Prof. Dr. Melanie Steffens

 

Vice President for Career Development, Diversity and Gender Equality

Prof. Dr. Melanie Steffens

Career

1989 - 1994Study of Psychology, University of Bonn, Germany
1994 - 2004Research assistant, University of Trier, Germany
1998Doctorate with Prof. Dr. Axel Buchner, Prof. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Wender, University of Trier, Germany
2001Visiting Fellow, Yale University, USA
2004Habilitation, University of Trier
2004 - 2013Professorship at the University of Jena (C3)
Since 4/2013Professor of Social Psychology (W3), Head of the Social, Environmental and Economic Psychology Unit, at RPTU (until 31.12. 2022: University of Koblenz-Landau)
2017 - 2020Dean of the Department of Psychology at the University of Koblenz-Landau
Since 2025Vice President for Career Development, Diversity and Gender Equality

Research focus

Her research interests include group-based attitudes, social diversity and discrimination with a focus on gender.

Other current functions and memberships (selection)

> Member of the DFG Review Board for Psychology (since 2024)

> Member of the DFG selection committee for the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize (2019-2024)

> Co-editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology (2021-2023)

> Organization of the 29th Annual Conference of the Forum for Peace Psychology: "Social and Political

Challenges: Research, Action, & Policy" (July 2016, Landau)

> Mentor as part of the Leibniz Mentoring Program (2014-15)

> Equal Opportunities Officer at the University of Jena (2011-13), Chairwoman of the State Conference of

Equal Opportunities Officers at Thuringian universities (2012-13)

> Spokesperson for the Social Psychology section of the DGPs (2011-2013)

> Spokesperson for the proposal "Social Change: Opportunities and Challenges for Individual and

Collective Actors" for a graduate school within the framework of the Excellence Initiative of the Federal and

of the Federal States (2010-2011)

> Co-editor of the journal Experimental Psychology (2009-2014)

> Faculty of the International Max Planck Research School "Adapting Behavior in a Fundamentally

Uncertain World" (2007-2014)

> Faculty of the International Research Training Group "Conflict and Cooperation between Social Groups"

(from 2007: deputy spokesperson)