Professor salaries Germany
Professor salaries – what does a professor earn in Germany?

What is the W salary scale?

The W salary scale regulates the salaries earned by civil servant (tenured) professors in Germany and was introduced in 2002 as the successor to the C salary scale. A professor’s salary consists of three elements:

• base pay,
• family allowance and
• additional performance bonuses.

There are three levels of pay: W1 applies to junior professors while W2 and W3 is for all other professors with civil servant status.

Junior professors (W1) earn a gross salary (depending on their state of employment) of between 4,600 euros and 5,500 euros per month (current as of February 2023). W2 and W3 professors make between 5,900 euros and 8,000 euros per month.

Freely negotiated performance bonuses can significantly increase gross salaries, though only very few German states have experience-based pay levels. Professors at universities of applied sciences are comparatively rarely granted W3 pay status.

Base pay received by professors, assuming they have received a university appointment, is determined by the state or, at a federal institution, by the federal government. Base pay is independent of age. But in Bavaria, Hesse, Saxony and at the federal level, salary level increases can be reached after five or seven years of experience, similar to raises available to research assistants.

Professor salaries can be boosted with additional performance bonuses. They are agreed during job appointment and retention negotiations between the university and the professor (see below). By law, however, junior professors only rarely receive such bonuses, though these regulations have been diluted in some states (see below). 

Professors who are married or live in a registered partnership also receive a family allowance in addition to their gross salary. Professors with children receive an additional supplement for each child.

The job description will state whether the position is a junior professorship or a W2 or W3 professorship. In the vast majority of cases, professors at universities of applied sciences are granted W2 status, with W3 salaries a rare exception. At universities, however, there are almost twice as many W3 professors as W2 professors. Particularly those holding prominent professorships or who have a strong reputation will be paid at the W3 level.

What is the base pay earned by W2 and W3 professors?

Base pay for W2 and W3 professors varies greatly from state to state in Germany. Most states do not specify additional levels within the pay categories. However, the German federal state, Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony do reward professional experience with regular raises after five or seven years.

What is the base pay earned by junior (assistant/associated) professors (W1)?

Base pay for junior professors varies from state to state and is based on the salary group W1. Hesse abolished the junior professorship in 2016 and introduced the qualification professorship, which is also remunerated in accordance with W1.

In most states, base pay remains unchanged for the duration of the junior professorship. Only Saxony applies a second pay level following a successful interim evaluation.

Junior professors are required to pay income tax on their salary. Social insurance contributions must only be paid if junior professors acquire health and long-term care insurance through the public (as opposed to private) health insurance system.

How much do professors earn at universities of applied sciences?

Like their counterparts at universities, professors at universities of applied sciences (called HAWs or FHs in Germany) may also be remunerated according to salary groups W2 and W3. However, W3 positions at universities of applied science are rare. Additional performance bonuses are also possible, but the scope for negotiation is much narrower than at a university.

Are there any experience levels for professors?

With the introduction of the W salary scale, German states removed seniority as a factor in determining professor salaries. However, professors at federal institutions in addition to those working in Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony receive experience-based pay increases comparable to those paid to research assistants.

The federal state and Bavaria differentiate between three salary levels. Professors at federal universities move from Level 1 to Level 2 after seven years, with the same interval necessary to reach Level 3. In Bavaria, the second level is reached after five years and the third after seven. Hesse, meanwhile, provides for five salary levels, each lasting five years. The levels also last five years in Saxony, though there are only four of them.

What should professors in Germany be aware of if they are not civil servants (tenured)?

The federal and state governments have defined a maximum age limit for permanent civil service status. Those appointed to a professorship after reaching this limit are generally not granted civil servant status and are retained on an employer-employee basis.

This means that the employee and employer pay proportionate contributions to the social security system. Professors with employee status should therefore ensure that their net pay after such withholdings is not lower than that received by their civil servant counterparts. The employee share of social security contributions is currently (2023) around 20%.

What counts as an additional performance bonus?

