A doctorate is characterized by
"independent and original research that contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the respective field. [...] The doctoral phase is about deepening independent scholarly work. Learning good scientific practice, by contrast, is part of undergraduate and master's studies [...]".
(German Council of Science and Humanities 2011: Anforderungen an die Qualitätssicherung der Promotion – Positionspapier des Wissenschaftsrates, p. 8)
A doctorate consists of a written component and an oral component: the dissertation and the defense (Disputation).
Dissertation: At the doctoral centers, you earn your doctorate either with a monograph or cumulatively. A monograph is a coherent, ‘large’ piece of scholarly work. A cumulative dissertation consists of several closely related publications in internationally recognized journals and a framing text (Manteltext) that connects the publications.
Defense (Disputation): In the oral examination, the dissertation is presented to a broad audience and defended before a doctoral examination committee. Some universities also hold a Rigorosum. This is an examination that goes beyond the doctoral thesis and also tests content from the degree program. The doctoral centers do not hold a Rigorosum.
Immediately after the defense, candidates receive their overall grade, which is made up of the grade for the dissertation and the grade for the defense. The doctoral procedure is thereby complete. However, in order to use the doctoral title, the dissertation must first be published. At the doctoral centers, dissertations can be published online with open access.
Since 2021, the four universities Anhalt, Harz, Magdeburg-Stendal and Merseburg have had the independent right to award doctorates. What makes this special: the UAS offer a practice-oriented doctorate with a strong research focus and individual supervision. The inter-university doctoral centers pool the expertise of several universities and offer interdisciplinary networks. This creates an attractive environment for doctoral candidates who want to conduct research that is both academically sound and application-oriented, and it promotes quality assurance as well as the production of high-quality dissertations.
A doctorate is the first and central step toward a professorship at a UAS in Saxony-Anhalt. In addition, professional experience in practice and pedagogical competence are equally important components of the qualification profile. You can find the specific requirements in § 35 of the Higher Education Act of Saxony-Anhalt (Hochschulgesetz des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt; as of 2025).
At Harz University of Applied Sciences, you can only follow an individual doctoral path. This means that you plan and carry out your doctorate individually with your supervisor. There are currently no structured doctoral programs, i.e. doctoral degree programs, at the university.
You can do your doctorate at Harz University of Applied Sciences in two ways:
The duration of a doctorate varies depending on the field and personal circumstances.
Roughly speaking, a doctorate takes 4.5 to 5 years on average. With a scholarship and the ability to work on the doctoral thesis full-time, it can also take as little as 3 years. For doctorates that have to be combined with another job, the doctoral period is longer. Doing a doctorate alongside a job is a challenge that should not be underestimated – a doctorate is also a job in itself, and it is hard to manage alongside a full-time job.
Depending on the field in which one earns the doctorate, the doctoral titles differ in name. This makes the field immediately recognizable. The following doctoral titles are awarded at the doctoral centers in Saxony-Anhalt:
At the UAS in Saxony-Anhalt, you can choose between two forms of dissertation:
You choose the form of the dissertation in consultation with your supervisor. Please observe the doctoral regulations of the respective doctoral centers.
The UAS offer a wide range of events to support you during your doctorate, including:
Qualification program: The program gives UAS doctoral candidates in Saxony-Anhalt the opportunity to acquire key skills for an academic career – interdisciplinary, practice-oriented and networking-focused. Participation is free of charge. You can apply for educational leave (Bildungsfreistellung) for the events if your employer is based in Saxony-Anhalt.
Doctoral candidates of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (OvGU) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) can also take part in the events – just as UAS doctoral candidates can use the OvGU offerings and MLU offerings free of charge.
You can find our current program here: Qualification offerings of Harz University of Applied Sciences.
Colloquia: Colloquia give doctoral candidates of the doctoral centers the opportunity to present and critically reflect on their own research. They are a good opportunity for networking and exchange with other doctoral candidates and professors.
