Only external students, i.e. students who have not been enrolled before at Ulm University and thus do not have a student ID number, have to register via the platform of the student administration office (Studiensekretariat) prior to the application as a doctoral candidate.

When submitting your application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate, enter your registration number or student ID number in the form if you have obtained your degree certificate at Ulm University.

Hand in your application (in duplicate) together with the doctoral agreement and a certified copy of your degree certificate. Please note that only the issuing university or a municipal or city administration is entitled to certify documents, but not health insurance companies or parish offices. Alternatively, you may submit the certificate to the office for doctoral affairs in person to have the copy of the original certified (for internal purposes at Ulm University).

If you have obtained your doctoral degree abroad, it must be checked whether it is equivalent to a German degree.

Please complete the form for the equivalence review and submit it to the office for doctoral affairs together with the required documents - bachelor's, master's degree certificates and your CV. The documents must be submitted in German or English and as certified copies. Enclose transcripts of records and diploma supplements, if available.

The documents are then forwarded to the admissions office (Zulassungsstelle) for examination. You can also have your qualifications assessed by the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen - ZAB).

The equivalence review of Ulm University is for internal purposes only and may take approx. 3 weeks.

Once all documents have been submitted, the doctoral committee will check whether you fulfil all requirements and then decide on the acceptance as a doctoral candidate. As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete the online form for university statistics. You will receive the access data for this from the office for doctoral affairs. Acceptance as a doctoral candidate may be subject to obligations and/or requirements (see section 7 subsection 4 of the framework regulations for doctoral studies of Ulm University). The examination of the complete application usually takes 1 week.

Doctoral candidates are obliged to enrol for the duration of their doctorate via the student administration office (Studiensekretariat). Doctoral candidates who are mainly employed at Ulm University (at least 50%) may apply for exemption via the office for doctoral affairs.

The ProTrainU academy for young researchers (Nachwuchsakademie ProTrainU) offers further training opportunities and courses on various interdisciplinary qualifications as well as career counselling for doctoral candidates.

The Communication and Information Centre (Kommunikations- und Informationszentrum (kiz)) also offers regular courses (library ) (Bibliothek) specifically for doctoral candidates.

The Publication Management Service Point (Service Point Publikationsmanagement) at the kiz will be happy to answer general questions about academic writing, correct citation and copyright.

Information on the use of gender-sensitive language can be found on the website of the office for gender equality (Gleichstellungsreferat).

In situations of conflicts, especially in the context of your doctoral thesis, you may contact the conflict counselling/ombudspersons (Konfliktberatung/Ombudspersonen) at Ulm University directly.

The Proko Doctoral Convention (Promovierendenkonvent Proko) represents the interests of doctoral candidates at Ulm University.

If you are considering a stay abroad as part of your doctorate, you can obtain information on the pages of the International Office and/or seek personal advice via the contact e-mail.

The doctoral committee does not provide a specific template for the thesis. However, it should formally fulfil the requirements of an academic paper. Please discuss the form of your thesis with your supervisor. For the cover page, however, you may use the template (in German or English) provided by the kiz for the publication of your thesis following the oral examination.

If you no longer wish or are no longer able to pursue your doctoral project, it is possible to terminate the supervisory relationship by mutual agreement without giving reasons (see sample letter).

The examination committee consists of at least 3 members: the examiners and one further member appointed by the doctoral committee. One member of the committee must be a member of the doctoral committee (see section 9 subsection 1 of the doctoral degree regulations Dr. rer. pol.).

According to section 10 subsection 2 of the doctoral degree regulations Dr. rer. pol., the requirements for a cumulative doctoral thesis are in particular: three related articles published - or publishable - in reputable journals, one of which should in general be a single-author paper.

Please enclose co-authorship statements in accordance with section 10 subsection 3 of the doctoral degree regulations Dr. rer. pol. together with your application. There are no definite formal requirements for the statements, however you may use a template in German or English provided by the office for doctoral affairs. Please note that the signatures on the co-authors' statements have to be submitted in the original.

