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  1. Home
  2. Your goal
  3. PhD
  4. Find your PhD position

Find your PhD place in Germany

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Before you start your search ...

Before you start your search you should choose between the different PhD models:

  • Individual doctorate or
  • Structured PhD programmes

Find your individual doctorate

Two young researchers are sitting on a lab desk listening to a standing professor and taking notes. The professor holds a molecular model in his hands.

©Thinkstock

The "traditional" or "individual" path to a PhD remains the most common in Germany. An individual doctorate involves a thesis or dissertation that is produced under the supervision of one professor. This form of PhD study offers a great deal of flexibility, but demands a high degree of personal initiative and responsibility.

In Germany there is no central admissions or selection office for doctoral students. Therefore, your first step is to find a suitable professor who is willing to be your supervisor.

One way to find a supervisor is to look for a university institute that matches your area of research. The following online search engines might help you find a suitable supervisor:

  • GERiT – German Research Institutions
    GERiT is a website containing information on approximately 25,000 research institutions in Germany. GERiT allows the user to search easily by location or subject. It provides all the information needed to choose an institution at which to research, study or do a doctorate.
    www.gerit.org
  • Finding a PhD position
    PhDGermany publishes PhD openings in Germany that specifically target international applicants. Accordingly, in most cases the working language is English. Fluent knowledge of German is only required for certain special positions. PhDGermany helps you find the right PhD opening or supervisor for your doctoral thesis and assists you with the online application process.
    www.phdgermany.de
  • Higher Education Compass 
    This database provides up-to-date information from universities about doctoral opportunities in Germany. The search engine enables you to carry out targeted searches on the basis of departments, admission requirements and form of doctoral thesis.
    www.hochschulkompass.de

Furthermore, your contacts with your professors or previous university could help direct you to a suitable department or potential supervisor in Germany.

It is also helpful to attend academic conferences in your own subject area. There you will be able to exchange information and make contacts ­– and perhaps even find a future PhD supervisor.

Once you have decided on a potential supervisor, you have to apply directly to the professor in question. Here are some useful tips that may help you succeed in your application:

  • Invest a lot of time and effort in your search for the right supervisor.
  • Demonstrate your interest: show that you know the potential supervisor’s research field and you know what to expect. 
  • Give details of your own experience in this research field.
  • Give explicit reasons why you would like this professor to supervise your thesis.
  • Make your motives clear. It is important to show where your interest lies in your very first contact.
  • Choose the subject of your thesis in a way that fits in with the academic orientation of your supervisor.
  • Show that you are well-informed: you know the requirements for a doctorate in Germany.
  • In your covering letter you should be brief and precise.

In your application, you should provide information regarding your prior academic achievement, the topic of your master’s thesis and the subject area in which you wish to specialise. Your application should also include a well thought-out proposal for your doctoral thesis.

What you need to bear in mind when submitting your research proposal:

  • Be precise: say exactly why you are writing and what your research project is.
  • Give precise details of what your research involves – and what it doesn’t involve.
  • Explain what you want to discover in your research, what problem you would like to solve.
  • Focus on your research topic and do not get lost in sideshows.
  • Develop a coherent and convincing argument in favour of your research project.
  • Don’t get tied up in minor details.
  • Don’t forget to mention the most important works in your research area.
  • Make sure your grammar and spelling are correct.

After you have found a professor willing to act as your supervisor, the responsible department or doctoral committee must then confirm your eligibility as a doctoral candidate. At some universities, candidates have to apply for admission to the doctoral examination at this stage.

Although it is not always necessary, it can be advantageous for international students to enrol as a doctoral student even when they have opted for a traditional individual doctorate. The prerequisite for this is admission to the doctoral studies programme.

You may need to present proof that you have passed the relevant German language examination. The International Office at the respective university can provide more details. The doctoral regulations on departmental websites also provide information about requirements.

Find your structured PhD programme

Students are sitting in a modern study hall on red chairs at grey desks.

©Ausserhofer/Himsel/DAAD

Structured PhD programmes in Germany are frequently very similar to the PhD programmes in English-speaking countries, in which a team of supervisors look after a group of doctoral students. Around 10,000 international doctoral students – roughly one in four – do their PhDs in structured programmes. As a rule, it is possible to complete a doctorate in three to five years.

There is no central database of all structured PhD programmes in Germany. You can usually find these programmes directly through the respective universities, graduate schools or non-university research institutions. The DAAD database is also a good place to look. Here you will find a large number of PhD programmes that are specially aimed at international doctoral students.

