Doctoral Studies

Below you will find information on the administrative procedures concerning the acceptance as a doctoral students and the beginning of the doctoral examination procedure. The legal framework is determined by the Doctoral Regulations.

A. Doctoral supervision agreement

Before being accepted as a doctoral candidate, a doctoral supervision agreement needs to be signed by the doctoral candidate and his or her supervisor(s).

Sample agreement in English

B. Acceptance as a doctoral student

After signing your doctoral studies agreement, please submit documentation that you meet all admission requirements to the relevant head of department so you can be accepted as a doctoral researcher.

Important information: Please note the new provisions of the Doctoral Regulations: As per § 5 para. 5, generally all doctoral researchers have to be assigned a total of three persons for supervision each, including mentors for subject-related and supervision issues, if applicable. Below you can find a template of the form for the appointment of mentors for doctoral researchers:

Appointment of mentors for doctoral researchers

Information for applicants:

Please download the form "Application for acceptance and enrolment as a doctoral candidate.pdf" and fill it in. Then you can print the form yourself and give it to your supervisor, who will sign the document. Your supervisor, the chair or the departmental administration - depending on how the department is organized - will complete the form with the details for the university's statistics on doctoral researchers (pages 3 to 10 of the application).

The application form can be found here:

Application for acceptance and enrolment as a doctoral candidate

Information for the department:

If the application was approved, the head of department has to complete the form "Acceptance as a doctoral candidate.pdf". The form comprises 4 pages, but only the first page needs to be filled in! Pages 2 to 4 are filled in automatically with the details stated on page 1 if you use the keyboard to fill in the form. Print the completed form and send two copies as well as a complete copy of the “Application for acceptance and enrolment as a doctoral candidate”, the doctoral supervision agreement, a mentor appointment, if already in place, and the final examination certificate to the Division of Student Affairs and Teaching, Sachgebiet Bewerbung und Zulassung, Statistik. Please note the information, shaded in blue, in the header of the printed "Acceptance” form.

Acceptance as a doctoral candidate

If you are an accepted doctoral student and you want to end the associated matriculation prematurely and without completing your dissertation at your own request, you have to revoke your acceptance as a doctoral student via the responsible department at the Central Examination Office, Katja Pojda,  and at the same time you must exmatriculate yourself upon application at the SSZ.

Revocation of the application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate

C. Application for commencement of the doctoral examination process

After completing the dissertation, the application for beginning the doctoral examination process should be submitted at the Central Examination Office of the University of Konstanz.

The application for the doctoral examination process in English can be found here. 

Application for commencement of the doctoral examination procedure

Request for the issuance of the doctoral certificate in English