Admission, Enrolment & More

There are various ways to start a doctorate:

Is there a subject you would like to study in more depth? Are you passionate about a particular topic?

With an individual doctoral programme, you choose the topic yourself. Once you have found a topic, you can explore it in depth. Get active! Start reading up on it. Begin researching the literature, talking to experts and reviewing research projects — for example, by using our research database and the publication lists of potential supervisors at our university. Gradually, you will narrow down the topic area. You will discover gaps in the research that you can use to formulate initial research questions. You will then start to think about how you could answer these questions and, step by step, develop an idea for a doctoral project.

Another option is to pursue a doctorate as part of a structured doctoral programme. At the University of Education Freiburg, doctoral candidates conduct research together, for example in research and junior research collegia or junior research groups, which provide a content-related and organisational framework for various specified subprojects. Depending on the programme's call for applications, you can apply for the associated doctoral projects. Subject area examination, literature research and doctoral project planning within the framework of the pre-structured subproject mainly take place after admission to the programme. Whether your doctoral studies are financed through teacher secondment, a scholarship or as an academic/research assistant depends on the resources available to the research group. 

A doctorate at the University of Education Freiburg requires two or more supervisors, known as the doctoral committee. The main supervisor must be a professor, private lecturer or a associate professor, and must be a member of the faculty at the University of Education Freiburg that is to conduct the doctoral procedure. The other supervisor may be employed at another university with the right to award doctorates. University lecturers and lecturers at universities of applied sciences without the right to award doctorates themselves may participate in doctoral committees with the same rights and obligations as other members of the committee, provided they are associated with the relevant faculty. Further information can be found in the University of Education Freiburg's doctoral regulations § 4 (3) and the association statutes.

To find a supervisor with the appropriate expertise for your doctoral project, you can search the University of Education Freiburg's research database, consult the publication lists or visit the institutes' web pages of individual departments. Once you have found a potential supervisor, contact them with a brief summary of your proposed project.

In structured doctoral programmes (e.g. research and junior research colleges), the subproject leaders usually form the doctoral committee.

• To the Doctoral Regulations of the University of Education Freiburg (English version)
• To the First Amendment to the Doctoral Regulations (only available in German)
• To the Association Statutes (only available in German)
• To the First Amendment to the Association Statutes (only available in German)
• To the Application for Association of a professor at a university of applied sciences (only available in German)

Regardless of whether you are pursuing an individual doctorate or a doctorate as part of a research group, the first formal step is to check whether you meet the admission requirements for a doctorate. This is determined by the dean of the relevant faculty upon request.

• Faculty of Education: Prof. Dr. Andreas Köpfer (Vice Dean)
• Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences: Prof. Dr. Anne Steiner (Vice Dean)
• Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology: Prof. Dr. Jens Friedrich (Vice Dean)

As a rule, admission to a doctoral programme is granted to those who have completed 1. a master's degree program or 2. a degree program at a university, University of Education, college of arts or music with a standard period of study of at least four years or 3. a postgraduate degree program at a university, University of Education or other higher education institution with the right to award doctorates with above-average examination results (see Doctoral Regulations § 5).

The application for review of the admission requirements for doctoral studies must be submitted to the relevant dean's office together with the required certified documents. Applications can be submitted at any time. If you have a degree from a university abroad, please refer to the instructions for  submitting certificates for foreign degrees.

Particularly qualified graduates who do not meet the above requirements may be eligible for doctoral studies by completing an aptitude assessment procedure. Details can be found in the doctoral regulations § 5 (2).

► Application for review of admission requirements for doctoral studies [PDF]

► Information on Submitting certificates for degrees from universities abroad [PDF]

If a professor from a university of applied sciences (without its own right to award doctorates) is involved as a supervisor in the doctoral committee, please note that the professor must be associated with the relevant faculty in order to take on the supervision with the same rights and obligations. The association must take place before the application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate.

• Application for association (for the supervisor) 

The doctoral agreement, also known as the supervision agreement, is intended to ensure the continuous support and guidance of the doctoral candidate in his or her doctoral project. It is intended to make the relationship between doctoral candidates and supervisors transparent in terms of content and time. The tasks and duties of supervisors and doctoral candidates should be formulated by mutual agreement. The doctoral agreement should also specify whether the dissertation is intended to be a monograph or a publication-based dissertation. In the latter case, the doctoral agreement also specifies the publication strategy, usually including the number, type, subject areas, and authorship of the publications relevant to the examination. Information on publication-based doctoral studies in teaching and learning research can be found below.

The sample doctoral agreement comprises the minimum contents of an agreement (Doctoral Regulations § 7 para. 3) and can or should be supplemented by subject- or case-specific regulations.

The cooperation between supervisors and doctoral candidates, as structured by the doctoral agreement, should be organized independently so that the project can be completed to a high standard within a reasonable period of time. The doctoral agreement must be submitted to the relevant dean's office immediately after signing. It valid is subject to acceptance as a doctoral candidate by the faculty concerned. The master data sheet, which contains information on university entrance qualifications, previous course of study, and doctoral project, must be submitted as an attachment to the doctoral agreement.

