FAQ
Doctoral Admission
The doctoral degree is the research-oriented deepening or supplementation of an already completed university degree with the aim of making an independent contribution to research and thus acquiring an increased ability to argue scientific arguments. In principle, the doctoral degree consists of the independent preparation of a doctoral thesis (which usually consists of several essays) and an oral examination. The doctoral degree is awarded upon successful completion and publication of the doctoral thesis.
The procedure of a doctoral procedure is laid down across all faculties in the FAU Framework Doctoral Regulations (RPromO).
In addition to the Framework Doctoral Degree Regulations (RPromO), the various faculties and departments have their own Doctoral Degree Regulations (FPromO).
The FPromO of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Society (WiSo) can be found on our website under “Documents and Services” and on the website of the Graduate Center of FAU.
Note: since 01.07.2024, a new framework doctoral degree regulation has been in force at FAU with the following significant changes (for an explanation, see the Graduate Center website):
-The cover page of the cover, or the cover of the dissertation, must be designed in accordance with the FAU corporate design. Templates can be found here.
-From now on, expert reports and co-authors’ declarations can be signed using an advanced electronic signature (§§ 11, 12).
-The summary of the dissertation should emphasize the independent research work of the doctoral candidate (§ 11, para. 5, p. 2).
If you are interested in a doctoral degree at our department, you must:
1. have found a first reviewer (usually a professor in our department). Unfortunately, we cannot help you find a first reviewer.
2. fulfil the formal requirements stipulated by the Framework Doctoral Regulations (FAU) and the Faculty Doctoral Regulations (WiSo):
o Master’s, state examination, Diplom or Magister at a university or university of applied sciences in an economics and social science programme
o Final grade of 2.5 or better
o At least 50 ECTS credits in economics and social sciences, whereby 20 ECTS credits can also be recognised from other disciplines relevant to the doctoral topic. If the necessary ECTS points cannot be proven, the prospective student can be admitted on condition that the missing ECTS points are made up.
As soon as you have found a first , please register in DocDaten.
At the end of the online registration process, you will receive the “Application for admission to doctoral studies – Dr. rer. pol.”, which you should sign and submit to the doctoral office together with the following documents (each as a PDF).
1. Curriculum vitae;
2. Copy of a valid identity document;
3. Proof of university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur);
4. Proof and certificates of your university degrees (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees);
5. Proof of a proper course of study (e.g. transcript of records).
After a positive review and processing, you will receive a letter of admission from us with a copy to your reviewer.
We will contact you if we have any questions or if we need additional documents from you.
The title of the thesis remains a working title until submission and is only finally entered in DocDaten by the doctoral office when you submit your thesis (opening of proceedings).
When registering in DocDaten, please be sure to enter your e-mail address and a cell phone number so that we can contact you if necessary. Please keep your contact details up to date during the entire doctoral procedure and let us know of any changes.
If you have any further questions, please refer to our FAQs or contact the team in the doctoral office.
Yes, the copies are sufficient in most cases. However, it may happen that we need a short personal copy of the original. In this case, the doctoral office will contact you.
For this purpose, we refer to the page of the Rechenzentrum.
Login IdM-Portal: https://www.rrze.fau.de/infocenter/kontakt-hilfe/idm/#collapse_0
Instructions for activating your IdM account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqB3hvWDz0U
The Graduate Center provides support services in all aspects of doctoral degrees and coordinates all structured doctoral degree programs at the institutional level.
Here you will also find answers to general questions about the doctoral procedure.
If you have any further questions, please contact the doctoral office of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Society (WiSo).
Supervision
Unfortunately, we cannot help you find a supervisor.
To find a suitable chair for your research focus, please refer to the chairs of the institutes.
For the first meeting with your reviewer, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the checklist for good practice in the supervision and implementation of qualification theses (Checkliste zur guten Praxis der Betreuung und Durchführung von Qualifizierungsarbeiten).
Further information and documents can also be found on our Website under “Supervision” and in the FAQs.
You can apply for admission to the doctoral degree Dr.rer.pol. at our department under the following conditions:
1. you have found a supervisor (usually a professor in our department).
2. you fulfil the formal requirements specified by the Doctoral Regulations (FAU) and the Faculty Doctoral Regulations (WiSo):
o Master’s, state examination, Diplom or Magister at a university or university of applied sciences in an economics and social science programme
o Final grade of 2.5 or better
o At least 50 ECTS credits in economics and social sciences, whereby 20 ECTS credits can also be recognised from other disciplines relevant to the doctoral topic. If the necessary ECTS points cannot be proven, the prospective student can be admitted on condition that the missing ECTS points are made up.
Please contact the doctoral office if you have any questions regarding the constellation of reviewers.
External reviewers must be approved in advance by the doctoral affairs committee; submission / opening of the doctoral procedure is only possible on the following PST. In this case, please contact us approx. 6 months before your planned submission.
