All questions regarding the doctoral studies you may ask the co-ordinator Dr. Corina Dunger. She will give you the right contact if you are not sure whom to ask your special questions. And here we answer recurring questions (FAQ).
Contents
Questions regarding procedure of application for a doctorate
- Until when do I have to hand in my application for a doing a doctorate?
- Whom do I have to send my application?
- Which documents have to be submitted for the application?
- How the application process will continue?
Questions regarding structured doctoral studies
- What does “structured doctoral studies” mean?
- Who compiles the programme for the structured doctoral studies?
- When do you have to register for structured doctoral studies?
- How is it possible to gain the credit points for the substitution of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum)?
- Can publications, lectures and posters also be credited with points?
- When and where do you have to apply for the substitution of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum)?
- How should the application look like?
- How the mark of the structured doctoral studies which will be the substitution of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum) will be calculated?
Further questions
Until when do I have to hand in my application for doing a doctorate?
You can hand in your application at any time. When all formalities (see below) are fulfilled you can start working on your doctorate instantly.
Whom do I have to send my application?
You have two opportunities. If either you already have found a professor, who is willing to supervise you during doctoral studies or if you are interested in participation in a Graduate School please send your application directly to this professor or to the spokesperson of the relevant Graduate School. Applicants who have not yet contact to one of our professors and who want to work on announced topics send their application to the Centre of Advanced Study and Research (Graduierten- und Forschungsakademie). In this case your application will be forwarded to the responsible professor after the documents have been checked regarding completeness, fulfillment of the admission requirements.
Which documents have to be submitted for the application?
If you have already found a professor who will supervise you during your doctorate and with whom you have agreed on a topic please send the following documents to that professor:
- Curriculum vitae
- Officially stamped or notarized copies of degree(s) obtained, in the original language and a corresponding translation in either English, German or French
- Officially stamped or notarized copies of detailed transcripts of records of all courses completed during your studies in the original language and a corresponding translation in either English, German or French
If you want to apply for an announced topic please send your application with the following documents to Dr. Corina Dunger by mail :
- Curriculum vitae
- Officially stamped or notarized copies of degree(s) obtained, in the original language and a corresponding translation in either English, German or French
- Officially stamped or notarized copies of detailed transcripts of records of all courses completed during your studies in the original language and a corresponding translation in either English, German or French
- If available: List of previous scientific and research activities, including publications (about one page)
- Detailed description of the topic of your doctorate project (proposal)
- If necessary: proof of German and/or English language knowledge
- Information about the chosen topic and the code-number of the topic
Please be aware that only if all application documents are complete we can guarantee a processing of the application.
How the application process will continue?
Only if the professor agrees to supervise you please complete the Declaration of Intent and submit it to your supervisor. The professors gives their official confirmation of supervision in the same form.
After that, certificates of higher education which you have obtained will be checked whether the admission requirements for doctoral studies are fulfilled, which means whether the obtained degree is equivalent to a German degree.
If an admission is possible (with or without additional requirements) the supervising professor will submit the “Declaration of Intent” including all application papers to the Faculty Board. The Faculty Board will decide whether the applicant will be admitted for a doctorate or not. The Faculty Board decides on the qualification of the candidate to undertake a doctoral thesis.
If the applicant has got admission to doctoral studies and if a visa (foreign applicants) is not necessary he/she can start with his/her doctoral studies as soon as possible. Future doctoral candidates from abroad who require a visa can now submit an application for admission to their studies on the university portal. The applicants will then receive an admission letter with which they can apply for a visa for Germany with the purpose of doing doctoral studies.
As soon as all formalities are dealt with you can start with your work on your doctorate.
Most important pre-requisite is the clarification of the financial issues.
What does “structured doctoral studies” mean?
Structured doctoral studies are characterized by carrying out a qualification programme additionally to the research on the topic of your doctoral thesis. After successfully finishing the structured doctoral studies the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum) can be substituted on the basis of an application.
Who compiles the programme for the structured doctoral studies?
You can compile your individual programme in consultation with your supervisor in compliance with the rules of the faculty. You have to consider that a minimum number of credit points hase to come from subject-related courses/lectures/modules in which you have passed a graded examination (applies to doctoral candidates in faculties 3 and 5). Furthermore you can get a maximum of 6 credit points for teaching activities.
You can find the regulations of the different faculties here.
When do you have to register for structured doctoral studies?
You do not necessarily have to register for structured doctoral training at the beginning of your doctoral studies, but you can do so at any time until the submission of the doctoral thesis. But you would be on the safe side when you submit an application to the Faculty Board already at the beginning of your doctoral studies in which you suggest (in consultation with your supervisor) courses/modules which you want to use for the substitution of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum). If the Faculty Board has confirmed your suggestion, you would have the right to substitute the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum) in case you fulfilled all requirements.
When you submit the application for the substitution of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum) only at the end of your doctoral studies there is the risk that the Faculty Board can repudiate one or the other academic achievement and thus reject your whole application.
Doctoral candidates in Faculty 3 who complete structured doctoral training can apply for a the substitution of the Rigorosum as soon as they have achieved a minimum number of 15 credit points.
Doctoral candidates from faculties 5 and 6 need a total of 30 credit points. The faculty decides on an application for the substitution of the rigorosum on a case-by-case basis annually (Faculty 5) or at the end of the doctorate, when the doctoral procedure is opened (Faculties 5 and 6).
How is it possible to gain the credit points for the substitution of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum)?
You can find the regulations of the faculties here.
