Forms and administrative (from 2023 on)
ATTENTION: This information is only valid for doctoral candidates who registered after 01.01.2023.
Note that for all legal purposes, solely the German version of the document shall be considered binding.
Doctoral Regulations and User Regulations
The framework conditions for a doctorate are defined by the doctoral regulations. The module manual is an appendix to the doctoral regulations
The doctoral committee of the Department of Physics is responsible for queries regarding the doctoral regulations.
The general conditions of the Graduate School are regulated in the
Registration for doctoral studies
The doctoral studies must be registered at the beginning. Simultaneously with the registration, all doctoral students are admitted to the Dortmund Graduateschool of Physics. Various documents must be submitted for registration:
- Completed and signed registration form (in German).
- As an attachment to the registration form: Tabular curriculum vitae (Word-Template)
- As an attachment to the application form: Proof of university entrance qualification (usually: high school diploma)
- As an attachment to the application form: Admission requirement for the doctoral program (usually: Master's degree certificate)
- If applicable and as an attachment to the registration form: Declaration of further doctoral studies
- Completed and signed Supervision Agreement
- As an attachment to the supervision agreement: project outline
Students who have obtained their master's degree from a university abroad must submit additional documents and undergo a preliminary assessment for admission. The required documents are outlined in the guidelines for international students.
Please send the documents in an email to the Graduate School.
It is obligatory to enroll as doctoral student at the TU Dortmund University within 6 weeks after registering for the doctoral program.
During the doctoral studies
Interim reports on the progress of the PhD must be completed every 12 months. Please also refer to the explanations on the progress of a doctorate. For the interim report, use the template
- completed and signed interim report
- student certificates about the reporting period
Please send the reports via email to the Graduate School in a timely manner.
During the doctoral studies, students must accumulate 30 CreditPoints. The rules for this are clarified in the module handbook (annex to the doctoral regulations, see above). Please pay attention, that there are two mandatory modules (module on good scientific practice and training in the field of equal opportunities), which should be compelted at the beginning of the doctoral studies.
Extension of the doctoral studies
Enrollment lock after 3 years: According to §1(9) of the enrollment regulations of the TU Dortmund University, enrollment for the purpose of doctoral studies is initially limited to three years. Extensions are made by the Student Registration Office. For this purpose, you will need a certificate to dissolve the enrollment lock.
You will receive this certificate from the Physics Dean's Office. Please write an informal application with the original enrollment date and the name of the first supervisor. Send this information as an email to the Graduate School. With the certificate you can apply for an extension of your doctoral studies for additional 2 years.
Enrollment lock after 5 years: If the doctoral period exceeds a total of 5 years, you can apply for a further resolution of the enrollment lock. For information on this, please write to the Dean's Office via email to the Graduate School.
Submission of the doctoral thesis
When the submission of the doctoral thesis is due, this is formally the application for acceptance of the thesis. The following documents must be submitted for this purpose. Note that several documents are in German only:
- Completed and signed application form for acceptance of the dissertation
- Digital version of the dissertation
Please upload it under Sciebo and send the corresponding link address as a separate Sciebo link (Please do not add a folder or other documents) - Abstract of the dissertation in German and English (max. 1DINA4 page each)
- Current curriculum vitae in tabular form
- Signed affidavit
- Signed data management declaration
- Master's certificate
- Current study certificates of the doctoral year
- Completed and signed structured doctoral program form.
Please send the documents in one email to the Graduate School.
Additionally: 3 printed copies at the latest 14 days before the defense as well as the digital version on a storage medium (USB stick).
The printed copies must be submitted at a later date and in any case by mail. The copies must be submitted to the Dean's Office at least two weeks before the oral doctoral examination, otherwise no examination will be possible.
Attention: The registration or the submission is only considered to have taken place when (except for the printed copies) ALL SUBMISSIONS have been received electronically by the Dean's Office COMPLETELY and IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE PROMOTIONAL REGULATIONS. You will receive a confirmation email with the submission date.
Doctoral examination (defense):
After submission, the examination board will be nominated. Please contact Professor Hiller directly after receiving the confirmation email. Professor Hiller will then inform you of the committee members. Then arrange an examination date with the appointed committee members. Please notify the Graduate School administration of the exam date and exam committee members immediately via an email to the Graduate School. We will make a room reservation for the exam and send the official invitation one week before the exam date.
Attention: please note that according to the doctoral regulations, reviews can take up to 6 weeks (and an additional 6 weeks for third party reviews). The doctoral examination can take place no earlier than 4 weeks after the submission of the reviews.
ONLINE Access: To provide online access to the exam, please create a zoom room. The exam can be streamed from your laptop, but the exam committee chair must have host privileges. TU members can access the link via Moodle. External listeners are welcome to watch the lecture online. Create a list of the names (clear names) and e-mail addresses of the external listeners. They will receive the link together with the necessary data protection information from the Graduate School.
Please email the Graduate School at least 3 working days before the exam with the access data for the Zoom room, which will be set up by you, and the list of external listeners.