The “Application for an external second supervisor” (document under “Supervision” is submitted by the first reviewer and must be submitted to the doctoral office at least 2 weeks before the meeting of the Doctoral affairs Committee (PST).
The doctoral candidate or first reviewer must contact the second reviewer in good time with reference to the GAT deadline for submission of the review!
The second reviewer must be determined before the dissertation is submitted and the doctoral office must be informed by the deadline for the submission/opening of the doctoral procedure at the latest.
If necessary, further reviewers can also be appointed by the doctoral office or doctoral affairs committee.
If you have any questions about the assessment constellation, please contact the doctoral office.
Twice a year, we organize a Zoom information event on the topic of doctoral procedures, to which we automatically invite all active doctoral candidates and inform them via our website. After registering, you will receive a confirmation and the Zoom link. You are welcome to attend more than once.
To ensure you get an invitation, please keep your contact addresses at DocDaten up to date.
Support is also available from the FAU doctoral student representatives, where you will also find the in University elections elected representatives for the department at WiSo: (https://blogs.fau.de/proko/; Email: promovierendenkonvent@fau.de.
In addition, the doctoral office will of course be pleased to answer any questions you may have and, if necessary and in consultation with you, will pass on your concerns to the current acting liaison professor.
The premature termination of the doctoral project must be announced to all those involved in the specific doctoral project in accordance with RPromO.
After you have informed your first reviewer, please submit your premature termination to the doctoral office using the correct form, which you can find on the website under “Documents and Services – Supervision”.
You will then receive a confirmation with a copy to your first reviewer.
Doctoral thesis
There are various service points at FAU and other organizations that offer you advice and support.
On our website you will find a selection of links for further information under “Tips for scientific working“.
The formal components of the dissertation are regulated in accordance with the Framework Doctoral Degree Regulations, e.g.
-Title of the dissertation (if in English also German title);
-Approx. 2-page summary (if in English also in German);
-table of contents;
-number of pages;
-bibliography and other aids
Please be sure to use the current (!) template “Title page” for the dissertation (see website under “Opening of the doctoral procedure“);
The cover page/binding (Deckblatt) of the dissertation must be designed according to the FAU Corporate Design guidelines (Contact: brand@fau.de). Templates can be found here.
Proofreader’s version of your dissertation as a print copy: 1 x copy in print version, double-sided with adhesive binding (no ring binding) for the doctoral office; if necessary, additional print copies in consultation with the reviewers.
Please coordinate any other formal components that are not regulated directly with your first reviewer.
The distinction between cumulative and essay-based dissertations is purely legal. If you submit a dissertation with at least two papers already published, it is legally a cumulative dissertation. Otherwise, it is an essay-based one. Operationally, however, this has no impact, as both types are handled in the same way. It is therefore irrelevant that “cumulative” instead of “essay-based” is stored in DocDaten.
It must contain at least three articles (German / English articles mixed possible), at least one of which must be written by a single author. In addition, at least two of the articles should have the potential to be published in a high-ranking peer-reviewed journal, preferably at an international level.
For each essay the following informations must be visible:
What? (Working Paper Nr. X)
Where? (published)
When? (published)
Who? (Name of all (Co-) Authors)
These informations must be given in a separate page in the beginning of your essay, or in the first footnote.
With your signature in the document “Application for completion (in German)” you confirm that you are in line with the scientific regulations. Furthermore the oral exam via video conference is regulated there.
The FAU handout contains a passage on students (III.1.), which also contains information on writing dissertations: Students are not bound by the AGO. They are free to choose the form of gendering in presentations, examinations, term papers and publications. In particular, the use of special characters to express diversity-friendly language must not have any consequences for the assessment of examination results. This also applies to theses and dissertations.
Geschlechtersensible Sprache – Büro für Gender und Diversity (fau.de)
For further questions, please reach out to gender-und-diversity@fau.de or your first supervisor.
The declaration of co-authors must be signed by all co-authors involved and submitted to the first reviewer for each article. The declaration is part of the documents that you must upload as a PDF to DocDaten by the submission deadline / opening of the doctoral procedure.
So far, this is a working title. The final title of the dissertation will be entered in DocDaten by the doctoral office after submission of your dissertation.
If this has been agreed in writing with your first reviewer, you can write your dissertation in English. Please note that your dissertation must still contain a German title and a German summary.
Once the doctoral affairs committee (PST) has confirmed the grades, you can publish.
Further information and contacts for publication can be found on our website under “Publication (completion)” and in the FAQs.
If you have any legal questions on the subject of copyright, please contact the legal advisor for legal issues relating to copyright, open access and research data management: Ms. Petra Heermann, Tel. 09131 85-23920; e-mail petra.heermann@fau.de or ub-tb02ju@fau.de
Website for doctoral rights at Erlangen University Library: https://ub.fau.de/ub-coach/rechtsfragen/promotionsrecht/
Submission of the doctoral thesis – Opening of the doctoral procedure
Please coordinate your submission date in advance with your first reviewer – with reference to the review submission date (GAT) -, check your documents for completeness (e.g. “Declaration of co-authors” if essay-based), and arrange an appointment with the doctoral office approx. 2-3 months before submission for your electronic “opening of the doctoral procedure” in DocDaten.