Harz University of Applied Sciences supports women on their academic career path, placing particular emphasis on networking, mentoring and career support. Within the framework of FEM POWER VISION (2024–2027), women, especially in STEM fields, are supported through mentoring with experienced women as well as networking and career offerings. The FEM POWER connect format also offers female staff opportunities for exchange and mutual support.
The Equal Opportunities Office also supports women in planning their academic career path and offers confidential counseling in cases of disadvantage and discrimination. The university explicitly pursues the goal of increasing the proportion of women along the entire career path – from studies through the doctorate to the habilitation.
For female doctoral candidates, this means: the university supports their academic careers in particular through women-specific networking, mentoring and career offerings, financial support for research projects, and equality-related counseling and support.
Information on the counseling and support services of Harz University of Applied Sciences and on the contact persons can be found on the page Accessibility.
A doctorate can be financed in various ways, depending on your individual starting situation, academic discipline and the thematic focus of the doctoral project:
1. Doctorate alongside a job
A doctorate alongside employment requires a high degree of self-organization and long-term discipline. This model appears particularly suitable when there is a thematic overlap between professional practice and the research question, for example in applied research or with practice-oriented dissertation topics.
2. Employment at a university
A classic option is employment as a research associate (wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in) in a fixed-term position at a university, UAS or research institution. Such positions combine research with other duties (e.g. teaching) and offer structural and institutional integration into the academic environment.
3. Third-party-funded or doctoral positions
Doctoral positions funded by third-party funds (e.g. DFG, EU funding programs) within specific research projects offer a targeted, project-bound way of doing a doctorate. The prerequisite is usually a thematic fit with the advertised topic as well as a willingness to work in the project team.
4. Securing your own research funding
Ambitious doctoral candidates can take the initiative to secure funding, e.g. from the German Research Foundation (DFG) or the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This requires a convincingly developed research concept, an institutional affiliation and, where applicable, international cooperation partners.
5. Scholarship programs
Scholarships are a key pillar of funding and enable largely independent academic work. Options include, among others:
A comprehensive overview of possible funding is provided by the portal www.mystipendium.de.
In Germany, doing a doctorate at state universities, universities of applied sciences (UAS) and research institutions is generally free of charge. However, there are a number of costs that may arise in addition to living expenses, including
1. Semester fees
At Harz University of Applied Sciences, enrollment is mandatory for doctoral candidates who have been admitted to a doctoral center; cooperative doctoral candidates can enroll voluntarily. It offers a number of advantages, e.g. access to the university library, a semester ticket or discounts in the cafeteria. Here you will find information and the application for enrollment.
2. Specialist literature and data access (optional)
The purchase of specialist books, journals or databases may be necessary if full access is not available through the university library. Registering with other libraries, e.g. free of charge with the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin), is also an option.
3. Printing and publication of the dissertation
Depending on the doctoral regulations, the printed dissertation must be submitted and published after a successful defense. This may involve printing costs (depending on the length and number of copies), publisher fees or open-access fees for journal articles. At Harz University of Applied Sciences, a grant for publication costs can be applied for in the case of cumulative doctorates (see item 5).
4. Examination fees (in exceptional cases for cooperative doctoral candidates)
The doctoral centers do not charge examination fees, but some universities do. Cooperative doctoral candidates should consult the doctoral regulations of the respective university.
5. Conference and travel costs (optional)
Harz University of Applied Sciences can subsidize travel costs for conferences with your own contribution (e.g. a talk or poster) and for qualification seminars (conference fees, travel and accommodation costs). For cumulative doctorates, a grant of up to €500 toward publication costs can also be applied for. Doctoral candidates in a doctoral center of the four universities or in a cooperative procedure are eligible to apply. There is no entitlement to funding. The application must be submitted to the Advisor for Early-Career Researcher Support with the supervisor's approval before the costs are incurred and at the latest one week before the trip or after the publication has been accepted. You can find details in the Guidelines for the Distribution of Grants and on the page Financing your doctorate.
No, employment at the university is not automatic. (--> How can I finance my doctorate?)
