Professorial appointments at Freie Universität Berlin play a key role in maintaining and developing the university’s status as an outstanding center of research. To meet this goal, Freie Universität appoints scholars who can contribute to research at the very highest level, enrich teaching at the university, and assume leadership and management responsibilities. Through an ongoing university-wide process, the faculty appointment strategy defines and develops those areas of top-level research that help to build the profile of the university and – in the context of excellent joint research projects – regularly add to its visibility.

The central university appointment strategy also integrates the very specific needs of individual departments, which in turn are defined with reference to the university’s central requirements. Appointment planning, based on the university’s overall strategy, is characterized by the principles of foresight and transparency.

Freie Universität actively competes at a variety of levels to attract the best ideas and best people. Each individual appointment procedure is merit-based to ensure that the very best candidate is appointed. To achieve this goal, the departments, central institutes, and quality assurance team work together closely, drawing on their unique areas of expertise. Freie Universität regularly uses active recruiting as a way of attracting preeminent researchers.

Through hiring international scholars, Freie Universität’s appointment strategy reflects its commitment to its status as an international network university. External appointments are especially important as a means of ensuring fresh intellectual contributions and growth. We promote diversity and gender equality, believing that this is essential to achieve our goal of excellence in all aspects of university life.

Freie Universität Berlin will continue to attract the best talent not only through a fair, future-oriented and success-oriented recruitment strategy and through an excellent onboarding process, but also by continually developing and promoting the individual potential of its appointees throughout their academic careers. Freie Universität Berlin also offers outstanding early-career researchers a secure perspective through its tenure track career program, FUTURE Track.