Doctoral Studies

Promovenden werfen ihre Hüte in die Luft.

We are glad that you have decided to do your doctoral studies at the School of Science. On the following pages, you will find all necessary information for this exciting venture.

Please note that the members of the Doctoral Examinations Offices and the Doctoral Committees are the most important contact persons regarding all questions on Doctoral Studies.

Attention! We introduced a new adminstration software for Doctoral Studies called "Promovendus".

Promovendus

With the online system Promovendus, you can prepare all processes regarding your doctoral studies (e.g. the acceptance as a doctoral candidate or the opening of doctorate proceedings). All application forms for these processes are created there. Promovendus can be reached at any time within and outside the TU Dresden network.

In order to get access to Promovendus, you need a valid ZIH user account. If you do not yet have a ZIH user login at the TU Dresden, your supervising university professor must apply for one in the TU Dresden Self-Service Portal (guest login).

There is a specific solution for doctoral students from the Max Planck Institutes. Please contact the PhD program manager in your institute.

The central contact for all questions and problems with your ZIH user account is the service desk at TU Dresden. For all other technical questions, you may also contact the team of Promovendus.

Admission for a doctorate/ acceptance as a doctoral candidate

The admission for a doctorate is granted on application to the Doctoral Committee of the School of Science according to § 3 of the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree. The Doctoral Committee verifies if all requirements for admissions have been fulfilled.

Please note that, as a first step, you are obliged to sign a supervision agreement (if applicable, also include an appendix if it is an industrial promotion.) with your scientifically responsible professor. Moreover, you are bound to observe the Statutes for Ensuring Good Scientific Practice, Avoiding Scientific Misconduct, and Handling Violations. According to these statutes, all academic staff and all doctoral candidates are obliged to complete at least one training course in digital form or as a face-to-face event on the topic of good scientific practice.

Promovendus generates an application document for the admission as a doctoral candidate, which is to be handed in at the Doctoral Examinations Office of your faculty or at IHI Zittau or DIGS-BB.

In addition to the application document for the admission as doctoral candidate, you also have to hand in the following documents:

legally attested copies of the university degrees and, if needed, translations into German or into Englisch (certificates and transcript of records for Bachelor and Master degrees or comparable degrees)
single copy of the university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur for German candidates)
CV with scientific career, list of publications and signature
copy of the supervision agreement

Stipulations

In case, the admission requirements of the Doctoral Regulations are not fully met, the admission for a doctorate can be bound to certain stipulations, such as the attendance of lectures and/or the passing of additional examinations. These stipulations are set by the Doctoral Committee and are announced to the doctoral candidate with the admission notice for the doctorate.

Matriculation at TU Dresden

We strongly recommend that doctoral candidates enroll at TU Dresden. You can find out about the many benefits of enrollment (e.g. discounts on the Deutschlandticket, MOBIbike and student services) on the website of the Admissions Office. There you will also find the application for enrollment.

International applicants are asked to read the webpages of the International Office for additional information: https://tu-dresden.de/studium/im-studium/beratung-und-service/akademisches-auslandsamt

Applicants are only granted the matriculation for a doctorate at the School of Science, after their doctorate proceedings have been admitted by the Doctorate Committee. For the matriculation, they will need a "Statement of the Faculty." All doctoral candidates registered in PROMOVENDUS therefore use their letter of acceptance.

Opening of the Doctorate Proceedings

For the application for the opening of the doctorate proceedings (with submission of the dissertation), please use Promovendus. There you will receive an application document for the opening of the doctorate proceedings, which you have to submit at the Doctoral Office at your faculty.

Furthermore, you will need the following documents for the application for the opening of the doctorate proceedings, which you can also find in §5 passage 1 of the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree:

CV indicating the candidate's personal details, education and scientific career
Proof of fulfillment of the prerequisites specified in § 3 of the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree (legally attested copies of the certificates and transcript of records for Bachelor and Master degrees or comparable degrees and a simple copy of the university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur for German candidates)) (If your admission / acceptance as a doctoral candidate took place after the introduction of the Promovendus software and you accordingly already generated your admission application at that time using Promovendus, these documents are already available at the doctoral office and do not need to be submitted again).
Four copies of a typed and bound thesis as well as an electronic version of the thesis (CD / DVD), also 15 copies of an abstract (maximum three pages);
A list of the candidate's scientific publications;
A declaration by the candidate stating:
- his confirmation in accordance with Annex 1of the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree;
- where and under whose scientific supervision the thesis was produced;
- where, when, on which topic and with which result any previous unsuccessful doctorate proceedings have been undertaken;
- that the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree are recognized;
A declaration that an application has been submitted to the appropriate registration authorities for a certificate of good conduct in accordance with § 30 para. 5 of the Federal Central Registry Act, which must not be older than three months, to be sent to the School of Science of the Technische Universität Dresden;
Proposals for the assessors, where applicable;
Applications or approvals in accordance with § 8 para. 1 sentence 6 and § 9 para. 1 sentence 6 Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree, where applicable
A written proposal regarding the two subject areas to be examined in the rigorosum and the lecturers who are to examine these subject areas, or an application for replacement of the rigorosum according to §9 para. 6 of the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree.

All documents are to be submitted in written form and must be authorised by the candidate or legally attested. The declarations in accordance with No. 5. a) and b) of the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree are to be added to the end of the thesis on an extra page and incorporated into the binding.

You will find further information in the Regulations for Doctoral Studies and the Regulations for Obtaining a Doctoral Degree. Furthermore, you can find more details in the FAQ box.

Further Links

Further Information of the Faculties

For specific information on the Doctorate Proceedings of your Faculty, click on the respective link below :

Faculty of Biology

Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry

Faculty of Mathematics

Faculty of Physics

Faculty of Psychology

Completion of Doctorate and Alumni Network

Young scientists can register for our alumni network any time on Promovendus. If you do not have a valid ZIH user account, please use the alumni form. The registration is optional.

Moreover, we would like to refer you to TUD's central Alumni Network.