Important prerequisites for a doctorate include
If you are unsure whether a doctorate is right for you, you can take this self-assessment . The self-assessment was developed by Academics in cooperation with Heidelberg University and can be used after free registration with Academics.
At Harz University of Applied Sciences, you can receive advice from Dr. Carolin Haupt, Advisor for Early-Career Researcher Support (chaupt(at)hs-harz.de, tel. +49 3943 659 189). You can book a consultation appointment via the online form.
If you find that you are motivated to do a doctorate, you need a topic and a suitable supervisor (--> Supervision of the doctorate). Rarely will a supervisor assign you a topic, since it should be a topic you are passionate about and want to work on for years. Usually, the topic arises from your professional or academic everyday life. Once you have a topic, have read up on the current state of research and have prepared a short research outline, you can approach potential supervisors.
Perhaps you already have good contacts with a suitable professor who would like to supervise you and with whom you can easily develop a topic together.
If you have a master's degree or an equivalent degree, you can pursue a doctoral title. The doctoral center in which you want to do your doctorate must match your degree.
In special exceptional cases, bachelor's graduates may also be admitted to a doctorate after an aptitude assessment procedure (Eignungsfeststellungsverfahren). A FH-Diplom (diploma from a university of applied sciences) is recognized nationwide as equivalent to a bachelor's degree.
Feel free to book a consultation appointment if you are unsure whether your degree is suitable.
In principle, family and a doctorate can be reconciled if motivation for the dissertation is high and the general conditions suit your individual situation.
Information on the offerings of Harz University of Applied Sciences for reconciling family and studies or work (e.g. counseling, childcare, parent-child room) as well as the contact persons can be found on the page Family at Harz University of Applied Sciences.
Yes. A doctorate alongside employment requires a high degree of self-organization and long-term discipline. This model appears particularly suitable when there is a thematic overlap between professional practice and the research question, for example in applied research or with practice-oriented dissertation topics.
No. Colloquia for doctoral candidates take place in person at the doctoral centers and are announced well in advance. We strongly recommend that doctoral candidates attend the colloquia and contribute to them.
The interdisciplinary qualification offerings, e.g. workshops on publishing in academic journals, often take place online.
If you were admitted to the doctoral center with conditions and have to make up courses at the university (or want to take courses voluntarily), living close to the university would be practical.
You can start your doctorate directly after completing your studies. General work experience is not necessary. However, work experience in academia can be an advantage, e.g. because you will then already have a better idea of how research and universities work, and because you may already be in contact with your potential supervisor.
In principle, you can do a doctorate with any master's degree or with a degree equivalent to a master's. This also applies to foreign degrees, which are checked for equivalence to the German master's degree. The degree must be subject-relevant, i.e. it must fit the doctoral center and your chosen topic.
In special exceptional cases, graduates with a bachelor's degree may also be admitted to a doctorate after an aptitude assessment procedure (Eignungsfeststellungsverfahren). A FH-Diplom (diploma from a university of applied sciences) is recognized nationwide as equivalent to a bachelor's degree.
If you are unsure whether your degree is suitable, send an email with your certificates, diplomas and, if applicable, transcripts to the Advisor for Early-Career Researcher Support at Harz University of Applied Sciences for an initial assessment. The final decision on whether your degree is suitable, however, is made by the doctoral committee after you have submitted an application for admission.
If your diplomas and certificates were not issued in German, please attach officially certified German translations to your application for admission as a doctoral candidate.
If you did not complete your degrees at a German university, please attach to your application for admission as a doctoral candidate a copy of the grading system of the respective university.
When assessing the equivalence of foreign certificates, the evaluations of the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) at the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder are used.
Additionally to be submitted for a doctorate at the Doctoral Center Social, Health and Economic Sciences (SGW):
For international applicants, proof of sufficient language skills in the language of the dissertation must be provided. Proof is provided by
There is no difference between the doctoral title you receive at a university and at a UAS.
The four UAS in Saxony-Anhalt are distinguished by:
- a separation of supervision and assessment,
- individual supervision, and
- qualification offerings and colloquia for doctoral candidates.