► To Sample Doctoral Agreement [DOCX]

► To Master Data Sheet [PDF]

► To Notes on publication-based doctoral studies in teaching and learning research [PDF]

Once you have received notification that you meet the admission requirements for doctoral studies and have submitted the doctoral agreement along with your master data sheet, you can apply for acceptance as a doctoral candidate at the relevant faculty. To do this, you must submit a research proposal. This should summarise your research question(s) and the state of research in this area, as well as your own preliminary work or involvement in a larger project. It should also include the sub-goals or work steps, the methodology and work programme, a work and time schedule with milestones, details of any necessary resources, and a corresponding bibliography. In addition to the research proposal, a number of other documents are required, including a certificate of good conduct and a curriculum vitae.

The relevant faculty's doctoral committee (consisting of faculty council members with doctoral degrees) decides on the acceptance of doctoral candidates during faculty council meetings. These usually take place three to four times per semester (usually not during the semester break). Dates for faculty council meetings can usually be found on the websites of Faculties I, II and III. Dates and submission deadlines can also be obtained from the faculty secretariats. Information on admission as a doctoral candidate and the required documents can be found in the doctoral regulations, §7.

► Application for acceptance as doctoral candidate [PDF]

► Research Proposal template [PDF]

Once you have been accepted as a doctoral candidate by the relevant faculty, you must immediately submit your application for enrolment as a doctoral candidate to the Registrars Office at the University of Education Freiburg. This does not apply to doctoral candidates who work full-time at the University of Education Freiburg, provided that they declare in writing to the Rectorate that they do not wish to enrol. For subsequent semesters, re-registration must take place within the re-registration period, which is announced publicly by the university. If full-time employment at the University of Education Freiburg is terminated, immediate enrolment is also required. The enrolment requirement remains in effect until the doctoral thesis defence. Further information on enrolment and exemption can be found in the University of Education Freiburg's admission and enrolment regulations.

The contact person for the enrolment of doctoral students at the Registrar's Office is Ms. Nicole Seiter, KG 2 Room 022, Tel.: 0761 682-490 | Email: nicole.seiter(at)ph-freiburg.de

►  Sample enrolment waiver letter [DOC]

► To Registrars Office

► To Admission and matriculation regulations of the University of Education Freiburg

Doctoral candidate status is granted upon acceptance as a doctoral candidate and lasts for four years, until the defence of the doctoral thesis. If the four-year period is insufficient to complete the doctoral examinations, an extension to this status may be requested from the relevant faculty, supported by the doctoral committee, in justified cases.

► To Application for extension of doctoral candidate status [PDF]

Once the monograph or publication-based dissertation has been completed, an application for admission to the examination can be submitted to the relevant dean. This must be accompanied by four bound copies of the dissertation, a digital version in PDF format, and the declarations specified in § 9(2) of the doctoral regulations.

• Application for admission to the examination [PDF]

The Dean will notify you in writing of the decision regarding your admission to the examination. The review process will then begin, consisting of a review of the dissertation by the reviewers (maximum three months) and a four-week display period. If a third opinion is required, the assessment procedure may take an additional three to four months. The assessment of the dissertation concludes with a written notification of acceptance, requirements for changes, or rejection.

This also marks the end of the enrolment requirement (see § 7 (2) of the Admission and Enrolment Regulations). However, enrolment can be continued if desired until the doctoral certificate is awarded.

• Admission and Enrolment Regulations
• Registrars Office with information on registration and enrolment

Once the dissertation has been accepted, the next step is an oral examination in the form of a public defence at the University of Education Freiburg (see Section 11 of the doctoral regulations). For this purpose, the dean will appoint an examination board consisting of four people: one member of the doctoral committee to act as chair; the two reviewers of the dissertation; and a fourth person from among the university's teaching staff. The doctoral candidate may suggest names for this fourth person.

The dean then sets a date for the oral examination in agreement with all parties involved.

The oral defence lasts approximately 90 minutes. Of this time, 20–30 minutes are reserved for presenting the doctoral project, and the rest is devoted to an in-depth academic discussion.

Upon passing the oral defence, a written notification of the result of the completed doctoral examination is issued.

The final step before the doctoral certificate can be awarded is the publication of the dissertation within one year in accordance with Section 13 of the Doctoral Regulations. There are several ways to comply with the publication requirement. These include providing proof of publication in a specialist journal, submitting a publishing contract or publishing via open access, for example on the OPUS-PHFR university publication server. One advantage of publishing your dissertation on OPUS-PHFR is that the service is free and your research results will be accessible worldwide quickly.

The number of additional deposit copies to be submitted to the faculty varies between one and three printed copies (plus the original, if the dissertation has been revised for publication), depending on the publication method chosen. In addition, the digital final version of the dissertation must be submitted.

• More information from the library on Publishing the dissertation on OPUS-PHFR
• More information on Open Access

The contact person in the library is Anette Hauer, hauer(at)ph-freiburg.de

Once your dissertation has been published within the specified period, there is nothing standing in the way of receiving your doctoral certificate. Please contact the relevant dean's office to find out how and where the certificate will be presented.

When you have received your doctoral certificate, the process is complete. From this point onwards, you are legally entitled to use your well-earned doctoral title: Dr. phil or Dr. paed. Congratulations!

At the same time, your enrolment entitlement also ends. Anyone who was still enrolled at the time of presentation must now deregister (Section 7(2) of the Admission and Enrolment Regulations).

• Admission and Enrolment Regulations
• Registrars Office with information on registration and enrolment

If you decide to pursue an academic career, the next stage on the path to a professorship is the postdoc phase. Here you will find further information on the academic career path.