Information for doctoral candidates

The application for admission [German content] to the doctoral examination must be submitted once you have completed your doctoral thesis and would now like to submit it for appraisal.

The following documents must be enclosed with the application:

1. a short curriculum vitae in German or English along with an account of the candidate's academic development and the doctoral project;
2. proof of successful participation in three advanced seminars (Hauptseminar) in a field of study related to the subject area of the doctorate (dissertations/theses written for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree programme considered equivalent to an advanced seminar if they were written in the relevant subject area);
3. the notice of acceptance as a doctoral candidate;
4. proof of the applicant having been found worthy of using academic degrees by an official certificate of good conduct or enrolment certificate, if the applicant has been de-registered for a period in excess of three months at the time of application and is not employed in public service or with an equivalent employer;
5. three bound typewritten or print copies of the doctoral thesis, which must include a signed written assurance (see p. 3 of the application), as well as an electronic copy (to be submitted on a USB flash drive or via Cloud or a digital folder);
6. (if the doctoral thesis is not written in German or English:) two summaries in German, which make up about one tenth of the length of the doctoral thesis.

Please submit the original signed application together with all listed documents either in person or by post to the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences.

The referees are appointed once the candidate has been admitted to the doctoral examination. The appraisals should be submitted four months after the appointment. The referees check whether the submitted work fulfils the requirements for a doctoral thesis and propose a grade or rating. If both referees propose the grade "1* = summa cum laude (excellent)" for the submitted thesis, a third referee must be appointed. The third appraisal should be submitted two months after the appointment.

Once all appraisals have been received, they are made available for inspection by the authorised examiners for a period of two weeks, together with the doctoral thesis and the proposed grade. The doctoral candidate can also inspect the appraisals during this time. The display period will be announced at least one week before the start of the display. After the end of the display period, the authorised examiners may lodge an objection to the acceptance or rejection of the doctoral thesis and the proposed grade or rating within two weeks.

If no objections are raised after the end of the objection period, the doctoral thesis deemed to have been accepted or rejected.

This means that if all referees are in favour of accepting the doctoral thesis and no objections are raised, the oral examination may take place at the earliest five weeks after the announcement of the submission deadline.

If the doctoral thesis has been accepted, the doctoral examining committee will conduct the oral examination. Further details are regulated in § 12 PromO 2013 [German content].

Please contact the Dean's Office and discuss the next steps to facilitate scheduling.

Upon successfully completing the doctoral examination, the doctoral candidate is obliged to make the doctoral thesis available to the academic public by reproducing and disseminating it. Further details are regulated in § 15 PromO 2013 [German content]. For more information, read our notes on publication [German content].

The application for admission [German content] to the doctoral examination must be submitted once you have completed your doctoral thesis and would now like to submit it for appraisal.

The following documents must be enclosed with the written application [German content]:

1. notice of decision on admission as a doctoral candidate

2. where required, proof of compliance with the ancillary conditions set forth in the admission notice

3. three bound typewritten or print copies of the doctoral thesis as well as an electronic copy (on a USB flash drive or via Cloud or a digital folder)

4. where required and applicable, proof of enrolment as a doctoral student ("Studienverlaufsbescheinigung")

5. written declarations pursuant to § 9(1) sentence 2 no. 6 APromO:

• An affidavit stating that the thesis has been written independently and without any undue help from others and that all the materials and sources used and passages quoted verbatim or paraphrased from other works have been clearly identified as such* (Schedule II of APromO [German content]);
• An assurance to the effect that this same thesis or a similar version has not previously been submitted to this or another faculty for the purpose of obtaining an academic degree (Schedule III of APromO [German content]);
• An assurance to the effect that the doctoral candidate has not previously obtained the sought doctoral degree or an equivalent doctoral degree and that completion of this degree has not been finally rejected (see sample statement [German content]);
• In case of co-authorship, the doctoral candidate's own contribution must be identified in accordance with the fourth sentence of § 6(1) FPromO in a statement of authorship pursuant to the second sentence of § 9(1) no. 6 APromO. This statement must be signed and added as the last page of every bound and electronic copy of the doctoral thesis.

6. a list of all the doctoral candidate's publications related to the doctoral thesis (see the form “Prior publications” in case of a monograph (page 5 of the application form) or the form “Publication-based doctoral thesis” (page 6 of the application form)

7. a summary, written in German, of the doctoral thesis of at least 5 pages in length if the thesis is not written in German or English (second clause of the second sentence of § 10(2) APromO).

Please submit the original signed application together with all listed documents either in person or by post to the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences.

Pursuant to § 9(2) sentence 1 APromO, the Chair of the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards decides on admission in writing, usually within three months.

The referees are appointed once the candidate has been admitted to the doctoral examination. As a rule, the appraisals should be submitted four months after the appointment. The referees check whether the submitted work fulfils the requirements for a doctoral thesis and propose a grade or rating.

Once both appraisals have been received, they are put on display for all faculty members entitled to participate in the procedure for a period of two weeks, together with the doctoral thesis and the proposed grade. The doctoral candidate can also view the appraisals during this time. The display period will be announced at least one week before the start of the display.

If no objections are raised after the end of the objection period, the doctoral thesis is deemed to have been accepted or rejected, as the case may be.

This means that if all referees are in favour of accepting the doctoral thesis and no objections are raised, the oral examination may take place at the earliest three weeks after the announcement of the submission deadline.

If the doctoral thesis has been accepted, the doctoral examining committee will conduct the oral examination. The oral examination should take place no later than three months after acceptance of the doctoral thesis in accordance with § 11(2) sentence 2 APromO. Further details are regulated in § 7 FPromO.

Please contact the Dean's Office and discuss the next steps to facilitate scheduling.

Upon successfully completing the doctoral examination, the doctoral candidate is obliged to make the doctoral thesis available to the academic public by reproducing and disseminating it. Further details are regulated in § 9 FPromO. For more information, read our notes on publication [German content].

A doctoral certificate authorising the use of the doctoral degree will only be issued once the publication obligation has been fulfilled. This is sent to the doctoral candidate by post.

The Chair of the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards may, subject to revocation, permit the doctoral degree to be awarded in advance if the doctoral thesis is to be published by a publishing house and the doctoral candidate provides evidence of the conclusion of the publishing contract or other binding acceptance for publication by the publishing house and the other obligations in connection with the publication of the doctoral thesis are also fulfilled.