In faculties 3 and 5, attendance at modules, lectures and courses (at the TU BAF or at other universities and research institutions – see the doctoral regulations of the respective faculty) will be recognized for a substitution of the Rigorosum.
You just have to note that according to the doctoral regulations you need at least 4 (Faculty 3) or 6-12 credit points (Faculty 5) from subject-specific courses with graded proof of achievement. When completing modules, the number of points mentioned in the module manual will be awarded if all requirements have been met.
Teaching (lectures, seminars and practical training/laboratory work) can be recognized up to a maximum of 6 credit points.
The prerequisite for the recognition of achievements to substitute the Rigorosum is that the courses/modules attended have not already been completed as part of the degree programme(s) qualifying for a doctorate and that the achievements have been completed within the doctoral studies (between the start of the doctoral studies noted on the “declaration of intent”) or the date of the Faculty Council’s decision on admission to the doctorate and the date of submission of the dissertation).
Can publications, lectures and posters also be credited with points?
Yes, this is possible with limitations. Please note that each faculty can set up its own special regulations for this. Tables for the general calculation of points as well as faculty-specific regulations can be found under the “structured doctoral studies” section.
When and where do you have to apply for the substitution of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum)?
You have different options:
Doctoral candidates from Faculty 3 can – as soon as they have achieved the required 15 credit points – apply for the substitution of the Rigorosum. They have to send this application to the Graduate and Research Academy (Dr. Corina Dunger). If all requirements have been fulfilled a recommendation to accept this application will be submitted to the Faculty Council. However, the decision regarding the recognition of the achievements listed in the application for the substitution of the Rigorosum is made solely by the Faculty Council.
For doctoral candidates in Faculty 3, the application for the substitution of the Rigorosum can also be submitted at the end of the doctorate, simultaneously with the submission of the dissertation and application for the opening of the doctoral process. Doctoral candidates of Faculty 5 can apply annually for the recognition of achievements up to this date, but in Faculty 6, the application for a the substitution of the Rigorosum can only be submitted at the start of the doctoral process.
How should the application look like?
For a better overview, the achievements that are claimed as a substitute for the Rigorosum should be prepared in tabular form. Doctoral candidates from Faculty 3 have to use the appropriate form for this purpose. Please complete only the two left columns of the form and send it electronically to the Graduate and Research Academy (Dr. Corina Dunger). Doctoral candidates from Faculty 5 can also submit an informal application.
The following performances will be recognized at the Faculty 3 for the substitution of the Rigorosum:
- subject-specific knowledge (modules, lectures, special short courses) including or without a graded proof
- interdisciplinary knowledge including or without a graded proof
- additional interdisciplinary qualifications and courses in the field of key competences, soft skills and management
- presentations at national conferences
- presentations at innational conferences
- poster at national conferences
- poster at international conferences
- publikations in national scientific journals
- publikations in innational scientific journals
- book publications (national or international)
- patents
- teaching (seminars/lectures/courses/practical or laboratory work) – with details about the title of the seminar/lecture/course, its duration and the semester in which the seminar/lecture/course took place
- supervision of student theses (Bachelor-, Diploma- or Master thesis) – with the name of the supervised student and the title of the respective thesis
Doctoral candidates in Faculty 5 should seek advice from the Education Officer, Mr Dr. Dirk Renker, or from the Dekanatsrätin, Mrs Dr. Ulrike Mörters, regarding the recognition of specific achievements.
Different regulations apply to Faculty 6 (Regulations of the Faculty of Business Administration – valid from February 9, 2021 and Regulations of the Faculty of Business Administration – valid for doctorates started between August 7, 2017 and February 8, 2021). (Both documents are availlable only in Germna.)
Please specify the approximate percentage of your own contribution to all publications, presentations or poster in which you are not the main author.
If you want to submit the application via GraFA, please enclose copies of all confirming documents (module/lecture/seminar completion certificates, certificates of attendance of courses, proof of presentations given, posters and publications issued, proof of your own teaching activities confirmed by your supervisor and of supervised student qualification work) with your application. Certificates/evidence of graded modules/lectures/courses must be submitted in the original, all other evidence submitted as a (scanned) copy.
How the grade of structured doctoral studies which will be the substitution for the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum) will be calculated?
The following applies to doctoral candidates in Faculties 3 and 5:
The grade for the structured doctoral studies results from the graded examinations from the lectures/courses/modules. If you have attended more than one lecture/course/module and therefore got more than one grade, the arithmetic average is calculated (in Faculty 4 the weighted arithmetic average). This average grade substitutes the grade of the doctoral oral examination (Rigorosum) and is part of the final grade of the doctorate.
In any case please inform about the regulations of the doctoral studies in the „Promotionsordnung“ of your faculty (Regulations for the Award of Doctorates). Paragraph 14 or 15 (depending on the faculty) describes the elements and conditions of the structured doctoral studies.
Doctoral candidates in Faculty 6 do not receive a grade for the substitution of the Rigorosum.
Can or do I need to enrol as a doctoral student at TU Bergakademie Freiberg?
Regarding the regulations for enrolment (Immatrikulationsordnung) of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg every doctoral candidate of our university is allowed to enroll as doctoral student. This fact is independent on whether the doctoral candidate has a position as scientific assistant, is a scholarship holder, or a so-called external doctoral candidate (doctoral studies at our university but position at a company, another university, or research institute), or whether the doctorate is self-financed.
Enrolment as a student is limited to the doctoral period specified in the “Declaration of Intent”. An extension of this period is possible with the consent of the supervisor if the doctoral candidate has a justified reason for it.
However, there is no obligation to enrol.