The Report
National Report on Early Career Researchers 2025 – Statistical Data and Research Findings on Doctoral Candidates and Doctorate Holders in Germany
About this Report
This report presents empirical results on the situation of early career researchers (WiKa) in Germany.
It is published regularly once per legislative period. In 2025, the focal topic is the establishment of tenure-track professorships.
Statistical Data and Research Findings
This monitoring report examines the working and employment conditions of early-career researchers at universities and non-university research institutions. It focuses on transitions between qualification phases, conditions during the doctoral phase, career paths and professional prospects after completing a doctorate, as well as the role of fixed-term employment contracts. Additionally, it addresses the compatibility of family life and academic careers, internationalisation and international mobility, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early career researchers.
The report data
This report draws on data from official government statistics as well as regularly conducted surveys and studies. The focus in processing the data is on ensuring the comparability and contextualisation of the findings. It serves as a knowledge base for universities and research institutions, interest groups, funding organisations, and decision-makers at both the federal and state levels
The German “Bundestag”
The German Parliament, in its session on June 18, 2009, called on the federal government to provide regular reports once per legislative period, each with a different focus, on the situation of early career researchers in Germany. Previous federal reports were published in 2008, 2013, 2017, and 2021 under the title “Federal Report on Early-Career Researchers – BuWiN.” As a federal report, it focuses on developments across Germany as a whole.
The Consortium
The National Report 2025 was prepared by an independent scientific consortium led by the Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit). The consortium includes representatives from the following scientific institutions:
The preparation of the report was coordinated with a supervisory committee that included representatives from the following institutions:
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
- German Research Foundation (DFG)
- State Ministries for Higher Education and Science, represented by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Culture of the State of Brandenburg (MWFK)
- German Rectors’ Conference (HRK)
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK)
- The German Science and Humanities Council (WR)
Progress on the report was discussed during a meeting with potential users of the BuWiK.
Additional information about the National Report on Early Career Researchers can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.