Doctoral Degree

Before you can begin your research, you must submit an application for admission as a doctoral student.

A requirement for admission as a doctoral student is a degree in a subject related to your doctoral subject from a German university, completed with a grade of at least “satisfactory” (typically a Master’s, Diplom, or Staatsexamen).

Applicants who do not meet this standard requirement (e.g., those with an academic degree that is not related to the doctoral field of study or those with a degree from a university of applied sciences) may also be admitted as a doctoral candidate, subject to certain conditions, following a separate assessment of their qualifications.

Doctoral dissertations may be written in German or English. Please consult with your supervisor to determine the preferred language for your dissertation.

Requirements for Doctoral Candidates with International Degrees
The doctoral committee decides on the recognition of foreign academic degrees following a review by the International Office. For the review of academic records, you must submit a current resume as well as the original or certified copies of the diplomas and transcripts for your bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If academic degrees were earned in a language other than German or English, an official, certified translation must be submitted.

Please note that, unlike in many other countries, the doctoral studies in Germany do not consist of required courses but rather consists exclusively of academic research. Supervisors supervise this research, and the results are ultimately published in the form of a dissertation.

Special Case – Applicants with Chinese Academic Background
Before applicants with Chinese academic transcripts can apply to a German university, they must have their transcripts verified for authenticity by the Academic Examination Center (APS) and participate in an interview or the TestAS. For more information, please contact the APS: https://www.aps.org.cn/

This is the first and most important step toward beginning your doctoral studies. To pursue a doctorate in Faculty 14, you must have the approval of two supervisors.

Supervisors are typically professors and researchers who have completed their habilitation. Researchers who have earned a doctorate are eligible only under certain conditions (please refer to the doctoral regulations for details). At least one supervisor must be a professor as defined by the Hessian Higher Education Act and be a member of our faculty.

You can search our website for professors or research groups that match your research interests and contact them. You should allow sufficient time to search for suitable supervisors. Please understand that, due to the high volume of doctoral inquiries, the Dean’s Office is unable to facilitate contacts with potential supervisors or graduate schools.

The application for admission to the doctoral program in Faculty 14 should be submitted as soon as possible at the beginning of your doctoral studies but no later than three months after the start of your doctoral studies. The university has a registration and service portal (Goethe-Campus). Before you submit your application for admission as a doctoral candidate to the Dean’s Office, you must register or log in to the Goethe-Campus portal and create your electronic doctoral file. This step is required to generate your written application for admission to the doctoral program. You will also be assigned a university email address through the portal.

Instructions     Goethe-Campus     Contact for technical issues

The admission process determines whether your university degree and your doctoral proposal meet all the required criteria. The application for admission as a doctoral candidate in Faculty 14 should be submitted as soon as possible at the beginning of your doctoral studies but no later than three months after the start of your doctoral studies. Once the doctoral committee grants admission, the faculty makes a binding commitment to supervise your dissertation until its completion. This applies even if your supervisor is no longer able to supervise you for specific reasons. In this case, the faculty will assist you in finding a new supervisor.

After you have registered on the Goethe Campus Portal and submitted an application for admission as a doctoral candidate, click the “Print” button to print the generated application and submit it to the Dean’s Office with all required signatures. These may vary depending on your previous degree:

The doctoral committee decides on your application for admission to the doctoral program. You will receive a written response within three (3) months.

Doctoral candidates are not required to enroll as an official student of the Goethe University —there is currently no obligation to do so, not even during the examination period. Enrollment is particularly recommended if you are not employed by Goethe University.

Enrollment takes place through the SLI on the Westend Campus. To enroll, you must apply online at goethe-campus.uni-frankfurt.de. You will need confirmation of your acceptance as a doctoral candidate from the dean´s office and your academic transcripts. If you are already enrolled as a student at GU, you can change your field of study, which also requires an application via goethe-campus.

For more information, please contact the SLI.

Goethe University offers a variety of programs designed to help you get started in your professional career:

The Goethe Research Academy for Early Career Researchers (GRADE) offers doctoral candidates and all early-career researchers at Goethe University workshops, individual coaching, networking events, career development initiatives, financial support, language courses, and much more. GRADE provides all new doctoral candidates with a starter kit. It contains various informational materials to help you get off to a successful start in your doctoral studies and can be picked up at the Dean’s Office. Further information is available on the website or the flyer.

