Getting a
doctorate (Dr.phil.): information about the necessary procedures
For deadlines for the
submission of applications to the Promotionsausschuss (faculty committee for post-graduate degrees), click here.
The Faculty of Modern
Languages (Fachbereich 10, Neuere Philologien) offers opportunities to
obtain a doctorate in the following subject areas:
- General
Linguistics
- American
Studies
- English
Studies
- German
Studies
- Romance Studies (French, Spanish, Italian)
- Scandinavian
Studies
- Drama,
Film and Media Studies
- Literary
Theory and Comparative Literature
To apply for a research
programme leading to a doctorate you must satisfy the University's general
entry requirements. For general information please seek advice at the International Office. You can find instructions for Doctoral studies step by
step there as well. For
details, see the Promotionsordnung (regulations governing postgraduate [doctoral] studies), which is also
available in English. If your degree was obtained at a university outside
Germany, the Dean's Office will need to be satisfied, prior to your submission
of an application, that you fulfil the formal entry requirements.
Please do not contact the Dean
or Dean's Office before you have formed a clear idea of the subject area in
which you wish to obtain a doctorate. If you need advice on subject-related
matters, get in touch with academic staff or a potential supervisor in the
relevant department.
Your first step will be to
find a supervisor for your doctoral thesis and to discuss with him or
her your research project and the specific subject area to which it relates.
Draw up a work schedule. Next, submit to the Dean of the Faculty an application
for admission as a postgraduate (doctoral) student (Mrs. Sabine Schramm, room 2.352). For this application (Antrag auf Annahme als
Doktorand/in), three things are essential:
- Application form, signed by the supervisor (see
Downloads)
- Project outline: description of the research to
be undertaken (10-15 pages) – this description should cover the following
items: background to the project, object of the research, candidate's
previous work on the subject (if any), methodology, objectives, work
schedule and bibliography (primary and secondary sources). The supervisor
will confirm with his or her signature on the application form that they
have knowledge of the project outline.
- Authenticated copy of a university degree
certificate (M.A., Diplom, etc.). This copy can be authenticated by
the Dean's Office if the original is produced.
- Applicants whose previous degree was not obtained
from a German university are requested to contact the Dean's Office for
further details.
Your application will be
considered by the Promotionsausschuss (faculty committee for
post-graduate degrees) at its next meeting. The committee normally convenes
twice during term time (see Dates). The project outline should enable the
supervisor and/or the committee to assess whether the project is feasible and
likely to succeed.
When your application has been
approved, you can enrol at the Students Registry Office (Studierendensekretariat)
as a doctoral student. As a rule, applicants are required to have been enrolled
at Frankfurt University for two semesters prior to the completion of their
doctoral studies. The Dean strongly recommends doctoral students to enrol.
Once you have completed
your doctoral thesis, you have to apply for the opening of the academic
procedure leading to the conferral of a doctorate (Eröffnung des Prüfungsverfahrens).
This
application consists of:
- Opening of the academic procedure (2 copies, see
Downloads)
- Curriculum
vitae (2 copies)
- Certificate of first university degree (2 copies
- copies can be authenticated by the Dean's Office if the original is
produced)
- Certificate of completed secondary school
education (Abitur or comparable) (2 copies), certificate of
language proficiency if necessary (copies can be authenticated by the
Dean's Office if the original is produced)
- Affidavits (Explanation opening, see Downloads)
(2 copies)
- List of publications, where applicable (2 copies)
- Doctoral thesis (6 copies) with title page
attached at the front, CV (with original signature), list of publications
(if applicable) and affidavits (with original signature), all attached at
the back
- Digital version of thesis (1 CD)
Reviewers have to hand in
their assessments within three months of the submission of the thesis. Thesis
and assessments must be accessible to the public in the Dean's Office for at
least two weeks before a date for the examination can be fixed.
For more information,
including funding offered by the University, see