Classes and Commissions
The Academy is divided into two sections, the class for philosophy and history, and the class for mathematics and natural sciences. As with many other basic organisational features, this division into two classes dates from the time of its foundation. The class of philosophy and history comprises – as its name suggests – philosophers and historians of all disciplines, and also includes philologists, cultural theorists and linguists, theologians, lawyers and political economists, psychologists and sociologists, whereas the class for mathematics and natural sciences covers mathematicians, astronomers, physicists, chemists, engineers and earth scientists, zoologists, botanists and physicians.
Each class elects two class secretaries for a term of four years who act as departmental directors in alternate years.
The wide range of subjects represented means that hardly any other institution can rival the Academy as far as interdisciplinary contacts, the exchange of experience, and cooperation between representatives of different research areas are concerned. In the regular class or plenary sessions members present and discuss the results of their own or other scientists' research and submit manuscripts to be printed in the two publications of the classes, the Sitzungsberichte (reports of the session) and the Abhandlungen (treatises).
In order to conduct long-term research projects which either exceed the scope or lifetime of one single scholar or require an interdisciplinary cooperation of scholars, the academy founds special commissions, mostly by way of its classes. Scholars who are not part of the Academy can still be members of these commissions. The commissions are responsible for institutes and research positions. They edit own publications and regularly publish reports about their research activities in the academy's own yearbook. Furthermore, it is possible to found interdisciplinary commissions and task groups if the respective research areas of both of the classes overlap.
At the moment, 330 people are employed in 36 commissions and three interdisciplinary commissions, two thirds of them scholars (a narrow majority of them in the field of humanities). Most of them are public officials or employed by the Free State of Bavaria, some of them are employed by the academy and some are holders of scholarships from foreign countries.
Each of the commissions presents its work on its own homepage.