At this point at the latest, please inform us of your second review (note: in the case of an external second review, please notify the doctoral office at least 6 months before submission).
You can find the PhD collection dates (PST) and the documents required for the submission here under “Opening of the doctoral procedure“.
The successful completion of the doctoral program is confirmed by your first reviewer on page 3) of the application to open the doctoral procedure. You should submit the certificates to your first reviewer. In total, the program includes modules worth a total of 30 ECTS. How exactly you obtain these, whether through seminars, lectures, conferences or similar, will be agreed with your first reviewer, as this is regulated differently depending on the institute.
The PhD collection dates (PST) and required documents can be found under “Documents and Services – Opening of the doctoral procedure”.
Further information can also be found at “Doctoral degree – Doctoral Procedure” and in the doctoral regulations here.
You have already agreed on a date ( please note the PST doctoral deadlines!) for the electronic submission of your dissertation (opening of the procedure) approx. 2-3 months in advance and informed us of your second reviewer (if you have an external second reviewer, please contact the doctoral office approx. 6 months before submission ).
Please proceed as follows on the agreed date (in the morning):
- Upload each as a pdf document to doctoral office : 1. Dissertation incl. title page -for the “non published version”, 2. curriculum vitae, 3. list of publications, 4. declaration of co-authors (if essay-based)
- by email to the doctoral office: Message for upload and “Application for opening the doctoral procedure” (signed by you and the firstreviewer).
and afterwards, after 2 weeks at the latest …
- by (in-house) post or in person after making an appointment:
Dispatch/submission of documents in paper form as well as 1 x A4 of your dissertation in print version (perfect binding; printed on both sides)
We will send you a confirmation (with a copy to your reviewers) once we have received, checked and successfully opened your case;
Please coordinate the handing over of the dissertation (option: electronic/print version) directly with your supervisors.
When the procedure is opened, the final title of your dissertation is determined and adopted by the doctoral office at DocDaten;
Please check the data you have entered (contact, dissertation title, etc.) and be sure to inform us in good time of any (deadline) changes.
The third examiner is assigned by the office of doctoral affairs and may not belong to the same institute as the first reviewer or second reviewer.
Once the first reviewer has agreed a date with the supervisors involved and all reviews (GAT) have been received, you will receive your disputation date from the doctoral office with an invitation in the so-called “big letter” at least one week before your disputation, including written grades and the name of the third examiner. You then send your dissertation to the third examiner by email as a pdf document.
The third examiner is appointed by the doctoral office and may not belong to the same institute as the first reviewer or second reviewer.
Further information on the oral examination (disputation) can be found here.
After coordinating the date with the supervisors involved by the first reviewer and the receipt of all reviews (GAT), you will receive your disputation date including written grades and the name of the third examiner with your invitation (so-called “big letter”) from the doctoral office at least one week before your disputation.
You then send your dissertation to the third examiner by email as a pdf document.
The organization and implementation of the disputation is carried out by the first reviewer.
In addition to the content, please also agree on the technical details (e.g. zoom link for video conference; room).
With your signature on the “Application for the opening of the doctoral examination procedure” you agree, among other things, to a possible “digital oral examination”. Further information can be found here under “Digital oral examination”.
Two thirds of your grade consists of the average grade of the dissertation and one third of the grade of the disputation. If there is an intermediate grade that lies in the middle between two grades (1.5; 2.5; 3.5), the better grade applies.
We will send you the certificate (German and English) by post to your contact address entered in DocDaten (please make sure you check this!).
Please note: the English certificate is only valid in conjunction with the signed German certificate.
Once all obligations of the doctoral candidate have been fulfilled, the doctorate is completed by handing over the doctoral certificate.
Only after receipt of the doctoral certificate does the doctoral candidate have the right to use the doctoral title.
Publication
We will send you the doctoral degree certificate (German and English) by post to your contact address entered in DocDaten (please check if necessary!).
Note: the English doctoral degree certificate is only valid in conjunction with the signed German doctoral degree certificate.
For essay-based theses: Please remember to add an embargo note to your thesis if parts of essay-based dissertations are still in the review process. Send this blocking notice, signed by you and the first reviewer, to the doctoral office . After the doctoral office has signed it, you can forward the application directly to the library.
We will send you the doctoral degree certificate (German and English) by post to your contact address entered in DocDaten (please check if necessary!).
Please note: the English doctoral degree certificate is only valid in conjunction with the signed German doctoral degree certificate.
Once all obligations of the doctoral candidate have been fulfilled, the doctorate is completed by handing over the doctoral certificate.
Only after receipt of the doctoral certificate does the doctoral candidate have the right to use the doctoral title.