The doctorate serves as proof of the ability to conduct in-depth scientific work. The title Dr. rer. pol. is awarded at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences.
The Doctoral and Habilitation Officer advises on questions concerning doctoral and habilitation studies and assists with all administrative steps from admission to the disputation. Furthermore, she prepares the content of the meetings of the doctoral committee, compiles statistics in the area of doctoral studies and Habilitation, and is involved in quality assurance and control.
The ombudsperson is available as an independent, confidential and neutral contact person for all those seeking advice. The ombudsperson advises, supports and mediates in conflicts during the doctoral studies as well as in questions of suspected scientific misconduct. The ombudsperson is required to maintain confidentiality.
You can find more information about the doctoral committee here.
As a first step on the way to a doctorate, you will look for a supervisor for your research interest who is willing to supervise your research work and make contact. You will need two supervisors.
An overview of possible supervisors can be found here.
To be admitted to the doctoral program, you must:
Approval:
1. If you have found two supervisors for your doctoral project, first register in the doctoral database. The data collection is carried out in accordance with the University Statistics Act.
2. Then send your admission documents (see below) to:
University of Potsdam
Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences
Dean’s Office - Office for Doctoral Studies and Habilitation -
August-Bebel-Str. 89
14482 Potsdam
Your complete application will include the following documents:
After successful admission as a doctoral student, you can enroll as a doctoral student at the University of Potsdam. There is no obligation to enroll. Enrollment is handled by the Registrar’s Office. You are welcome to submit your enrollment application with the required documents to the Office for Doctoral Studies and Habilitation at the time of admission. After admission, the documents will be forwarded to the Registrar’s Office together with the signed original of the “Notification of Intention to Award a Doctorate.”
Please note that the Student Secretariat would also like to have certified copies of your transcripts. The certified copies used for admission remain in the files of the Office for Doctoral Studies and Habilitation and cannot be forwarded.
On the homepage of the Student Secretariat you will find a list of the documents required for enrollment:
You are finished with your dissertation and would like to submit it now? Then proceed as follows: Submit an informal, written request for the opening of the doctoral procedure by Email (to Ms. Scholz: florence.scholz.1@uni-potsdam.de). Attach the following documents by email:
1. Dissertation as a pdf file that includes
2. Scan of the proof of participation in two doctoral colloquia.
3. Scan of signed CV
Please hand in the original of the following documents:
1. Four or five* copies of the dissertation (printed, bound, and with page numbers) *Note: five copies are required for cumulative work, as three people usually review it.
2. Signed curriculum vitae
3. Proof of participation in two doctoral colloquia.
4. For cumulative dissertations: Declaration of the co-authors
5. A police clearance certificate (only for those to whom the doctoral regulations of August 27, 2002 apply)
You are also welcome to send your dissertation and the necessary documents by mail:
University of Potsdam
Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences
Dean’s Office - Office for Doctoral Studies and Habilitation
August-Bebel-Str. 89
14482 Potsdam
Or you can drop your dissertation with the documents into the mailbox in room 1.30 (Campus Gribnitzsee, Building 1)
In any case you will receive a confirmation of receipt
Now, reviewers will be assigned to review your dissertation within approximately 8 weeks (Doctoral Regulations July 10, 2013, §8, 1) or within 4 months (Doctoral Regulations August 27, 2002, §9, 10.) .
If you have any questions regarding the choice or number of reviewers, please feel free to contact the Office for Doctoral Studies and Habilitation.
Who is eligible for the appraisal?
see the
Doctoral Regulations of July 10, 2013: §7 resp.
Once all reviews have been received, the reviews are forwarded to the doctoral candidates via email.
Now the display period starts. During the display period, all members entitled to inspect the dissertation (see Doctoral Regulations July 10, 2013 or Doctoral Regulations August 27, 2002, §8, 5) can inspect the dissertation as well as the expert opinions and submit a statement to the doctoral committee if they do not agree with the expert opinions or if other deficiencies are detected.
After the expiry of the display period, the doctoral committee decides whether the dissertation is accepted or whether it is returned with conditions for amendment. We will inform you in any case.
If the dissertation is accepted, the disputation, the oral examination, can take place. This consists of a presentation of the dissertation (20-30 min) followed by a question and answer session with the examination committee.
The disputation is open to the public, i.e. interested persons may attend.
What is the composition of the examination board? (§ 9 of the doctoral regulations of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Potsdam)
The examination board consists of the reviewers and two additional representatives. One of the other representatives must be a non-specialist and one must be the chairperson. In the event of a tie in the grading of the disputation, the chairperson has the casting vote. Reviewers are not allowed to take over the chair.
Members of the examination board are:
Doctoral Regulations July 10, 2013
Doctoral Regulations August 27, 2002
Organization of the disputation:
1. Contact the reviewers already during the design period and consider together the composition of the examination board. The doctoral office will be happy to help you with the selection.
2. Propose your desired composition to the PhD Committee (informally via email to PhD Officer).
3. The doctoral committee approves them or appoints a different composition of the examination committee.
4. Now contact the members of the examination board and arrange a joint examination date (for example via doodle). The disputation can take place in presence, hybrid or completely via Zoom.
5. Once you have scheduled an exam date and agreed on the form of the exam (face-to-face, hybrid, or via Zoom) send an email to the doctoral advisor with the dates. Notes:
The doctoral office then sends the invitation to the disputation to the university via email.
The disputation is done. Now you have to publish your dissertation to be allowed to use your doctoral title.
You can find all the important information on the flyer of the library:
As soon as the Office of Doctoral Studies and Habilitation has received confirmation from the University Library that the dissertation has been published, the doctoral certificate will be sent.
Here you will find the FAQs. If your question is not included, please contact the PhD Officer.
In the Cotutelle de thèse procedure, a dissertation is jointly supervised and examined by two universities in two countries. At the end of the Cotutelle procedure, you will receive a doctoral degree according to German examination law.
Advantages of a cotutelle de thèse procedure:
Even though there are some hurdles, such as an increased administrative effort and different structures and procedures in the universities, we would like to encourage you and support you in the best possible way. Please contact us. We will be happy to help you.
Further notes:
Procedure:
For additional websites on the Cotutelle process and promotion, see:
The Welcome Day for doctoral candidates welcomes all new doctoral candidates every semester at the beginning of the lecture period. Here you will get information on the doctoral procedure and all other questions. The last date was on october, 17th, 2022.
Here you can find the presentation.
The next "Welcome Day" will take place on April 24th , 2023 at 10 am via Zoom.
uni-potsdam.zoom.us/j/63905841123
Meeting ID: 639 0584 1123
Passcode: 16742980
Post and delivery address:
University of Potsdam
Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät
August-Bebel-Straße 89
D-14482 Potsdam
Germany
Visitors address:
Campus Griebnitzsee
August-Bebel-Straße 89
Building 1 - Room: 1.35
Contact