2. Application for Opening the Doctoral Examination Procedure
- An application to open the doctoral examination procedure must be submitted in writing to the chairperson of the Doctoral Committee (go to application form)
- The application must include:
- Statement about the intended subject area of the doctorate (see form Application for Opening the Doctoral Examination Procedure), the field of studies will appear on the doctoral degree certificate.
- CV in German and English language that specifically refers to the course of studies
- Certificates
- document of completed studies at a university or comparable academic institution and evidence of 300 credit points, academic studies of at least eight semesters including a final academic examination (Master, "Diplom") or academic studies of at least eight semesters including a professional degree (state examination)
or - document of degree program at a university or a college of higher education with at least a "good" rating within the standard period of study of a at least six semesters and a final academic examination (Bachelor, 180 credit points) as well as proof of completed additional studies that correspond to 60 credit points of an accredited Master program.
- document of completed studies at a university or comparable academic institution and evidence of 300 credit points, academic studies of at least eight semesters including a final academic examination (Master, "Diplom") or academic studies of at least eight semesters including a professional degree (state examination)
- Statement that the candidate has not opened a doctoral examination procedure at another university as well as a statement that the disseration in its current version was not and is not being submitted to another university for evaluation. (go to Statement)
- Dissertation
- four copies, bound or staplet, of the dissertation and a digital version (to be sent by pdf)
or - according to § 7 (4) of the applicable Doctoral Degree Regulations: Instead of the dissertation, papers may be accepted that have already been published in an academic journal, have been submitted for such publication or are under review provided that they represent an achievement equivalent to a dissertation (Publication-based dissertation).
A publication-based dissertation must include:
1. an overview paper that presents a coherent and independent research program based on the submitted publications,
2. a statement about the candidate's contribution to submitted joint publications. Such statement must be confirmed by th co-authors (go tot specimen form)
- four copies, bound or staplet, of the dissertation and a digital version (to be sent by pdf)
- Abstract of the dissertation including the dissertations's rationale and key results in German and English (max. 10 pages),
- Affirmation (inside thesis) that the dissertation has been prepared independently and without unauthorized support, and complies with the rules of good scientific practice (go to form Affirmation),
- Police clearance certificate (not an official good conduct certificate) not older than three month at the timo of submission (if available in your country),
- List of the candidate's scientific publications.
Note:
- A proposal regarding the Examination Board's composition may be attached to the application to open the doctoral examination procedure.
The Examination Board consists of a least five members who are related to the relevant academic field. One board member must belong to the academic staff and hold a doctorate. The other members must be professors, have completed a postdoctoral qualification or must be university lectures. One member of the Examining Board may be appointed upon the proposal of the person who is applying for the doctoral examination procedure. (go to application form)
- If the dissertation was not supervised, the candidate is entitled to proposing a person who shall prepare an evaluation. The proposed person must be a professor or have completed a postdoctoral qualification in the intended academic field.