Step-By-Step Guide to Applications: PhD programmes
High-quality education and excellent research insitutions make Baden-Württemberg an ideal location to pursue your postgraduate career. About 20 % of Germany´s research and development capacity is concentrated here in the Southwest. Internationally renowned universities and research facilities provide prime conditions for applied research, technology transfer and scientific networking.
If you are interested in a doctorate / PhD, follow our step-by-step guide on how you go about applying for admission. There are basically two ways of gaining a doctorate in Germany which will be described in the following.
1. Structured PhD-Programmes
Structured PhD-programmes or IPP´s (International Postgraduate Programmes) are a fairly recent development in German higher education.
In total, Germany's universities currently offer around 360 programmes, of which around 130 have an international focus. They offer doctoral students the following advantages:
- Flexible admission for foreign applicants, e.g. graduates holding a Bachelor's degree
- English largely used in courses and everyday work
- Team-based doctorate, frequently involving joint research projects which ensures that a constant process of exchange takes place with other doctoral students and supervisors
Consult the Quick links in the grey column to find out more about structured doctoral programmes.
2. Independent Research under supervision of a "Doktorvater" or "Doktormutter"
Germany does not traditionally have a system of Graduate Schools, Graduate Centres or Graduate Colleges that support and guide students to their doctorate in a structured programme; nor is there a binding curriculum that needs to be completed during the doctoral phase. The production of a doctoral thesis or dissertation is the core element of the doctorate. Students agree their topic with a supervising professor and then produce a thesis or dissertation as a piece of independent research work.
Step-By-Step Guide: Independent Research under Supervision
Step One: Finding a supervisor
It is important to know that there is no central admissions or selection office for doctoral students. The decision is made solely by the accepting university, with the academic supervisor playing the key role.
You may already know the professor’s name from a publication relevant to your field. You can then look up his/her contact details in an external search engine or on the website of the tertiary education institution in Baden-Württemberg. Go onto the homepage of the relevant institution, look up your field of interest and contact the head of department listed.
- In some cases the Dean’s office (Dekanat) can help as can the office of international affairs or even the counselling office.
Step Two: Contact your future supervisor
Contact your future supervisor by E-Mail or formal letter and provide him/her with the following information:
- A brief description of your field and topic of interest
- A short review of the relevant experience you have in this field
- Your curriculum vitae (résumé or profile)
- letters of recommendation better your chances
Important notes for PhD-candidates
- You can write your thesis in English, provided your Supervisor agrees. If you decide to write in German you will need to have passed the DSH (German language test) or TestDaF (German language test).
- Your university degree has to be recognised as being equivalent to a German degree. You can do this by simply sending a copy of your degree certificate to the dean of the relevant faculty. He/she will then send you a written assessment of its equivelant in Germany.
- Before admittance you will be asked to prepare a piece of scientific research which could vary between 50 – 100 pages (depending on the subject),as sometimes you may also be required to take a written or oral test.
- You will need a student visa (not a tourist visa)
At present, practically all doctoral programmes in Germany are tuition-free.
Consult the Quick links in the grey column to find out more about structured doctoral programmes.
