It was introduced in the 3rd higher education reform with the "Regulation of academic grades" of 6 November 1968 and was governed by the doctoral ordinance of 21 January 1969.
At the same time, the Promotion B [de] (Doctor of Science) was introduced in imitation of the Soviet model, in order to replace the Habilitation.
In the DDR, special degrees and training programmes were created systematically and on demand in order to control academically inclined youth.
The requirements for the Promotion A were the possession of an academic degree from a university or tertiary institute of the DDR, systematic knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of the chosen subject and of Marxism–Leninism, as well as "active participation in the development of the socialist society.
Work as an assistant at a DDR tertiary institution was professional employment, which was usually combined with further study and, as a rule, was limited to four years.