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Your doctorate at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

Some guidelines

A doctorate consists of two parts:

Doctoral studies

During your doctoral studies, you write your doctoral thesis, a piece of academically noteworthy work. This will first require you to engage in practical and/or theoretical study of a research topic from your field of expertise. You then summarize your work and findings in your written doctoral thesis and discuss every aspect of it.

Doctoral examination procedure

This phase of your doctorate is devoted to assessing and grading your doctoral thesis. Once it has been reviewed and accepted by all the bodies involved, you will be admitted to the oral examination, which has two parts scheduled one after the other. The first is the doctoral colloquium (a public lecture followed by a discussion) and the second is the doctoral defense, where a group of examiners (the doctoral committee) questions you on your research topic.

You will need to find a supervisor to support you through your doctoral studies before you can officially register for them. The faculty’s doctoral degree regulations (§4 (3); see Downloads) will tell you which members of the University can act as your supervisor.

Once you have signed a supervision agreement with the person concerned, you will be able to submit your application for admission to doctoral studies.

Registering for doctoral studies

You will need to submit another application (and a few other documents) when you have completed your doctoral thesis and are looking to register for the doctoral examination procedure.

Registering for the doctoral examination procedure

As soon as your doctoral thesis and oral examination have been deemed to have been passed and given a grade, the faculty’s Doctoral Office will hand you your certificate.

You will only receive the second document, the doctoral diploma, if you have published your doctoral thesis within a year to the day of passing your oral examination and are deemed to have discharged all your other obligations.

The forms for your discharge and publication documents can be obtained from the Doctoral Office.

Doctoral examination procedure

Hier you can find important information about process and organisation of your doctoral examination procedure

Doctoral examination procedure

Downloads

The doctoral degree regulations, all application forms and annexes and important information on doctoral studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences can be found here.

Downloads