The Career Service is a joint initiative of the Division of Student Affairs, Teaching, and International Affairs, the Frankfurt am Main Employment Agency, and the university’s subsidiary CAMPUSERVICE. It helps you address questions about career development and career choice early on and supports you in your transition into professional life. As part of the Matching Day MINT, students and graduates are offered the opportunity to engage in conversation with companies in welcoming, low pressure environment.

The Frankfurter Career Fair for STEM Scientists takes place every year in November on the Riedberg Campus and features a day of exhibitor presentations and workshops. The job fair serves as a platform where both international companies and small businesses or consulting firms can introduce themselves to graduates and students. 

Are you looking for a position in our faculty or at Goethe University? We’d be happy to assist you in your search. You can find current job postings and further information on employment opportunities on the university’s job portal. Feel free to check back regularly.

The annual status confirmation process for our doctoral students is handled entirely through Goethe Campus. Doctoral students need an HRZ account to re-register on their own. Instead of the previous EvaSys surveys, SLI will send doctoral students a separate letter instructing them to use a portlet in Goethe Campus created specifically for this purpose.

If you have questions regarding the content, please contact the Dean’s Office; for technical issues, please contact support at goethe-campus@rz.uni-frankfurt.de. 

In the event of any changes during the course of your doctoral studies, you are required to notify the Dean’s Office immediately. This applies, among other things, to changes to the dissertation title, changes in supervisors, discontinuation of the doctoral project, changes of address and similar matters.

Change of Dissertation Title Application form

On the application for admission to the doctoral program, you provided a working title for your dissertation. If you wish to change the title of your dissertation, please fill out the Application for a title changeand submit it digitally via the Dean's office. Your supervisor must confirm the change in topic with his or her signature. You may make this change at any time during your doctoral studies but you must do so before submitting your dissertation to the Doctoral Office. The doctoral committee will then decide on your request. You will subsequently receive a response from the Dean’s Office.

Change of Subject

On the application for admission as a doctorate candidate, you specified a subject. The choice of field is based on the topic of your dissertation as well as your previous degree and is agreed upon with your supervisors. The doctoral committee has approved your doctoral studies in this specific subject. If, for specific reasons, you wish to change your doctoral field, please contact the Dean's office as needed. There, you can submit an informal request to change your subject. 

Changing of supervisors Application from

On your application for admission as a doctoral candidate, you listed two supervisors. If, for any reason, you need to change your supervisor(s), please fill out the request for a change of supervisor and submit it electronically to the Dean's office. If you encounter problems with your supervisors, please contact your second advisor or the Dean’s Office to find a solution. The doctoral committee will then decide on your request. You will subsequently receive a response from the Dean’s Office.

If you have any questions regarding your doctoral studies, your supervisors and the Dean’s Office are your first points of contact. Please feel free to contact us—we’ll be happy to assist you or, if necessary, refer you to the appropriate department.

The University’s Office for Equity and Diversity offers resources and support for students and doctoral candidates in a variety of life and academic situations.

For more information and counseling services, please visit here

General Guidelines for Writing an Academic Thesis

The dissertation to be submitted must include a page— listed separately in the table of contents — that identifies the key collaborators (Form: Declaration of Original Contribution to the Dissertation). When using or reproducing previously published texts, figures, or tables, copyright regulations must be observed.
Your dissertation must include an abstract of approximately two pages.
A current curriculum vitae must be included at the end of the dissertation.

Writing a Cumulative Dissertation

Requirements for a cumulative dissertation:At least three publications must be available. At least two of these works must be research papers with the doctoral candidate as the first author. In the introduction to the dissertation (see below), the candidate’s own contribution should be made particularly clear.
Further information can be found in the FAQ on cumulative dissertations at the end of the corresponding application form.

Structure of the Cumulative Dissertation:

In addition to at least three accepted publications, your cumulative dissertation should include a 20- to 30-page introduction to the work, which outlines the theoretical background, a discussion of previous relevant work, and a presentation of the hypotheses to be tested. It should also include a summary of your findings and results, as well as an explanation of how the various publications fit together. Here, too, 20 to 30 pages are expected. In total, the introduction, discussion, and summary should amount to approximately 50 pages in the print version. Additionally, an explanation of the authors’ contributions to each publication and an integrated curriculum vitae at the end are required.

Since dissertations are considered individual works, the individual contribution to the publications that make up a cumulative dissertation must be explicitly stated. Please note the applicable copyright provisions, which must be observed. In particular, regulations regarding co-authorship, secondary publication, and secondary exploitation rights may be relevant to the respective publications.