Academic ranks in Germany

• Professor (Prof.): Since about 2002 the standard title for full professors at universities in Germany.
• Professor ordinarius (ordentlicher Professor, o. Prof., Univ. Prof.): professor with chair, representing the branch of science in question. In Germany, it was common to call these positions in colloquial use "C4" professorships, due to the name of the respective entry in the official salary table for Beamte (civil servant). (Following recent reforms of the salary system at universities,[1] you might now find the denomination "W3 professor.") Today in most German federal states this title is obsolete for restaffing. Since 2002 all full professors at universities and applied universities are called "professor". In some federal states like Baden-Württemberg it is still possible for a professor at a university to apply for the title "Univ. Prof." under special conditions.[2]
• Professor extraordinarius ("extraordinary professor", außerordentlicher Professor, ao. Prof.): professor without chair, often in a side-area, or being associated with a professor with a chair. In many states of Germany this is a special title, which gives full rights as for a full professor (such as supervision of PhD and habilitation, participation in all professorial meetings, right for a special opinion for a dissertation in its field of specialization etc. etc.). These positions are tenured and typically paid according to the W2 salary scale. In Prussia before the First World War, the average salary of full professors ("Ordinarius") was double that of associate professors and up to nine times that of professors at the beginning of their careers.[3]
• Professor emeritus (Prof. em.): just like in North America (see above); used both for the ordinarius and for the extraordinarius, although strictly speaking only the former is entitled to be addressed in this way. Although retired and being paid a pension instead of a salary, a Prof. em. may still teach, give exams and often still have an office.
• Junior Professor (Jun.-Prof.): this position started in 2002 in Germany, this is a 6-year time-limited professorship for inexperienced young scholars without Habilitation. It is supposed to rejuvenate those who are eventually supposed to become professors ordinarius in other institutions. The concept is intensely debated due to a lack of experience with this new approach. The main criticism is that Juniorprofessors are expected to apply for professorships at other universities during the latter part of the six-year period, as their universities should not offer tenure themselves (unlike in the tenure track schemes used, e.g., in the USA). The number of academics appointed as 'junior professors' in Germany has risen from ca. 900 in 2008[4] to ca. 1600 in 2014.[5] Increasingly, the junior professorship is replaced by the tenure track model similar to that in the US, where a scholar without habilitation is hired and will get tenure (W2 or W3) after successful evaluation.

• Honorarprofessor (Hon.-Prof.): equivalent to the Dutch Extraordinary Professor, non-salaried. An honorary title (not related to any sort of honorarium) conferred upon the person by a university for particular merits, often earned outside university or through long-term commitments (e.g., continued teaching) at the institution that confers the title. A Hon.-Prof. is obligated to lecture on a small scale. However, this is sometimes circumvented by title holders, especially since the title became popular among executives.
• außerplanmäßiger Professor (apl. Prof. or Prof.): either a tenured university lecturer or a former Privatdozent to whom the title is awarded after a time during which she or he has done excellent research.[6] The word außerplanmäßig (supernumerary) literally means "outside of the plan" and denotes that no pay is associated with the position (apl. Prof. might be employed as researchers with the university, however, but they might also be employed outside of the university system). As a member of the faculty they are obligated to lecture and conduct examinations and have the right to supervise doctoral theses.[7]
• Privatdozent (Priv.-Doz. or PD):a member of a faculty who has passed the Habilitation; this title may also be awarded to a former Juniorprofessor and - in terms of academic achievement - is comparable to that of Associate Professor (North America), Senior Lecturer (United Kingdom), or maître de conférences (France).[8][9][10][11][12] A Privatdozent is obligated to lecture and conduct examinations (often without pay) in order to keep the title and is allowed to supervise doctoral theses.
• Lehrbeauftragter a paid part-time (for example 2 hrs per week in a semester) teaching position for scientists in general with non university position who often hold a doctorate; Lehrbeauftragter is sometimes comparable with an adjunct assistant professor or an adjunct associate professor (US). It is not considered a professor position in Germany.
• Vertretungsprofessor: is an interim professor who officially represents a vacant chair or professorship for a limited amount of time, mostly 1 or 2 semesters. Very often a completed Habilitation is required. It is comparable with visiting associate professor (US). Some academics use this job as a changeover position before getting this particular job in a tenured way or before getting a tenured professorship at another institution.
• Gastprofessor: A visiting scholar. If they lecture they are sometimes also called a visiting professor. Further, a visiting scholar can also work as a Vertretungsprofessor.
• Seniorprofessor (distinguished senior professorship): A special arrangement where a professor close to retirement is freed from the requirement to lecture and does only research. Their salary is already paid from the pension fund, as if they retired early, and part of their previous regular salary is often used to hire a young successor to gradually take over the Seniorprofessor's work.

Some other uses of the title professor:

• Employment title outside the universities: In Germany, some civil servants like directors of certain public museums or research-oriented public institutions bear an employment title which contains the word 'Professor'. Examples: "Präsident und Professor des Bundesinstituts für Risikobewertung" ("President and Professor of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment"), "Präsident und Professor der Stiftung Deutsches Historisches Museum" ("President and Professor of the Foundation German Historic Museum").[13]
• Gymnasialprofessor (Professor at Gymnasium): In some German states, senior teachers at Gymnasium, which is a type of secondary school, were also designated Professor in the late 19th and early 20th century. In Austria, tenured teachers at Gymnasium are still called Professor.