Academia and family

Feel free to contact the Graduate Academy with your individual questions concerning the compatibility of an academic career and family and if required, arrange an appointment for a personal consultation.

Moreover, you may use the service and consultation offer of the "JUniFamilie" University's Family Office in case you have any further questions. Further information and business hours can be found here de.

Both doctoral candidates with and without children face a number of ways to finance a PhD: a scholarship, a job as an academic employee, or external funding.

For doctoral candidates with jobs as academic employees, the same rules apply at the university as with other employers with regard to parental leave, a reduction of working hours, fixed-term employment contracts and maternity protection. The period of maternity leave and parental leave can be added to the duration of university budget contracts if they are limited with the purpose of qualification. Please contact the Human Resources Department de to check whether this is possible.

Enrolled doctoral candidates can request a leave of absence from enrolment. They will then no longer pay the semester fee, but will also no longer be able to use the semester ticket. An advantage of the leave of absence is that the flexible childcare on campus can still be booked at a reduced rate and that you are still entitled to use the daycare centres of the Studierendenwerk. Possible reasons for a leave of absence are: maternity leave or caring for a close relative.

Doctoral candidates with children who hold a scholarship can – depending on the funding institution – receive special financial support and an extension on the length of the scholarship. Doctoral candidates who have one or more children under the age of 12 can receive a monthly allowance of about 150 to 400 Euro per month. This amount depends on the organisation offering the scholarship, the number of children, and also the nationality of the doctoral candidate. In addition, the maximum duration of the scholarship can be extended by up to 12 months. For questions about the children's allowance and possibility of extending the length of your scholarship, please consult your scholarship provider directly.

Doctoral candidates with caring responsibilities can receive a care allowanceExternal link if they take care of relatives who have at least care degree 2. From care level 1, caring relatives are entitled to a relief amountExternal link of €125. This money can be used for support from an outpatient care service or for assistance with household chores (e.g. cleaning the home). In addition, an annual amount is available for so-called "respite careExternal link", which can be paid to care services or private individuals by the statutory health insurance fund if these persons support and relieve the carer on an hourly or daily basis.

For postdoctoral researchers with jobs as academic employees, the same rules apply at the university as with other employers with regard to parental leave, a reduction of working hours, fixed-term employment contracts and maternity protection. The period of maternity leave and parental leave can be added to the duration of university budget contracts if they are limited with the purpose of qualification. Please contact the Human Resources Department de to check whether this is possible.

Postdocs with children who hold a scholarship can – depending on the funding institution – receive special financial support and an extension on the length of the scholarship. For questions about the children's allowance and possibility of extending the length of your scholarship, please consult your scholarship provider directly.

Researchers with children are entitled to a number of government benefits. The following is a legally non-binding overview of available benefits. Should you have any questions on specific benefits, please contact the authority in charge for more information.

Child benefits (Kindergeld)
Every child that is resident in Germany or usually lives in Germany is entitled to child benefits, irrespective of its nationality. You can apply for the child benefits hereExternal link. For more information, click hereExternal link (in German).

Additional child allowance (Kinderzuschlag)
If the income is not sufficient for the whole family, parents can receive additional child allowance in addition to child benefits, irrespective of their nationality. This amounts to a maximum of 185 euros and is granted for six months (after which a new application can be submitted). You are entitled to this supplementary allowance if you have a certain monthly income and meet certain other requirements – you can check your eligibility hereExternal link (in German). An additional advantage of receiving additional child allowance is that families who receive it are exempt from the KiTa fees and can receive the education and participation packageExternal link of the city of Jena. You can find further information hereExternal link (in German).

Parenting allowance (Elterngeld)
Parents who are in gainful employment and live permanently in Germany are entitled to the parenting allowance (for non-EU citizens depending on the residence permit). This also applies to doctoral researchers who receive a grantExternal link. There is no requirement to interrupt the doctorate in the period during which the allowance is paid. The parenting allowance is calculated based on the salary in the last 12 months before payment of the allowance begins. If you were not in gainful employment in this period, you are paid the minimum amount of 300 Euro. To support part-time work after birth, the "parental allowance plus" and the "partnership bonus" were additionally introduced in 2015. For more information and contact, click hereExternal link.

Advance child support (Unterhaltsvorschuss)
If you are a single parent of a minor who lives with you and are not receiving any or only a small amount of child support from the other parent, the child is entitled to advance child support payments. For more information, click hereExternal link.

