Doctorate at the TU Dortmund University

If you have decided to do a doctorate at the Department of Computer Science, it is necessary to answer the following questions in advance:

• In which department / at which chair do I want to do my doctorate?
• Is the professor responsible willing to supervise my doctorate?
• Which doctoral degree am I aiming for? Possible doctoral degrees are "Dr. rer nat." or "Dr.-Ing.".
• Which university teacher do I suggest as a mentor?

The doctorate consists of the following contents:

• Compliance with the Guidelines for the structured doctoral program
• Completion of a dissertation
• Successful completion of the oral examination

Admission to doctoral studies must be applied for by sending an official letter to the Doctoral Committee.
The application must include the following documents (see §5 Application for admission to the doctoral procedure of the doctoral degree regulations):

• Letter of application (template as LaTeX, PDF)
  • Doctoral degree sought
  • Proposal of a supervisor for the dissertation
  • Provisional working title of the dissertation (in consultation with the supervisor)
  • Proposal of a mentor regarding the structured doctoral program
  • List of further documents
• Confirmation of willingness to supervise
• Proof of admission requirements (in accordance with §4 of the doctoral degree regulations)
• Proof of university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur)
• Curriculum vitae in table form (showing academic and professional background)
• Statements on other doctoral procedures, i.e. whether already...
  • a doctoral procedure has been applied for, completed or discontinued at TU Dortmund University
  • a doctoral admission has been granted elsewhere and a doctoral procedure is ongoing
  • a doctoral procedure has been discontinued or completed elsewhere (indicate success of doctorate)

If the application has been approved, there is an obligation to submit proof of enrollment to the doctoral committee within three weeks of admission.
To obtain this, you must...

• ... either re-register your studies(application for change of studies) if you are still enrolled at TU Dortmund University.
• ... or be newly enrolled as a doctoral student. This is done online on this page.

Afterwards you are officially a doctoral student at the Department of Computer Science at TU Dortmund University!

Of course, the main part of the doctorate consists of working on your topic scientifically and writing it down in the form of a dissertation (according to §10 Dissertation of the Doctoral Degree Regulations).
The doctoral candidate has additional obligations to fulfill:

• to report to the supervisor once a year on previous and planned activities (in accordance with §7 Supervision of the Doctoral Degree Regulations)
• participation in the structured doctoral program (in accordance with §5 Reports of the Guidelines for the Structured Doctoral Program)
  • an annual two-page report documenting the academic process of the previous year and outlining the academic plans for the following year
  • the report is discussed together with the mentor and the supervisor
  • the results of the discussions and the report are archived with the doctoral committee

In addition, doctoral candidates are recommended to take part in a subject-specific conference (summer school or similar) during the first 12 months of the doctoral program (in accordance with §6 Events of the Guidelines for the Structured Doctoral Program).

At the end of the three years, the candidate submits an application to extend his/her doctoral studies. The exact length(maximum 3 years) must be confirmed by the doctoral supervisor.

Once the dissertation has been completed, the doctorate is nearing its end. In order to complete it, an application for acceptance of the dissertation must be submitted.
The application must include the following documents (according to §11 Application for acceptance of the dissertation and submission of the dissertation of the doctoral regulations):

• written cover letter to the doctoral committee (template as LaTeX, PDF)
• 5 bound copies of the dissertation and a digital version in PDF format
• Summary of the dissertation of no more than two DIN A4 pages (template as LaTeX, PDF)
• Affidavit on aids used, etc. (template as LaTeX, PDF)
• Declaration that the dissertation has already been submitted elsewhere (template as LaTeX, PDF)
• Proof of successful participation in the structured doctoral program
• Current curriculum vitae showing your academic career, including a current list of publications
• Proposal for the appointment of the examination committee (template as LaTeX, PDF)

The doctoral committee opens the doctoral procedure when a written application for acceptance of the dissertation and the documents to be submitted with it have been received in full (see §12 Opening of the doctoral procedure and appointment of reviewers of the doctoral regulations).
The assessment of the doctoral work (dissertation and oral examination) should be completed no later than six months after submission of the dissertation (Section 67 (3) sentence 3 HG).

The doctoral committee appoints two reviewers who evaluate the dissertation independently within eight weeks. In the reviews, the rejection, revision or acceptance of the dissertation is proposed.
If acceptance is proposed unanimously, the dissertation and the reviews are made available for inspection by the department for seven days. If there is no objection within three days, the dissertation is deemed to have been accepted (see §14 Assessment of the Dissertation of the Doctoral Degree Regulations).