The advisors for early-career researcher support at the universities will be happy to advise you on site.
At Harz University of Applied Sciences, you can receive advice from Dr. Carolin Haupt, Advisor for Early-Career Researcher Support (Room 2.004, Building 2, Wernigerode; tel. +49 3943 659 189).
Arrange a consultation appointment.
A failed doctoral procedure does not in principle rule out a new doctorate. However, the doctoral centers must examine individually whether renewed admission is possible. It is recommended to contact the relevant doctoral center early in order to clarify the options.
The central contact persons are the advisors of the doctoral centers. You can find the appropriate contact person on the websites of the doctoral centers. Please note that, for the two inter-university doctoral centers, there is a different coordinating person at each university.
If you are doing or want to do a doctorate, it is best to address your inquiry directly to the advisor at the university where your (potential) supervisor is based.
A good first step is to look at the websites of the individual doctoral centers. There you will find information on the professors who are members of the respective center – including their research areas. This gives you a first impression of which thematic focuses are set and whether they might fit your doctoral project.
The doctoral center should fit your degree and your doctoral topic in terms of subject. (Incidentally, your doctoral topic should also fit your degree.)
You could look into doctoral opportunities at other universities. As a law graduate, for example, you could not be admitted to the Doctoral Center Social, Health and Economic Sciences. People with a psychology degree, on the other hand, can be admitted to the doctoral center, since there are professors in the doctoral center who teach psychology.
If your degree is close to the field of the doctoral center, you may, after individual assessment, be admitted as a doctoral candidate. Admission on the basis of proven prior academic achievements is possible, but may lead to conditions (i.e. usually making up courses) and requires a lengthy aptitude assessment procedure, at the end of which it is determined whether one is admitted and which conditions must be fulfilled during the doctorate.
Doctoral Center Engineering Sciences and Information Technologies (IWIT): You will find the documents and forms to be submitted in the checklist and under “Documents” on the website Downloads Doctoral Center IWIT. When preparing your application for admission, it is best to book a consultation appointment in order to discuss the application beforehand. The doctoral committee, which decides on your application for admission, usually meets once a month. The application must be received in full by Dr. Carolin Haupt at the latest four weeks before the meeting date: if you are supervised at Harz University of Applied Sciences, first send the documents digitally as individual PDF files to promotion@hs-harz.de for a preliminary check; submit them by post (Hochschule Harz, attn. Dr. Carolin Haupt, Friedrichstraße 57–59, 38855 Wernigerode) only after receiving positive feedback.
Doctoral Center Social, Health and Economic Sciences: You will find the documents to be submitted in the checklist and under “Documents” on the website Downloads Doctoral Center SGW. All application forms for admission can also be downloaded there. Sometimes other documents are needed. When preparing your application for admission, it is best to book a consultation appointment in order to discuss the application beforehand. The doctoral committee, which decides on your application for admission, usually meets once a month. You can find the current meeting dates here.
The most time-consuming parts are certainly the exposé for your doctoral project and obtaining the certified copies of bachelor's and master's certificates and diplomas (or certified translations in the case of non-German certificates).
You can submit the documents to the university's Advisor for Early-Career Researcher Support at any time, by email and by post. Provided the application is complete, it will be discussed at the next possible meeting of the doctoral committee. For this, it should be received at least four weeks before the meeting. After the preliminary check, the originals with handwritten signatures must be submitted by post.
The exposé sets out in writing the doctoral project to be undertaken. It should consist of the topic proposal, the state of research, the aims and contribution of the work together with a description of the approach and the intended methods, as well as the resource and time planning approved by the supervisors, together with a statement of the language in which the dissertation is to be written.
What the exposé should look like in detail is regulated individually by each doctoral center. On the websites of the doctoral centers you will find templates and guidance for preparing the exposé. For the doctoral centers of Harz University of Applied Sciences: Exposé requirements (SGW) and Exposé template (IWIT).
