Riemann—Lecturer at Göttingen University

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 degree 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”). To do this, one had 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 a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.”

William Blake