{"id":798,"date":"2025-02-19T15:33:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/?p=798"},"modified":"2026-07-29T20:58:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T18:58:03","slug":"first-gen-doctoral-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/2025\/02\/19\/first-gen-doctoral-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenges in the Journey of First-Gen Doctorates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Prof. Dr. Martin L\u00fccke,<\/a> professor for historical education at the Free University of Berlin, talks about the challenges and opportunities for first-generation doctoral researchers. In this interview he discusses the world of German academia and shares his experience in navigating this world as a first generation academic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audio <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Highlights<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n

„… the idea of \u200b\u200bcollege and university, as we think of it in Germany, well, structurally also has the mission of not allowing students from first-generation families to get as far as students from other families. That may be a blatant political statement, but I’ll leave it as it is for now.“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

„While doctoral candidates from first generation families first of all really need to know that a supervisor is there for this purpose, that the supervisory relationship also has this function and that it is anything but a shame to actually do it. It is not about somehow maintaining pride or not having to talk about certain things.“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\nProf. Dr. Martin L\u00fccke, professor of historical education at Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin and first generation academic<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

SUMMARY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

[Note: This interview was conducted in German. You can find a full English translation\u00a0here<\/a>.]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

English:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this episode, Martin L\u00fccke, professor at Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin and himself a first-generation researcher, discusses the difficulties faced by first-generation doctoral researchers, i.e. those whose parents do not have a doctorate or no university degree at all. He notes that these students often feel out of place in academia due to their different backgrounds, and criticizes the lack of institutional support, which contributes to social inequality and limits the success of such researchers. Prof. L\u00fccke urges professors to create welcoming environments for first-generation students, so the students can share their struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof. L\u00fccke advises students to think carefully about why they want to pursue a doctorate, suggesting they should be driven by their own enthusiasm for the topic rather than a need for validation from family or others. He warns that only seeking approval can lead to disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also points out that first-generation students often have a higher need for financial security, as they often lack the safety net that comes from an academic family. In this regard, he talks about possible scholarships, noting that they may not offer the best social security but can provide some financial support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, Prof. L\u00fccke emphasizes the importance of finding support and being aware of one’s social background and identity in academic environments. He encourages first-generation students to take pride in their backgrounds and to see their family history as a strength, not as a deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

German:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dieser Folge er\u00f6rtert Martin L\u00fccke, Professor an der Freien Universit\u00e4t Berlin und selbst ein Forscher der ersten Generation, die Herausforderungen, denen sich Promovierende aus dieser Gruppe gegen\u00fcbersehen \u2013 also jene, deren Eltern entweder nicht promoviert sind oder gar keinen Hochschulabschluss haben. Er stellt fest, dass sich diese Studierenden aufgrund ihrer Herkunft im akademischen Umfeld oft fehl am Platz f\u00fchlen, und kritisiert die mangelnde institutionelle Unterst\u00fctzung; dies trage zu sozialer Ungleichheit bei und schr\u00e4nke den Erfolg solcher Forschenden ein. Prof. L\u00fccke appelliert an Professor:innen, ein offenes und einladendes Umfeld f\u00fcr Studierende der ersten Generation zu schaffen, damit diese \u00fcber ihre Schwierigkeiten sprechen k\u00f6nnen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof. L\u00fccke r\u00e4t Studierenden, genau zu \u00fcberlegen, warum sie promovieren m\u00f6chten; der Antrieb sollte seiner Ansicht nach die eigene Begeisterung f\u00fcr das Thema sein und nicht das Bed\u00fcrfnis nach Best\u00e4tigung durch die Familie oder andere Personen. Er warnt davor, dass das blo\u00dfe Streben nach Anerkennung zu Entt\u00e4uschungen f\u00fchren kann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zudem weist er darauf hin, dass Studierende der ersten Generation oft ein h\u00f6heres Bed\u00fcrfnis nach finanzieller Sicherheit haben, da ihnen h\u00e4ufig das soziale Sicherheitsnetz fehlt, \u00fcber das Akademikerkinder verf\u00fcgen. In diesem Zusammenhang spricht er \u00fcber m\u00f6gliche Stipendien und merkt an, dass diese zwar nicht unbedingt die beste soziale Absicherung bieten, aber dennoch eine gewisse finanzielle Unterst\u00fctzung darstellen k\u00f6nnen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insgesamt betont Prof. L\u00fccke, wie wichtig es ist, sich im akademischen Umfeld Unterst\u00fctzung zu suchen und sich der eigenen sozialen Herkunft sowie Identit\u00e4t bewusst zu sein. Er ermutigt Studierende der ersten Generation, stolz auf ihre Herkunft zu sein und ihre Familiengeschichte als St\u00e4rke und nicht als Defizit zu betrachten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prof. Dr. Martin L\u00fccke, professor for historical education at the Free University of Berlin, talks about the challenges and opportunities for first-generation doctoral researchers. In this interview he discusses the world of German academia and shares his experience in navigating this world as a first generation academic. Audio This interview was recorded in February 2025. … \u201eChallenges in the Journey of First-Gen Doctorates\u201c<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8307,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1687,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798\/revisions\/1687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/drs_podcast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}