National Academics Panel Study (Nacaps) 2018

Nacaps, the National Academics Panel Study, is a new longitudinal study of doctoral candidates and doctorate holders in Germany funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The project aims at providing nationwide cross-sectional and longitudinal data on doctoral candidates and doctorate holders in Germany regarding their study conditions as well as their career trajectories within and outside of academia. The Nacaps study series apply a panel design to multiple cohorts. Nacaps 2018 is the first cohort in this series of studies. In 2019, all doctoral candidates registered at 53 higher education institutions entitled to award PhDs/doctorates in Germany as off 01.12.2018 were invited to a first survey. Further panel waves follow at yearly intervals. Topics of the survey are e.g. the kind and structure of doctoral studies, motives for conducting doctoral studies, the mentoring situation, working and employment conditions, plans for career paths after the doctorate, international mobility, as well as individual characteristics of respondents. By covering these topics and by considering important indicators on young scholars, the Nacaps data provide important knowledge for national reporting (e.g. the federal report on young academics called “Bundesbericht wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs”), for local steering, as well as for numerous further stakeholders. Moreover, the data offer an opportunity to investigate scientific research questions in the field of academic careers.