and make proposals to the Dean's Office for two reviewers from the faculty. These, together with the Equal Opportunity Commission, make the selection decision. The selection is documented in writing on the basis of the criteria catalog and presented to the Faculty Council.

Overall, when evaluating the scientific career to date, the focus is not on age, but on the relationship between the individual duration of the scientific career and the scientific performance achieved to date. It is also to be asked whether possible delays or hardships in the scientific career are related to individual life circumstances (e.g. birth/care of children, disability/illness, care of relatives), but also biographical circumstances (migration or flight history, educational advancement, non-academic background).

6. Duties of the scholarship holders

By accepting the funding, the scholarship holder* undertakes to devote all his/her* energy to completing the habilitation / "second book" and not to pursue any other gainful employment alongside it. After completion of the sponsorship, a final report must be submitted within six weeks. This report may not exceed five pages.