Organisation of the academy

The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities has the legal status of a public institution, as do the seven other science academies in Germany. 

The academy is overseen by the President, who is elected by the members of the community of scholars for a three-year term. The President may be re-elected any number of times. The office of President is an honorary position. 

The President is assisted by the Executive Committee, which is composed of the four section spokespersons, his or her predecessor and the General Secretary. 

The academy members belong to one of four sections: Section I (Humanities and Cultural Studies), Section II (Law, Social Sciences and Economics), Section III (Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Technology) and Section IV (Natural Sciences, Life Sciences, Medicine). Membership of each section is limited to 30 ordinary members and 30 corresponding members. The section spokesperson is elected for three years and manages the business of their section. 

The sections set up projects to manage their research agenda. At present, approximately 400 researchers are working on over 60 projects.