After the Doctorate

The postdoctoral phase, usually lasting about two to six years after the doctorate, serves to consolidate specialist knowledge, to deepen and expand scientific as well as interdisciplinary skills and to lay the foundation or further develop an academic career. Therefore it is necessary to establish and expand a professional profile and network in order to become established as a scientist in the long term. Often, but not always, a habilitation is completed during this time.

But even after six years, the scientific path of development does not need to be completed. There are many research opportunities outside the university or in third-party funded projects within this career phase or beyond, without being appointed to a professorship.

At the University of Erfurt, postdoctoral researcher have the following options for employment or association:

• Employee with or without a habilitation project,
• Employee in a research project supported by third-party funds,
• Junior researcher in a separate position (third-party funded),
• Junior research group leader (third-party funded),
• Research fellow,
• Fellow / short-term scholarship holder,
• Junior professor with limited-term employment/limited civil service appointment (third party funded).

Postdoctorals at the University of Erfurt usually have an academic or professorial contact person or mentor and are integrated into departments, the Max-Weber-Kolleg or one of the Graduate Centre.

In addition to the assistance for the acquisition of third-party funds or research grants as part of application and career advisoryor by a scholarship, postdoctoral researchers can further develop their career with the help of the Academic Skills Training which also includes individual coaching sessions. The university supports postdoctorals who, (wants to) come to the University of Erfurt and those whose career development will take them away from Erfurt in a long run.