Privatdozent at Göttingen

Abstract

Advancement up the career ladder at German universities was a complex and lengthy process, and obtaining a doctoral degree was only one of the mandatory steps. The system of acquiring degrees and titles influenced in no small de- gree the development of science, and we will look at it in somewhat greater detail. Nineteenth-century German science strongly favored candidates who had completed a university education rather than those who had graduated from the technical institutes (Hochschulen). Only those who had graduated from a university could occupy a teaching position and later become a professor. After obtaining a doctoral degree, one could aspire to the post of lecturer (Privatdozent). In order to do this it was necessary to present to the university council a Habilitationsschrift, a competitive composition including original work, which was presented as a small course of lectures on any special branch of knowledge. In addition, one had to deliver a Habilitationsvortrag, a probationary report on a narrow topic chosen by the university council. After this, if the outcome was favorable, one obtained the right to teach at the university.

“To see a world in a grain of sand And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.” William Blake