Yes. For doctoral candidates who have been admitted to a doctoral center in Saxony-Anhalt or who receive state graduate funding (Landesgraduiertenförderung), enrollment at Harz University of Applied Sciences is mandatory for the duration of membership or funding. Cooperative doctoral candidates of Harz University of Applied Sciences can enroll voluntarily as doctoral students.
Enrollment is done through the Harz University. You can find the enrollment application and a list of the required documents here: Enrolment and re-registration for doctoral candidates. Send the application with an original signature and the required documents by post to Dr. Carolin Haupt, Advisor for Early-Career Researcher Support.
Five years after your admission, the doctoral committee can revoke the supervision commitment; you are then no longer a doctoral candidate at the doctoral center. Before the five-year period expires, you should contact the advisor of the doctoral center.
In the case of parental leave, maternity protection, illness and similar circumstances, the doctoral committee may not refuse to extend the doctoral period.
Admission to a doctoral center and enrollment at the university have no effect on your health insurance status. Which form of health insurance is suitable for you depends on your circumstances (e.g. age, employment) and should be clarified individually with your health insurance provider.
The doctoral regulations do not oblige doctoral candidates to attend conferences. However, in order to exchange ideas with a specialist audience and to prepare for your defense, it is advisable to present your research at conferences. If your supervisor expects this of you, you should clarify the funding with them and record the conference attendance in the supervision agreement in a binding way.
The colloquia of the doctoral centers serve academic exchange with other doctoral candidates and professors. They are a good opportunity to practice presenting your own work in progress to a specialist audience. In addition, they offer opportunities for networking with other doctoral candidates and professors.
If you work at a university or a research institution, attending academic events is normally part of your working time.
There is no general obligation to grant release for academic events with employers outside academia. In many cases, participation can be made possible through vacation, flexible working hours or compensatory time off. It is best to talk to your employer early on in order to find individual solutions.
If you want to take part in events of the qualification program for doctoral candidates of our four universities of applied sciences in Saxony-Anhalt and your employer is based in Saxony-Anhalt, you can apply to your employer for educational leave (Bildungsfreistellung) . In Saxony-Anhalt, all employees are entitled to five days of this paid special leave per year. For educational leave, you can contact Dr. Carolin Haupt (Advisor for Early-Career Researcher Support, chaupt(at)hs-harz.de).
There are several ways to network with other doctoral candidates during your doctorate at a UAS in Saxony-Anhalt, e.g.
1. Doctoral centers and your universities
You can network both through your doctoral center, via colloquia and doctoral candidate meetings, and through your university, e.g. at “Never Stop (Re)Searching” and at doctoral candidate meetings of the university. You will be invited to such events.
Taking part in events of the qualification program for doctoral candidates Qualification offerings of Harz University of Applied Sciences is also a good opportunity for networking. These events are announced on the website and in the newsletter (subscribe) .
In addition, elected doctoral candidate representatives at the doctoral centers and at the universities advocate for the interests of doctoral candidates and are often the first point of contact for questions, exchange and contacts among doctoral candidates.
Find out about existing offerings and contact persons on your university's website: Doctorate and academic early-career support
2. Networking through the universities
Graduate centers of the cooperating universities (e.g. in Halle or Magdeburg) offer workshops, conferences and networking meetings that are also open to doctoral candidates at UAS. These events are a good opportunity to make contacts.
3. Nationwide networks
There are several networks that promote exchange among doctoral candidates, including THESIS e.V. (network for doctoral candidates and doctorate holders – also with regional groups).
The reasons for an interruption can be varied and are very individual. The decisive question is whether, for a certain period, you really do not want to work on your doctoral project at all. If so, it might make sense to report an interruption. However, if you still continue to work on your doctorate from time to time during your break, it might be advantageous to slow down the doctoral process but not to interrupt it officially.
If you are thinking about interrupting your doctorate, make use of the opportunity for counseling so that you can make the best decision for your individual case. Online form for counseling
If you decide to abandon your doctorate, you must report the discontinuation to your advisor using the notification of change form (form) and, if applicable, de-register from the Office for Student Affairs of Harz University of Applied Sciences. If applicable, also check your scholarship or employment contract for possible consequences.
