Academic career with a child
There are several ways to academic qualification and thus different framework conditions. Whether you have an employment contract or a scholarship, for example, or whether you are pursuing a self-financed doctorate, has a direct impact on family law regulations and benefits. In the following, you find general information and offers, then regulations and exceptions for your specific situation. If you have any further questions, please contact familienservice@zvw.uni-goettingen.de.
General information for junior researchers with a child/children
- Family benefits and, if applicable, social benefits
The information tool of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) as well as the family portal of the BMFSFJ gives a first overview of the benefits to which you are entitled after birth of a child. - Childcare
In general, there is a distinction between regular and flexible childcare. Care in a day nursery (Kita), in an after-school care centre or from a daycare worker counts as regular childcare. The university does not run its own day nursery, but has purchased occupancy rights in the form of childcare spots in three different facilities close to the university. In addition to these spots, the day nurseries of the Studentenwerk and all other facilities in the city of Göttingen are available to you as well, in case your child is registered in Göttingen. When it comes to day care, the university has been cooperating successfully for more than 10 years with the association Kindertagespflege Göttingen e.V., which offers parents a counselling and placement service for day carers.
In order to meet the mobility requirements and specific childcare needs in academia, the university offers a wide range of flexible childcare options to accompany the regular childcare - such as childcare in emergencies and marginal times or subsidies for childcare costs during business trips and qualification courses. - Family-friendly infrastructure
You can get an overview of baby changing facilities, mobile play boxes, parent-child rooms and playgrounds on campus via the digital accessibility map, which you can also download as an app on your smartphone.
Below you will find the specifics of your specific status group
PhD students and postdocs with an employment contract at the universityAs a researcher with an employment contract, you are subject to all the regulations listed by the BMFSFJ in its family portal, unless you are an international researcher with a residence permit according to §16 or §18.
PhD students and postdocs with scholarshipsScholarship funding does not constitute "earned income", which means that financial regulations regarding maternity and parental benefits only apply to a limited extent. Generally, the scholarship continues. There are scholarships that pay a family allowance after the birth. More…
Regulations for international doctoral candidatesAs an international researcher, the same regulations apply to you as to everyone else at the university. However, the regulations that affect you and your family outside the university must be considered in a more differentiated way. More…
PhD students who finance themselvesWe are aware that you are a very heterogeneous group (depending on the funding) and that different constellations have to be considered in individual cases. At this point, we can point out basic regulations and questions that you should clarify for yourself. More…