Housing allowance (Wohngeld)
Housing allowance is a rent subsidy. It depends on the number of family members, the amount of your total income and the amount of allowable rent you pay. For more information, click hereExternal link.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: International doctoral candidates should refrain from applying for housing allowance, as an application automatically implies that you do not have sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay in Germany. Applying for housing allowance may, consequently, lead to losing your residence permit.

Here de you find information (in German) for Jena University staff members about pregnancy and maternal leave. Scholarship holders can interrupt their doctorate for maternal leave. Please ask your funding body. Also contact your funding body because of possible scholarship extensions and/or part time work.

The university hospital offers prenatal classes in which you will be informed about all aspects of pregnancy and birth. They are held in english language. For more information, click hereExternal link.

Information regarding the topic of maternity leave of the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers ("Deutscher Hochschulverband", DHV) can be found hereExternal link (in German).

There are several childcare options for researchers with children – daycare centres, child minders, the flexible childcare centre on campus, or babysitters.

The Studierendenwerk (student services organisation) of Thuringia runs childcare centres in which children of enrolled doctoral candidates and employees at Friedrich Schiller University are given priority places (click hereExternal link for an overview of Thuringian Studierendenwerk Childcare Centres in Jena). You will find an overview of all child daycare centres in Jena hereExternal link. The JugendamtExternal link (youth welfare office) of Jena will put you in touch with child minders.

Fees for child daycare centres or afternoon nurseries are based on the parents' income. The last two years of daycare before school starts are free of charge in Thuringia. You will find a fee calculator for the City of Jena hereExternal link (in German). To register for a day care centre, you can use the Kita-Portal of the city of JenaExternal link.

Enrolled doctoral candidates and university employees with children can benefit from the flexible daycare offer on campus de. The daycare centre is open from Monday to Thursday, 8.00h to 20.00h, and from 8.00h to 16.00h on Fridays. You can book a maximum of two time slots (4 hours in total) via an online portal.

Newborn children of Jena University students and staff get a baby welcome packageExternal link from the university. Congratulations to all new parents!

Additionally, all children up to an age of six years of enrolled doctoral candidates receive a child's identity cardExternal link. This way they may have a free meal at a canteen of the student services. At the canteen at Ernst-Abbe-Platz, Philosophenweg and Carl-Zeiss-Promenade there are children's chairs and children's corners.

All centrally located disabled toilets of Friedrich Schiller University Jena are equipped with baby's changing tables which makes it easier for parents to also take care of their youngest around campus and in the city centre. An overview of all the locations with baby's changing tables at Jena University can be found herepdf, 878 kb · de, an overview for these places throughout the whole city of Jena hereExternal link. To allow breastfeeding in privacy, there is also a breastfeeding room in the university main building and a breastfeeding area in the flexible childcare centre on campus. You can find an overview of other breastfeeding and diaper changing facilities throughout the city of Jena hereExternal link.

In addition to receiving funding through the care allowanceExternal link and the relief amountExternal link, there is also the option to reduce working hours: the Family Caregiver Leave ActExternal link makes it possible to reduce your own working hours down to 15 hours per week for up to two years. In addition, employees can take up to 10 days (one-off) leave of absence from work for acute care situations (Caregiver Leave ActExternal link). Carers can also be supported and relieved from everyday caring duties on an hourly or daily basis via the so-called "respite careExternal link".

The statutory health insurance funds also support carers with regular care consultations (home visits by trained carers).

The care support centre of the city of JenaExternal link can also give advise on the topic of day and night care, as well as full and part-time inpatient care. It can establish contacts with outpatient care services and domestic services that can be financed via the relief amount or the care allowance.

The University of Jena also runs a project called "Offenes Ohr" (Lending one's ear). It offers family caregivers the opportunity to talk to a clinically experienced psychologist over the phone and receive support. The "Offenes Ohr" is available on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The telephone number is 03641 945173.

The Graduate Academy offers information events (e.g. in the context of the annual PhD dayExternal link) and workshops regarding the topic "Academia and family" in its qualification programmeExternal link.

Employees of the university can receive further training on the topic of "Care" via the Staff Development section.

On the family website de you will find all current events and activies for families in Jena.

Guide "Doctorate and Family" for soon-to-be parentspdf, 3 mb

Guide of University of Jena on "Childcare in Jena"pdf, 275 kb

Guide for parents in Jena (contact persons and contact points)pdf, 275 kb

Information on Parental Allowance, Parental Allowance Plus and Parental Leavepdf, 7 mb

Information portal on child-related benefitsExternal link