You can seek a doctoral procedure again at any time, but the discontinuation may raise questions about the reasons, which you should state for a new doctoral project.
Both in the doctoral centers and at the universities there are doctoral candidate representations that represent the interests of doctoral candidates in the various bodies and are available to doctoral candidates as contact persons.
At our universities, doctorates are always supervised by professors.
If you want to do your doctorate as a member of a doctoral center, only professors who are members of the doctoral center can be considered as supervisors. You can find these members on the website of the respective doctoral center.
Whether a second supervisor is also required differs between the doctoral centers. Professors who are not members of the doctoral center can also act as second supervisors. You can read in the relevant doctoral regulations who qualifies as a second supervisor.
If you already have a supervisor at the university who is not a member of a doctoral center, you can still look for a first supervisor in a doctoral center.
Alternatively, a cooperative doctorate could be an option for you. In that case, your supervisor would be the second supervisor; the first supervision is taken on by a professor at a university. Ideally, you or your supervisor at the UAS should have contacts at a university. In individual cases, the university may nevertheless reject the second supervision by your UAS professor.
You have to approach a professor on your own initiative. Ideally, the person already knows you and you have made a very good impression on them, whether during your studies or at a conference.
If the potential supervisor does not know you yet, it is best to send an inquiry requesting an (online) meeting, together with your CV and a short research outline presenting your doctoral idea. The doctoral idea should fit the research interests of the person you are approaching. In the first conversation, you talk about your topic and sound out each other's expectations. If you find that your expectations differ too much, consider whether you really want to do your doctorate with this person.
In general, it is advisable to have a first and a second supervisor in order to draw on more knowledge and experience. The second supervisor enriches your work on the doctorate because they contribute perspectives and resources different from those of your first supervisor.
Doctoral Center Social, Health and Economic Sciences: You only need one supervisor, but a second supervisor is recommended. You can read in the doctoral regulations, § 8 para. 2, which persons qualify as a second supervisor. You do not have to have the second supervisor at the start of your doctorate; you can also apply for one from the doctoral committee after your admission as a doctoral candidate at the doctoral center. In doing so, you should clarify beforehand the expectations of everyone involved and how you can deal with it if the supervisors have different opinions.
Doctoral Center Engineering Sciences and Information Technologies (IWIT): The first supervisor must be a member of the doctoral center. A second supervisor is mandatory; they do not have to be a member of the doctoral center (§ 8 doctoral regulations). Supervision and assessment of the dissertation must be carried out by different persons.
In the case of cooperative doctorates, i.e. doctorates that do not run through the doctoral centers but through a university, your second supervisor is at the UAS and the first supervisor at the university. In that case, the doctoral regulations of the respective faculty apply, so supervision is also regulated there. The second supervisor at the UAS must be formally confirmed by the university.
If you are doing your doctorate at a doctoral center, the first supervisor must be a member of the doctoral center. The second supervisor can be from other universities of applied sciences or universities. Who may act as second supervisor can be found in detail in the respective doctoral regulations.
The supervision agreement sets out the legal framework for your doctorate and ensures that all parties know their rights and obligations. It defines the expectations of you and of your supervisor regarding the supervision arrangements, such as the frequency and form of meetings.
By providing a structured framework for supervision, the supervision agreement contributes to the quality assurance of your doctorate and serves as a reference point for assessing your progress and goals during the doctorate.
Therefore, make sure that the provisions in your supervision agreement are so precise that, from your perspective, they form a good basis for a successful supervisory relationship.
If your supervisor retires, they can continue to supervise you.
If the supervisor can no longer continue to supervise you, e.g. due to illness or death, the doctoral committee will endeavor to assign you another supervisor from the doctoral center.
In justified cases, the doctoral committee can appoint additional supervisors in the course of the doctorate, in particular in cases where the supervisor can no longer fulfill the supervision. You can also apply for a complete change of supervision.
