Postdoc Survey

The University of Freiburg wants to implement a regular survey on the working conditions and career prospects for postdocs. The survey was first conducted in 2024. On this website you can find the current status of the survey and its results.

A summary of the results for the university as a whole are available here on this website; results at the faculty-level are available via ILIAS for all university members (see Results section below). In the course of the winter semester 2025/2026, the results were discussed within a series of events. The results were also forwarded to several departments and are being used for enhancing the university’s offers as well as for internal quality control.

The next survey is planned for 2027.

to obtain a more accurate picture of the situation and to identify potential for improvement.
to review and further develop programmes and framework conditions for researchers with doctorates.
to repeat the survey every three years in order to compare the results and test the effectiveness of measures.

The following areas are addressed particularly in the survey:

Conditions for research and teaching
Funding and employment
Qualification offers and advising
Health and well-being
Future plans

When creating the questionnaire, both the nationwide surveys conducted by the „Barometer für die Wissenschaft“ and „Bundesbericht Wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs“ and surveys from other universities were taken into account in order to ensure comparability. The creation of the questionnaire was scientifically monitored by Dr. Christoph Breuninger of the Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy). The analysis follows common practices of statistical analysis.

Here you can find a first overview of the results for the university as a whole:

The results for the individual faculties (in English and German) are provided in this ILIAS room (recommendation: log in to ILIAS first, then follow the link).

In case you are interested you can also access the entire questionnaire that was used.

The results of the postdoc survey are being used to improve the working and career conditiations for postdocs at the University of Freiburg in the long term. In order to do so, the results are presented in various committee, are incorporated into ongoing strategic processes, and are used by individual departments to better adapt their offers to the needs of postdocs and make their offers known among them. Here you can find some examples.

Presentation of the results in university committees and at university events:

10.04.2025: Presentation of the results at the Postdoc-Days
23.04.2025: Presentation of the results in the deans’ round
28.05.2025: Presentation of the results in the senate
20.10.2025: Public event for discussing the results
21.10.2025: Presentation of the results in the staff council

Incorporation of the results in ongoing strategic processes:

Incorporation within the preparation of the proposal for the university of excellence
Incorporation within the development of a university-wide policy for research assessment
Utilization of the data within the preparation of the partial staff meeting for scientific employees on 06.11.2025

Utilization for optimizing the offers of individual departments:

Adjusting the course offer within the Centre for Advanced Researcher Development (CARD) based on the needs for further qualification as voiced in the survey

Discussion events at the faculties in the winter term 2025/2026

November 3, 2025 Faculty of Theology
November 10, 2025 Faculty of Law
November 19, 2025 Faculty of Engineering
December 8, 2025 Faculty of Humanities
January 15, 2026 Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
January 22, 2026 Faculty of Biology
January 23, 2026 Faculty of Philology
January 27, 2026 Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy
January 29, 2026 Faculty of Economics and Behavioural Sciences
February 2, 2026 Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources

University-wide discussion event on October 20, 2025 “From Insight to Action: Results of the 2024 Doctoral Candidate and Postdoc Survey”

All university members were invited to join the event on October 20th, 2025 in the Aula in order to discuss the survey results, and to collect and rate potential measures and improvements. The event started with a presentation of key findings based on the survey data (university members can access the slides via ILIAS). The participants were then invited to participate in the eight topical discussion groups: Financing and working contracts, leadership, teaching, mental health, career development, doctoral candidate supervision, onboarding and advertisement of central offers, as well as work culture and discrimination. The event was then rounded off by a panel discussion including Prof. Stefan Rensing (vice-rector for research and innovation), Prof. Sylvia Paletschek (vice-rector for university culture), Dr. Deniz Kumral (postdoc) and Lea von Berg-Steinbrecher (doctoral candidate).

The panel discussion addressed some of the core challenges facing doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers: a high proportion of experienced mental strain, existing support schemes are poorly known, and a structural pressure stems from intense competition, mobility requirements and job‑insecurity. A key concern was the need for transparency regarding requirements and expectations at the outset of a supervision or an employment contract. Onboarding programmes, clear rules about availability and an open approach to illness were highlighted as exemplary measures to improve the working climate. Career‑development initiatives and skills‑building activities (e.g. career coaching or higher education didactics) are regarded as important, but they must not add further time‑ and performance‑pressure. Incentives such as the award for excellent supervision were preferred to compulsory courses, as they reinforce voluntariness and motivation. Responsibility for change was presented as shared: the university’s rectorate should provide overarching structures, such as a central onboarding and leadership‑development programme, while the individual faculties are tasked with implementing the framework conditions and delivering personalised supervision. Financial constraints and the growing reliance on third‑party funding were identified as long‑term hurdles that demand political advocacy and stronger networking. In sum, the participants stressed that transparent communication, targeted support formats and a collaborative partnership between the rectorate, the faculties and academic leaders are essential to sustainably improve working and research conditions.

If you have questions or comments on the survey you are welcome to reach out to the project lead, Mrs. Hanna Mahler.