FAQ: TUM Faculty Recruitment and Career System
All you need to know about TUM’s Faculty Recruitment and Career System, with special focus on the new TUM Faculty Tenure Track program.
TUM is the first university in Germany to introduce a performance-driven, step-up faculty recruitment and career system. Building on international best practice and transparent performance criteria, it offers merit-based academic career paths for high-potential young scientists and researchers with a proven track record.
Which career opportunities does a professorship at TUM offer?
- Tenure Track Assistant Professorship: The initial appointment to the position of Tenure Track Assistant Professor (pay scale W2) is limited to six years but always with the option of tenure. This option means that after a positive tenure evaluation in the final year, the candidate will be promoted to the position of Associate Professor. Tenure Track Assistant Professorships come with a reduced teaching load. The assistant professor is supported by a mentoring team during the six-year tenure phase.
- An Associate Professorship is a tenured position. Associate Professors may subsequently be promoted to the position of Full Professor. This further promotion requires successful completion of a post-tenure performance review, which can take place after a period of three years at the earliest following the initial promotion to Associate Professor (post tenure performance phase)
- Full professors have a permanent contract and are on pay scale W3. They are leading international academics in their discipline and typically have an outstanding academic teaching record.
Applicants for a Tenure Track Assistant Professorships are candidates who have demonstrated initial scientific achievements (e.g. by being a successful postdoc for in general a maximum of 6 years) and the capacity for independent research at the highest international level.
Applicants for an Associate Professorships are candidates with high potential and outstanding scientific experience and qualifications, as demonstrated by achievements in research and teaching at the highest international level.
Applicants for Full Professorships are candidates with an exceptional international research and teaching reputation and an established academic record through an internationally recognized research program.
Regardless of the career level and in accordance with Art. 57 and Art. 60 (3) of the requirements for the employment of professors at universities in the Free State of Bavaria (BayHIG), applicants must have a university degree or a recognized technical college qualification, suitable teaching skills, a doctoral degree and lecturer qualification, or produce evidence of equivalent academic achievements. Additionally, substantial research experience abroad of generally at least one year (during or after the PhD) is expected. Applicants must be aged 51 or under at the time of appointment. Exceptions to the age limit are possible in certain justified cases.
The required application documents depend on the respective professorship and must be submitted via the TUM appointment portal. The following information is generally requested:
- Résumé, certificates, credentials, list of publications
- Three selected publications with a summary (max. 1,000 characters each) of their impact on your research profile
- Presentation of research strategy
- List of courses taught
- Descriptive statement on teaching strategy and philosophy
- Details of third-party funding
International experts will evaluate your application in English. Therefore, we kindly ask you to submit all application documents in English.
Data Protection Information:
When applying for a position at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), you are submitting personal information. As such, we request that you take note of the privacy policy as stated in Art. 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the collection and processing of personal data in the context of your application (Datenschutzhinweise gemäß Art. 13 Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) zur Erhebung und Verarbeitung von personenbezogenen Daten im Rahmen Ihrer Bewerbung ). By submitting your application, you confirm that you have acknowledged the above data protection information.
One of TUM’s strategic goals is to significantly extend diversity within its community of professors. Therefore, TUM explicitly encourages applications from candidates who would enrich the diversity culture of the university’s research and teaching profile and, reflecting its active gender equality policy, TUM particularly invites women researchers to apply for a professorship. Preference will be given to candidates with a disability or chronic condition in line with the relevant legislation.
Applying for TUM Faculty Tenure Track professorship
TUM Faculty Tenure Track is aimed at scientists who are starting out in their career, i.e. postdocs.
You can apply if you have completed your doctorate, you have already undertaken substantial research, you have international experience and your academic performance is commensurate with the early stage of your career based on current international assessment criteria (parent sabbaticals and childcare commitments are taken into account).
No, a postdoctoral lecturing qualification ('Habilitation') is not necessary to apply for a Tenure Track assistant professorship (or following your appointment).
You can find the current vacancies for Tenure Track assistant professorships at TUM under Career openings: Professorships.
The advertisement will provide the contact details for submitting applications.
- Receipt of applications
- Application documents evaluated by TUM Faculty Search and Evaluation Committee
- Suitable candidates invited to give an academic talk and attend an interview
- Reviews obtained from external experts for evaluation of suitable candidates
- TUM Faculty Search and Evaluation Committee submits proposal for the appointment
- If the position is an assistant professorship, the TUM Appointment and Tenure Board makes a recommendation on the proposal
- TUM Board of Management makes the final decision on the proposal
Yes, parent sabbaticals are taken into account in the evaluation of academic performance commensurate with age.
TUM Faculty Tenure Track is specifically aimed at early career researchers to give them academic independence at an early stage as well as the prospect of tenure. Experienced scientists can apply for associate or full professorships.
TUM wants to lower the age at which professors are first appointed, help young scientists achieve academic independence and autonomy at an early stage and organically increase the proportion of female professors.
For early-career scientists
Tenure Track: the career path
It is the first true tenure-track system based on international standards at a German university: the TUM Faculty Tenure Track, which leads to a permanent W3 professorship upon successful evaluation.
All important information about the tenure-track phase, available resources, and on how we support our young talents in their personal development to become researchers with an international reputation.
Do you have any questions? Contact us
Technical University of Munich
Faculty Recruitment, Career Advancement and Dual Career
Arcisstr. 21
D-80333 Munich
facultyrecruiting@tum.de
Data protection notice
When applying for a position at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), you are submitting personal information. As such, we request that you take note of the privacy policy as stated in Art. 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the collection and processing of personal data in the context of your application (Datenschutzhinweise gemäß Art. 13 Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) zur Erhebung und Verarbeitung von personenbezogenen Daten im Rahmen Ihrer Bewerbung). By submitting your application, you confirm that you have acknowledged the above data protection information.