Professorship with Tenure Track

Tenure track professorships form a reliable and attractive option to achieving a life-term professorship for all outstanding scientists - from an early career phase on.

Advantages to tenure track professorships:

•  appointment to an initially fixed-term position as a professor, shortly after the completed doctorate
•  excellent conditions for the development of an individual and strong academic profile
•  early scientific independence in both research and teaching
•  guaranteed transition into a life-term professorship after a successful tenure evaluation (usually after six years)

Commitment on a national scale

The University of Jena is committed to the ongoing promotion and development of academic careers throughout Germany. In a joint venture with the Universities of Freiburg, Mainz, Frankfurt am Main, Hannover and German U15, it initiated the founding of a national academic network for Tenure Track at the 2020 Tenure Track ConferenceExternal link. By 2025, the Tenure Track NetworkExternal link represents the commitment of more than 160 people from a multitude of institutions of higher education and academic institutes throughout the country. The network as such is coordinated by the Universities of Freiburg and Jena. 

It is the declared aim of the network to diuscuss and further develop major topics around the implementation of the Tenure Track Professorships in Germany, to collect best practices and join competencies in the ongoing development and reformation of academic career options not only for professorships.

Since 2023, the Tenure Track Network has formed a cooperation with the Universitätsverband zur Qualifizierung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses in Deutschland (German University Association for the Qualification of Early-Career Researchers, UniWinDExternal link).

On 6–7 March 2025, the University of Jena, together with the University of Freiburg, hosted the Tenure-Track WorkshopExternal link “Academic Career Paths and Cultural Change – Visions and Perspectives.” The workshop brought early-career researchers from across disciplines together, creating a space for lively exchanges on career development, the tenure-track system, and the future of academia. The discussions and ideas generated during the event provided a valuable foundation for ongoing professional dialogue.

Building on this momentum, the 2025 Tenure-Track ConferenceExternal link was held in Berlin on 15–16 May 2025. Under the theme “The tenure track principle: Career Paths and Cultural Change in the German Academic System,” the conference explored ways to reform academic career structures. Four panels focused on key topics including internationalization, equal opportunities, and the development of personnel frameworks. Participants from universities, policymaking bodies, and funding organizations came together to discuss opportunities, challenges, and the future of the tenure-track system. The conference served as a central platform to actively shape the transformation of academic culture and generate concrete ideas for the continued evolution of the research landscape.