Information for doctoral candidates

The application for admission to the doctoral examination must be submitted once you have completed your dissertation and wish to submit it for evaluation.

The following documents must be enclosed with the application:

1. A brief CV in German or English, including an overview of your academic background and doctoral project;
2. Proof of successful participation in three advanced seminars (Hauptseminare) in a subject area related to your doctoral discipline (a Bachelor's, Master's, Diplom, Magister or qualifying thesis in the relevant field may be accepted as equivalent to one advanced seminar); if not already submitted.
3. Notification of acceptance as a doctoral candidate;
4. Proof of eligibility to hold academic degrees (e.g. an official certificate of good conduct, a certificate of enrolment if you were deregistered no more than three months prior to the application date, or confirmation of employment in the public sector or with an equivalent employer);
5. Three printed copies of the dissertation in typescript, each including the signed declaration (see page 3 of the application form), as well as an electronic version of the dissertation (on a USB stick or via cloud/digital folder);
6. (If the dissertation is not written in German or English:) Two summaries in German, each amounting to approximately one tenth of the total length of the dissertation.

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

Important note:
It is not permitted to send the dissertation directly to the reviewers.

Once admission to the doctoral examination has been granted, the reviewers will be formally appointed. The reviews should be submitted within four months of appointment. The reviewers assess whether the submitted dissertation meets the requirements of a doctoral thesis and propose a grade or distinction.

If both reviewers propose the distinction “1* = summa cum laude (excellent),” a third reviewer must be appointed. The third review should be submitted within two months of appointment.

Once all reviews have been received, they will be made available for inspection, together with the dissertation and the proposed evaluation, for a period of two weeks. This inspection period is open to all individuals entitled to participate in the examination process. The doctoral candidate may also inspect the reviews during this time. The inspection period will be announced at least one week in advance.

After the inspection period has ended, individuals entitled to participate in the examination may lodge an objection to the acceptance or rejection of the dissertation and/or the proposed grade or distinction within two weeks.

Only after the objection period has ended—and provided no objection has been raised—the dissertation is considered accepted or not accepted.

This means that, if all reviewers recommend acceptance of the dissertation and no objection is raised, the oral examination may take place no earlier than five weeks after the announcement of the inspection period.

Once the dissertation has been accepted, the oral doctoral examination takes place. Further details are governed by § 12 of the Doctoral Degree Regulation (PromO 2013 [german content]).

The date for the disputation is arranged by the Dean’s Office.

Following successful completion of the doctoral examination, the doctoral candidate is required to make the dissertation accessible to the academic public through reproduction and dissemination. Further details are governed by § 15 of the Doctoral Degree Regulation (PromO 2013 [german content]).

Additional information is available in the publication guidelines [german content] compiled for you.

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

Once all evaluations 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 will receive copies of the evaluations together with the notification regarding the availability of the dissertation for public inspection.

The inspection period will be announced no later than one week before it begins.
During this time, individuals authorized to participate in the examination process may raise objections to the acceptance or rejection of the dissertation, as well as to the proposed grade or distinction.

If no objection is raised, the dissertation is considered accepted.

Please note: Due to legal requirements, the duration from submission of the dissertation to completion of the doctoral procedure is approximately six months.

Once the dissertation has been accepted, the Doctoral Examination Committee will conduct the oral examination.
Information regarding the procedure of the oral examination can be found in § 8 FPromO.

Please note: The disputation is open to members of the university only. Therefore, family members and individuals not affiliated with the university are not permitted to attend.

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 § 10 FPromO. For more information, read our notes on publication.

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 in a certified letter.

The Chair of the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards may, subject to revocation, grant permission to use the doctoral title prior to its official conferral if the dissertation is intended for publication in the book trade and the doctoral candidate provides proof of having concluded a publishing contract or other binding acceptance for publication by the publisher, and all other obligations related to the publication of the dissertation have been fulfilled, in accordance with § 14 (2) sentence 2 APromO.