FAQ for Job Openings

Situations vacant - Part-time research assistant - Frequently Asked Questions


What does the research group "Music, Conflict and the State" do?
Please refer to our main website at
Research Group "Music, Conflict and the State" Homepage


Why do I have to have a native speaker standard of English?
One of your most important tasks will be to help coordinate the group's publications, particularly our series of books. Most of the proof-reading and layout for these is done in-house. This means that you will be expected to proof-read and copy-edit texts in English to native-speaker standard.


What other tasks will I have?
As well as general organisational work (for example, in the context of workshops and other events), we regularly discuss our own research and relevant external research and produce publications and other material on this basis. Most research assistants also use the part-time position to fund doctoral or post-doctoral research.


What is TVL-13?
This is a grade on a centralised pay scale for public service employees. The exact pay depends on different factors, but as a rough guide (!) your monthly pay before deductions would be around € 1,550 a month or more. Tax, health and social insurance will be deducted from this amount.


Do I really have to live in Göttingen?
Yes - or a commutable distance from Göttingen (several members of the group commute weekly). The terms of employment state that working hours must be delivered in the office of the group. Exceptions, for example research trips, need to be applied for separately. This is a centralised regulation that we don't have any control over. In addition, we work together as a group and have regular meetings and exchange on campus.


What kind of environment would I be working in?
We are based in the Department of Musicology, which both has a long and respected tradition and currently a young, innovative team of professors and researchers in the fields of historical, cultural and social musicology. We are a small but vibrant department, and increasingly international. The research group has generous initial funding which allows us to partly finance workshops, conference trips and to build up a library of resources. The University of Göttingen has an excellent reputation in the humanities, and is committed to promoting interdisciplinary work. The main University library is one of the largest research libraries in Germany.


Is it easy to live and work in Göttingen as a foreign national?
The university has a number of programmes to assist incoming researchers in getting established here. More information is available here:
Welcome Centre University Göttingen
EU citizens have the same rights to live and work here as German nationals. For academic positions, it is generally easy to arrange work and residency permits for non-EU nationals as well.


What is the timeline for filling this position?
We expect to create a short-list beginning of November, and interviews (which may take the form of video interviews) will hopefully take place by the end of November. Please make sure, therefore, that we can contact you throughout this month. We hope to inform the successful candidate by beginning of December so that she or he can begin work as soon as possible in the new year.

Any other questions? Please contact Prof. M. J. Grant
Morag-Josephine.Grant@phil.uni-goettingen.de