If no article has been written alone, the supervisor should (in accordance with the guidelines of the doctoral committee) explain in a short statement why this was not possible or necessary in this case and that the quality of the doctoral thesis as a whole or the doctoral candidate's overall performance is not impaired by this. This statement is also required if the doctoral candidate submits more than the usual three papers.

The doctoral committee reviews the documents and opens the doctoral examination procedure. The examiners and the other members of the examination committee are then appointed. The doctoral candidate receives notification of the opening of the procedure. The review of the application and the opening of the procedure takes approx. 1 week.

As soon as one examiner has awarded the degree summa cum laude, a third evaluation is required. In general, the supervisor proposes the additional examiner. The doctoral committee checks the proposal and appoints the additional examiner. Please note that the overall grade "excellent" (summa cum laude) can only be awarded following the oral examination if at least one reviewer submits a reasoned proposal for it in their evaluation and each individual grade, which is included in the overall grade in accordance with section 14 of the doctoral degree regulations Dr. rer. pol., is not greater than 1.0.

As soon as all reviews have been submitted to the office for doctoral affairs, the doctoral thesis and evaluations are displayed. Professors and private lecturers of the faculty can inspect them for 10 working days and, if necessary, object to the acceptance of the written doctoral thesis. Doctoral candidates may also view the evaluations during the public display. Please make an appointment with the office for doctoral affairs, as the inspection will only take place on site. You will learn about the start and end of the display period by e-mail in the course of the general announcement of the display.

In the lecture-free periods, there are generally no displays. Exceptions are only possible to a limited extent and under certain conditions. You will find more information about this in the letter you have received from the doctoral committee when the doctoral examination procedure was opened. If you have any questions in this regard, please contact the office for doctoral affairs.

You can now start coordinating the oral examination. The office for doctoral affairs will inform you about the earliest possible date for the oral examination (in accordance with the given deadlines). Now arrange a suitable date with the members of the examination committee (see section 9 subsection 1 of the doctoral degree regulations Dr. rer. pol.) and book a room via the (central) room management. Allow at least half an hour for preparation (checking the equipment etc.). The secretary’s office of the supervising institute can help you with the planning or tell you who you can contact to book a room. Please inform the office for doctoral affairs of the date, time and room of the examination as soon as possible.

Please note that oral examinations are generally not held during lecture-free periods.

In duly justified exceptional cases, an oral examination may be held online or in hybrid form. The decision on this is made by the examination committee (see section 9 subsection 1 of the doctoral degree regulations Dr. rer. pol.).

It is advisable to contact the Publication Management Service Point in good time regarding the publication of your dissertation. If necessary, you may clarify formal aspects before the oral examination. Please use the template in German or English as a cover sheet for the version of your dissertation intended for publication.

Once the display of the doctoral thesis and the evaluations has been closed and no objections have been made, the doctoral committee decides on the acceptance of the doctoral thesis. The decision takes approx. 1 week.

The oral examination will take approx. 1.5 hours. Doctoral candidates first present their thesis (approx. 30 minutes), followed by the defence. At the end of the oral examination, the examinee will receive a provisional certificate stating the overall grade. The certificate is valid for 1 year.

The title Dr. rer. pol. may only be used after the award or handing over of the certificate.

The certificate can be collected from the office for doctoral affairs or the dean's office. Please make an appointment for this. You will be informed in good time about award ceremonies.

As a rule, doctoral degree certificates are not sent by post, as secure delivery by post - including registered mail - cannot be guaranteed. As there is just one original certificate, only a duplicate can be issued for a fee in the event of loss.

However, if you confirm in an informal letter with your original signature by post that you accept the risks of delivery by post, the certificate will be sent to you by registered mail with return receipt.

You can also have the certificate fetched by an authorised person. The person should be able to identify themselves and present an informal authorisation signed by you to collect the certificate.