This research project investigates the transatlantic mobility of professors between Germany and the United States, with a particular focus on return migration and how academic careers are shaped by gender, diversity, and institutional frameworks. Building on a first wave of over 100 qualitative interviews conducted in 2008 with internationally mobile faculty, policy makers, and funding representatives, the project undertakes a second wave of interviews to explore how experiences, strategies, and structural conditions have shifted over time.

Central questions include: How do gender and diversity matter in international mobility of academics? What roles do universities, national policy environments, and international organizations play in shaping opportunities and barriers? And how are gender, diversity, and inclusion—or their absence—experienced by mobile academics navigating different academic cultures and structures?

By re-interviewing selected faculty who moved between the U.S. and Germany, including returnees to Germany, and by expanding the sample to recently mobile academics, the project offers insight into both individual trajectories and broader systemic developments. Key themes include perceived meritocracy, institutional support structures, national legal frameworks, and geopolitical factors influencing the flow of talent—ranging from cooperation with China to critical views on U.S. academic dominance.

Professors in Motion contributes to current debates on internationalization in higher education by offering a longitudinal, actor-centered perspective that critically examines the persistent blind spots around gender and diversity in global academic mobility.

The project is led by Dr. Matthias Schneider. For any inquiries, please contact him directly.