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Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences
Facultyof Business, Economics and
Social Sciences

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Teaching load: How many hours do I have to teach?

Research associates whose employment is financed from state funds, so-called Etatstellen (budget-funded positions) have an obligatory teaching load. At the WiSo Faculty, the obligatory teaching load pursuant to the teaching obligation regulation at institutions of higher education in Hamburg (Lehrverpflichtungsverordnung für die Hamburger Hochschulen, LVVO) generally comprises:

  •  4 course hours (LVS) for doctoral researchers
  • 5 course hours (LVS) for postdoctoral researchers
  • 9 course hours (LVS) for research associates pursuant to Section 28 subsection 3 of Hamburg’s Higher Education Act (HmbHG)
  • 16 course hours for research associates with a teaching obligation pursuant to Section 28 subsection 3 of Hamburg’s Higher Education Act (HmbHG), whose positions are commonly abbreviated as maL, WiMi-maL, and WiMi-Le.

The teaching obligation for part-time positions varies in proportion to the agreed weekly working hours. Your individual teaching obligation is fixed in the job description issued with your contract. Your proportionate teaching obligation starts on the first month of your employment and not at the start of the semester.

Your teaching hours can vary, for example, if you take up work outside the lecture period or for other reasons. Therefore, you may temporarily accrue more or fewer teaching hours than agreed due to teaching and examiner and supervisory duties for final theses. This is partly inevitable, for example if due to the commencement of employment, and partly desired to ensure an optimum overall teaching rate. However, you may benefit personally from a flexible teaching balance that allows you to teach fewer or no hours when abroad or during other intensive working periods while completing your thesis. You are free to pursue a so-called intertemporärer Lehrausgleich (compensation for minus teaching hours). However, you must ensure that you have fulfilled your teaching obligation by the end of your employment. You can find a few rules for handling large teaching-hour minuses or pluses in the relevant resolutions on teaching obligations, which are regularly updated and sent out to all faculty members by the office of the dean. These also include accreditation factors for thesis supervision. The professors generally keep track of this issue and employ their staff in line with teaching obligations.

At the end of every semester, professors are asked to provide a teaching-hour record (Deputatsmeldung). This lists your teaching hours and thesis supervision times, and provides you with an overview of your teaching-load balance.

Research associates financed by external funds are usually exempt from teaching obligations. If you are interested in gaining teaching experience, you may be able to agree a remunerated teaching contract within your department. Just inform your supervisor in the professorship or the director of the degree program you are interested in about your teaching ambition.

There are often exceptions to the rule. In special individual cases, externally funded employees can take on teaching duties upon the funding provider’s express wish. In other cases, the teaching load may be reduced due to other special duties for department purposes. However, all special jobs must be agreed separately via the office of the dean, pending on the approval of the department.