Furthermore, the doctoral committee appoints an examination board, which usually consists of a chairperson and three members.
The tasks of the examination committee are (see §13 Examination committee of the doctoral degree regulations):

• Deciding on the acceptance or rejection of the dissertation and grading it on the basis of the expert reports
• Conducting and grading the oral examination
• Determination of the overall result and the doctoral degree to be awarded
• Determining whether the dissertation is ready for publication and imposing conditions for publication

After acceptance of the dissertation by the examination committee, the oral examination is held within six weeks.
The oral examination usually lasts a total of 90 minutes and begins with a report by the doctoral candidate on the dissertation, which should not exceed 30 minutes. It is open to the faculty and usually takes place in the language in which the dissertation was written, although German and English are generally accepted (see §15 Oral Examination of the Doctoral Degree Regulations).

Immediately afterwards, the examination committee determines the grade for the oral examination as well as the overall grade and the doctoral degree to be awarded in the event of success. Particular emphasis is placed on the assessment of the dissertation. In addition, it is customary for the doctoral candidate to be asked to revise and publish the dissertation (see §16 Result of examinations of the doctoral degree regulations).

As soon as the final doctoral work has been completed, a doctoral certificate is issued on the date of the successful oral examination, which confers the right to use the doctoral degree (see §19 Completion of the doctoral procedure of the doctoral degree regulations).

After successfully passing the oral examination and receiving the doctoral degree, the doctoral candidate is obliged to implement the examination committee's amendment requirements within one year and to publish and disseminate the dissertation appropriately (see §18 Publication of the Dissertation of the Doctoral Degree Regulations). The amended version of the dissertation is resubmitted to the examination committee for review.

In order to publish the dissertation appropriately, three copies must be given to the university library free of charge for archiving. These copies must be printed on non-ageing wood and acid-free paper and bound in a durable binding.

There are various ways of ensuring the dissemination of the dissertation. The easiest way is to provide the university library with a digital version of the thesis together with the printed copies. It must also be granted the right to produce further copies in print and to make the digital version available in data networks.

How can I do a doctorate? What is the procedure?

Please read this page carefully and then the doctoral regulations!

If you still have questions, please contact the doctoral committee!

Who is the supervisor?

After admission to the doctorate, the doctoral committee appoints a university lecturer or a habilitated member of the department as supervisor of the dissertation at the suggestion of the doctoral candidate (see §7 Supervision of the doctoral regulations).

The tasks of the supervisor include

• discussing a timetable for the completion of the dissertation and agreeing on the structured doctoral program
• to be regularly informed about progress and to provide expert advice in the event of difficulties arising
• to comment comprehensively on contributions made in oral or written form

Who is the mentor?

Each doctoral candidate is assigned a university teacher from the department as a mentor, who will not be involved in the review of the dissertation(!) and will provide general advice (see §4 Mentoring of the guidelines for the structured doctoral program).

He/she should monitor the progress of the doctoral project from an independent perspective and, in particular, provide assistance in focusing on a topic.

What is the role of the doctoral committee?

The Doctoral Committee of the Department of Computer Science decides on admissions to doctoral studies, opens the doctoral procedures, appoints the reviewers and the examination committees, sets deadlines and dates and decides on special cases and appeals in doctoral procedures (see here).

Who are the reviewers of my dissertation?

When the doctoral procedure is opened, the doctoral committee appoints two reviewers, whereby suggestions from the doctoral candidate can be considered. At least one of the supervisors is appointed as a reviewer. One of the reviewers must be a member of the department as a university lecturer or habilitated member. The other reviewer must also be a university lecturer or habilitated member of a German or foreign university with the right to award doctorates (see §12 Opening of the doctoral procedure and appointment of reviewers of the doctoral regulations).

Who is the examination committee?

After opening the doctoral examination procedure, the Doctoral Committee appoints an Examination Board, which usually consists of the chairperson and three other members. All members of the examination committee must belong to the group of university lecturers or be habilitated members of the group of academic staff. The chairperson may neither be a reviewer nor a supervisor. The supervisor should be a member of the examination board. The examination board may include external members from German and foreign universities (see §13 Examination board of the doctoral degree regulations).

How can foreign academic achievements be recognized?

The International Office is responsible for the recognition of foreign academic achievements.

How do I obtain a bilingual doctoral certificate?

A bilingual doctoral certificate must be requested in the cover letter for the application for acceptance of the dissertation.
A corresponding office for issuing certificates is currently being set up!