Research sabbatical

In accordance with § 12(3) in conjunction with § 90(6)(4) of the Hamburg Higher Education Act (HmbHG), the Dean’s Office has the right to grant university lecturers a one-semester exemption from their teaching obligations (research semester). University teaching staff may apply for a research semester provided they have fulfilled their standard teaching obligations continuously over a period of eight semesters. Teaching performed at other universities may be taken into account for this purpose.

Applications for the granting of a research sabbatical must be submitted

by April 30 for a research semester in the summer semester of the following year or
by October 31 for a research semester in the winter semester of the following year

to the Office of the Dean via the Dean's Front Office. Please follow the instructions in the guidelines (pdf, German only) and use the current application form (docx, German only).

Application form

Application form for the granting of a research sabbatical (as of March 2026, docx, German only)

Legal basis

The granting of research sabbaticals is regulated in Section 12 (3) of the Hamburg Higher Education Act (HmbHG). The administrative regulation on the granting of research semesters dated February 5, 1975, with amendments dated September 13, 1982, December 4, 1986, August 5, 1996, and September 11, 2002, has been repealed (see Official Gazette No. 38, 2025).