The Federal Civil Service Remuneration Act (Bundesbesoldungsgesetz) distinguishes between:

• appointment and retention benefits;
• special performance bonuses (e.g., for special services in research and teaching);
• administrative supplements; and
• research and teaching supplements.
  
  

Appointment and retention benefits may be granted if a university has a particular interest in attracting or retaining a professor. They can come in the form of a one-off lump payment or as a monthly extra. They are agreed during appointment or retention negotiations and are freely negotiable.

Performance bonuses are also part of appointment and retention negotiations. These are granted for special services generally performed over an extended period of time – such as extensive grant acquisitions, publications in professional journals or an above-average commitment to teaching. The maximum level of these additional benefits is mandated by The Federal Civil Service Remuneration Act, state law and the respective university guidelines.

Administrative supplements are paid to those who take on extra tasks as part of academic self-government, such as rectors, presidents and deans. Some universities specify fixed rates, while in others, they are negotiated.

Research and teaching supplements are available to professors who secure grants from third parties and carry out the relevant research or teaching projects themselves – or in cases where the grant provider explicitly earmarks money for such a supplement. They can be paid out monthly or as a one-time bonus, but they may not exceed the professor’s annual salary and may only be received for the duration of the research or teaching project.

Some states provide additional pay to remain competitive in the academic system. Such payments are specified in the state's salary laws. No additional services are associated with these supplementary payments.

Can junior professors also receive performance bonuses?

When the junior professorship was created (which is comparable to the assistant oder associated professorship), there was no provision for junior professors to receive performance bonuses. However, this principle is no longer as strictly applied in Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.

The extent to which these additional bonuses are available is outlined in the respective salary legislation of each state. Those laws make it possible for junior professors who have successfully secured grants from private and non-public sources to receive a performance bonus that is not subject to retirement withholdings. Some states now also provide additional performance bonuses for achievements in research, teaching and the promotion of young talent.

Similar to the appointment and performance bonuses received by W2 and W3 professors, junior professors may also receive a monthly supplement, particularly if there are concerns that a post cannot be filled by a sufficiently qualified junior professor.

In addition, almost all federal states grant junior professors a monthly probationary pay increase of 260 to 285 euros following a successful interim evaluation.

What does the consumption of performance bonuses mean?

If the W basic salary is increased by new salary legislation, this also has an impact on the originally agreed performance-related allowances. These are not simply added to the new base salary, they are offset instead. The degree to which they are offset is defined by the respective state (or federal) law. Frequently, the newly calculated salary total is the same or only slightly higher than might be expected as a result of the actual increase in base pay.

The same applies if professors in Bavaria, Hesse, Saxony and the federal government reach a new pay level (none of the other states stipulate different salary levels within the W2 and W3 pay scales). Consumption also occurs in these cases: The performance bonuses and increased base salary are offset against each other. The German Higher Education Association believes this rule to be constitutionally problematic, but several courts have confirmed current practice.

Are civil servant professors in Germany required to make social security contributions?

As a rule, professors switch to the private health insurance system once they become civil servants, because their employer (state or federal) is required to pay a contribution for their doctor visits, medications or hospital stays. In such cases, professors must pay income tax, but they do not have to pay social insurance withholdings, such as retirement insurance and health insurance, into the public health insurance system. Some German states, however, have begun paying contributions also for those professors who remain in the public health insurance system. Those who remain in the public health insurance system must pay withholdings just as non-civil servants do.

Those who only become civil servants temporarily, such as junior professors, should ensure that they are well informed before arranging private health insurance, as it is not always possible to return to statutory insurance.

Which components of the W salary are pensionable?

The pension or retirement pay received later in life is calculated on the basis of the last monthly salary received by a civil servant before retiring. Not all components of a professor's salary are taken into account in the calculation of their future pension.

The base salary and family allowance are factored into the calculation, but additional performance bonuses may not be. Such bonuses must first be declared as pensionable and can usually only factor into the pension up to a maximum of 40 percent. The percentage and the pensionability in general of such payments are determined during negotiations over such benefits – during appointment and retention negotiations, for example.