If continued supervision is impossible, the doctoral committee will look for a new supervisor among the professorial members of the doctoral center. In cases of conflict, all parties involved can submit a statement beforehand.
In the case of disagreements and conflicts with your supervisor, you have several options:
Direct conversation: First try to discuss the problem directly with your supervisor. Misunderstandings can often be cleared up through open communication.
Seek advice, find allies: If the conversation with your supervisor is not successful, you can look for allies in your department, e.g. doctoral candidate representatives. You can also get confidential advice and go through options with your advisor for early-career researcher support, with the Equal Opportunities Officer or with the ombudspersons for good scientific practice (Prof. Dr. Alena Bleicher, Prof. Dr. Robert Nadler) or the person of trust for academic staff (Dr. Matilde Sophie Groß).
The supervision agreement of the doctoral centers provides for involving an impartial third party in cases of conflict who can mediate between the supervisor and the doctoral candidate. A solution can be, for example, to adjust the arrangements in the supervision agreement.
Last resort – change of supervisor: In extreme cases, you can apply for a change of supervisor. The doctoral center will then endeavor to assign you a new supervisor. Document all conversations and incidents so that you have evidence of the conflict if needed.
Your dissertation is assessed by the doctoral committee on the basis of at least two expert reports. At least one reviewer must be a member of the doctoral center; at least one further reviewer must be external, i.e. neither a member of the doctoral center nor of the supervising university.
The defense is assessed by the appointed doctoral examination committee, which also includes the reviewers and the supervisor(s).
The doctoral examination committee calculates the overall grade from the assessment of the dissertation and the result of the defense.
Doctoral Center Engineering Sciences and Information Technologies (IWIT): After a successful defense, doctoral candidates must publish their dissertation within one year; on application, the doctoral committee can extend this by up to one year in justified cases (§ 21 doctoral regulations). A cumulative dissertation requires at least three scholarly papers.
Doctoral Center SGW: After the doctoral procedure, doctoral candidates must publish their dissertation within two years. Otherwise, the doctoral regulations contain no obligation for doctoral candidates to publish academic papers during the doctoral phase – unless they are doing a cumulative doctorate.
If your supervisor nevertheless insists that you, for example, write a conference paper or contribute to a book chapter, this should be recorded in writing in the supervision agreement. Publishing academically during the doctoral period is a good opportunity to gain experience and to position yourself for an academic career.
There is no regulation on this. You can plan and decide this in consultation with your supervisor, but should, if possible, not yet publish any articles for your cumulative dissertation before you have been admitted as a doctoral candidate at the doctoral center.
In the doctoral centers, the articles must be published in internationally recognized journals. This means
Doctoral Center Engineering Sciences and Information Technologies (IWIT): According to the doctoral regulations, a cumulative doctorate requires at least three scholarly papers in peer-reviewed, internationally recognized journals; for at least two of them, you must have made the greatest contribution. Whether a journal is suitable is assessed on the basis of journal rankings and/or impact factors (§ 2 para. 3 doctoral regulations).
Doctoral Center Social, Health and Economic Sciences: For a cumulative doctorate, the doctoral regulations require that publications have been published in, or accepted for publication in, peer-reviewed, internationally recognized journals.
The doctoral committee decides that all academic journals listed in the
Journals that are not listed in the above indexes but demonstrably reflect other relevant parameters for obtaining the status of a peer-reviewed, internationally recognized journal for the purpose of a cumulative doctorate must be approved by the doctoral committee.
Doctoral Center Engineering Sciences and Information Technologies (IWIT): The doctoral regulations provide that parts of the dissertation may be published in advance; a statement to this effect must be included in the dissertation (§ 7 para. 4 doctoral regulations).
Doctoral Center Social, Health and Economic Sciences: At the SGW Doctoral Center, ideally only one contribution to the cumulative dissertation should have been published before admission as a doctoral candidate. It should be at most one year old at the time of admission and ideally have been published together with the supervisor.