schwan was appointed full professor at the department of political science at fu berlin in 1977. at the time, her research fields encompassed "political theory, philosophy, psychology, and culture" as well as "theories of democracy and socialism". in 1980/81, she had a research stay at the wilson center for scholars in the usa; another research stay in 1984 at the robinson college at cambridge university; in 1998, she was visiting professor at the new school for social research in new york. from 1993–1995, she was dean of the political science faculty at fu berlin.