International doctoral programme database
Are you interested in an international doctoral programme in Germany? This German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) database presents a selection of roughly 250 international doctoral programmes in Germany. The database can be searched according to different criteria. 
www.daad.de/international-programmes 

Doctoral programmes at universities
Many universities offer structured doctoral programmes, which they publicise on their websites. The Student Advisory Service or Graduate Centre at the respective university will also provide help here. You can find the relevant addresses using the Higher Education Compass provided by the German Rectors’ Conference.
www.higher-education-compass.de
 

Graduate schools and research training groups

DFG-funded research training groups
Research training groups are also funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) for a period of up to nine years. Their key emphasis is on the qualification of doctoral researchers within the framework of a focused research programme and a structured training strategy.
www.dfg.de > Current Research Training Groups

Helmholtz Research Schools, Colleges and Graduate Schools
The Helmholtz Association is Germany’s largest scientific organisation. In collaboration with various institutions of higher education, Helmholtz Association research centres have established structured PhD programmes under the auspices of Helmholtz Graduate Schools, Helmholtz Research Schools and Colleges. 
www.helmholtz.de > PhD Candidates 

Leibniz Graduate Schools
The Leibniz Association connects almost 100 research institutes that conduct problem-oriented research and provide scientific infrastructure of national and international importance. Together with universities they run structured PhD programmes in Leibniz Graduate Schools.
www.leibniz-association.eu > Leibniz Graduate Schools

International Max Planck Research Schools
The Max Planck Society specialises in innovative basic research and its institutes are able to offer up-and-coming researchers excellent infrastructure and support. The website lists the programmes available at International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). 
www.mpg.de > International Max Planck Research Schools

Max Planck Schools
In Germany, the best researchers in a specific field are often work at different universities and non-university research institutions spread throughout the country. The Max Planck Schools serve as hubs which gather this distributed knowledge. Here, the brightest minds in their fields have come together from within the scientific community to interconnect in faculties made up of active researchers. Students gain access to these unique networks, learn in close personal exchange from leaders in their fields and their peers, and enjoy access to outstanding infrastructure. Currently, three Schools are operating in the fields of Cognition, Matter to Life, and Photonics.
www.maxplanckschools.de

Application procedures differ from programme to programme. The precise requirements and deadlines can be found on the website of the respective university, research training group or graduate school. You should therefore first choose a PhD programme and/or graduate school.

When making your selection, you should focus on the following questions: Do the programme, the institution and the environment suit my doctoral proposal? What are the requirements? What is expected of doctoral students?

Once you have found a PhD programme, you should invest sufficient time and care in preparing your application. In some cases, there are application deadlines for admission to programmes. It is therefore advisable to begin looking for a suitable programme in good time before graduation.

Multistage application procedure

For your application to be successful, your planned doctoral thesis must fit in with the main emphases of the programme and you will need a good or very good degree that is recognised in Germany. Initial contacts are usually made over the Internet.

The application procedure itself often involves a number of different stages, but differs from programme to programme.

  • Generally, however, as a first step you will need to submit a curriculum vitae, a copy of your degree certificate, a brief description of your doctoral research proposal and a letter outlining the reasons for your application.
  • The second step, usually on request, involves a detailed application with a comprehensive exposé of the research project. This includes details of your time schedule, references from previous professors, copies of all certificates and your thesis and, possibly, proof of language proficiency.
  • If these documents win over the admissions committee, the applicant is usually invited to a personal interview, which can under certain circumstances also be held as a telephone conference.

When you have found a suitable programme, submit an application to one of the professors in the PhD programme or to the appropriate selection committee – depending on the programme or call for proposals. Here are some useful tips that may help you succeed in your application:

  • Invest a lot of time and effort in your search for the right programme.
  • Choose your thesis topic in a way that fits in with the programme. Graduate schools are more broadly based in terms of subject matter and work in an interdisciplinary way. Nevertheless, your thesis must fit in with their specific fields of research.
  • Make your motives clear. It is important to show where your interest lies in your very first contact.
  • Demonstrate your interest: show that you know the doctoral programme and you know what to expect.
  • Give details of your own experience in this research field.
  • Show that you are well-informed: you know the requirements for a doctorate in Germany.
  • In your covering letter you should be brief and precise.

In your application, you should provide information regarding your prior academic achievement, the topic of your master’s thesis and the subject area in which you wish to specialise. 

You should explain your reason for applying, describe your research project and possibly submit a position paper for your planned doctoral thesis. In some cases you will already be expected to know what you would like to do in your thesis and produce a research proposal on the subject.

What you need to bear in mind when submitting your research proposal:

  • Be precise: say exactly why you are writing and what your research project is.
  • Give precise details of what your research involves – and what it does not involve.
  • What do you want to discover in your research? Which problem would you like to solve?
  • Focus on your research topic and do not get lost in sideshows.
  • Develop a coherent and convincing argument in favour of your research project.
  • Don’t get tied up in minor details.
  • Don’t forget to mention the most important works in your research area.
  • Make sure your grammar and spelling are correct.

Find a job

We help you navigate through the large number of job portals that specialise in openings for academics and scientists. These are some of the sites that may get you started.

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A researcher using the Nano-Spintronic-Cluster-Tool in the Peter Gruenberg Institut (PGI) for the research of Electronic Properties (PGI-6) in the Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (fz Juelich)
© DAAD / Volker Lannert
The cover of the brochure "Doing a PhD in Germany". It depicts a graduation cap and a diploma. On the bottom left there is the logo of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. On the bottom right is the logo of "Research in Germany"

Check out our brochure

Doing a PhD in Germany (2019, 40 pages)

This booklet for (prospective) international doctoral students presents the different options for doing a doctorate in Germany. It explains the formal requirements and gives some practical advice on finding the right supervisor or doctoral programme. It also outlines different sponsorship and funding options.

Download (PDF, 2 MB)
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