Applying for doctoral study

In the context of a doctorate, the doctoral student writes a thesis in German or English and then undergoes a viva voce examination. We have compiled all the important information for you here.

Important documents (in German)

Applying for doctoral study

The written application for admission to doctoral study must be submitted to the chairperson of the faculty's Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards.

The application must be accompanied by (cf. checklist (German)):

certified copy of your diploma or (combined) master's degree certificate;
a declaration specifying the doctoral degree sought and stating that this doctoral degree or any equivalent doctoral degree has not previously been obtained or that the pursuit of this degree has not previously been finally denied, unless the application is for resitting the doctoral examination as provided for by this regulation;
a specification of the subject in which the doctoral degree is to be awarded;
a supervision agreement, which must be prepared in triplicate; one copy is for the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards;
a curriculum vitae in German and English with an account of the student's academic development;
in duly justified cases, proof of German and English language skills;
the details required in accordance with Art. 64(3) BayHschG.

The application with the documents listed above must be handed in at the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems (Room 109 Economics Building) or sent by mail to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems.

It is possible and also recommended that you enrol as a doctoral student. By doing so, you can take advantage of the associated social benefits and are also entitled to use the facilities of the University of Passau. Doctoral students are not bound by any enrolment deadlines and can therefore enrol throughout the year. Detailed information can be found on the pages of the Graduate Center as well as the page of the Student Registration Office.

Please note that in order to enrol, you will need, among other things, the notice of admission from the Board of Examniers for Doctoral Awards as proof of acceptance as a doctoral student.

The supervision agreement (German version) must be concluded by the applicant with a person authorized to cooperate prior to starting out on the doctoral endeavour as a doctoral candidate. The supervision agreement must be drawn up in triplicate, for the supervising person, the doctoral candidate and the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards . The necessary signatures must be included on all three versions (3 originals). The following points, among others, must be specified in the supervision agreement concluded with your supervisor. This is because in order to register for the doctoral examination, you must prove that you have

participated in at least four modules from the graduate program of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems;
given a public scientific lecture at least twice and provide evidence of this by means of a confirmation signed by the supervisor that the lecture has been given.

The evidence must be presented when applying for admission to the doctoral examination.

Procedure of the doctoral examination according to the subject-specific doctoral degree regulations

The application for the doctoral examination takes place with the submission of your doctoral thesis.

Documents to be attached to the application (compare checklist (German)):

Informal written application of the doctoral student for admission to the doctoral examination to the chairperson of the faculty's Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards;
notice of admission as a doctoral student;
three typed bound copies of the doctoral thesis as well as an electronic version (PDF) either as a CD or by e-mail to the Dean's Office (dekanat.wiwi@uni-passau.de);
Disputation: a proposal for the composition of the doctoral examination committee
where required, proof of enrolment as a doctoral student at the University of Passau after admission as a doctoral student (course of study certificate)
the following written statements:
1. - an affidavit (German) stating that the thesis was written independently and without any undue help from others and that all the materials and sources used and passages quoted verbatim or paraphrased from other works have been clearly identified as such;
2. - an assurance (German) to the effect that this same thesis or a similar version has not previously been submitted to this or another faculty for the purpose of obtaining an academic degree;
3. - an assurance (German) to the effect that the doctoral student has not previously obtained the sought doctoral degree or an equivalent doctoral degree and that completion of this degree has not been finally rejected;
proof of successful participation in four modules from the graduate program of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems;
1. Written declaration by the doctoral student that the modules submitted for recognition are not or were not the subject of another examination procedure or a previous degree program;
Written confirmation from the supervisor of the presentation performance as proof of at least two public scientific presentations;
Current curriculum vitae including current contact details;
Requirements for the doctoral thesis:
1. doctoral thesis in monographic form (monograph).
  - Must be written essentially independently by the doctoral student
2. doctoral thesis as a compilation of independently publishable or published scientific papers (cumulative)
  - Must be thematically related, which must be justified in an introductory presentation
  - Written statement of own essential contribution with signatures of co-authors
  - Form (German) cumulative doctoral thesis
Declaration of consent (German) for electronic display

The doctoral thesis must be submitted to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems (Room 109, Economics Building) together with the documents listed above or sent by mail to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems.

After the admission to the doctoral examination, the doctoral thesis writing is forwarded to the two reviewers. As a rule, the written reviews of the doctoral thesis should be available in the Dean's Office within four months after appointment as a reviewer.

Once the written reviews have been received by the Dean's Office, the reviewed doctoral thesis will be made available for inspection by authorized faculty members for a period of three weeks.

Where the thesis is accepted, the Doctoral Examining Committee shall conduct the viva voce examination. The oral examination performance takes the form of a disputation, in which the doctoral student defends his or her doctoral thesis in a meeting of the doctoral examination committee that is open to the faculty. The disputation should take place three months after acceptance of the doctoral thesis at the latest. Further details are regulated by § 10 of the subject-specific doctoral degree regulations.

Only after the written permission of the chair of the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards (printing permission) has been obtained, the doctoral thesis can be reproduced and published. The doctoral student is obliged to make the doctoral thesis accessible to the scientific community through reproduction and distribution.

For this purpose, the doctoral student must, within one year after passing the oral examination (disputation), provide

25 printed and bound obligatory copies or
3 copies in printed and bound form in the case of an electronic version of the doctoral thesis, whose file format and data carrier must be agreed upon with the university library (so-called OPUS publication)

free of charge to the faculty.

The deposit copies must be marked as doctoral theses written at the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems of the University of Passau. The reviewers and the date of the oral examination should also be indicated. The following template can be used here as a cover sheet.

Admission to the doctoral examination according to the old doctoral degree regulation

Please note that after your registration as a doctoral student you must be enroled as such at the University of Passau for at least two full semesters in order to register for the doctoral examination. With the admission as a doctoral student, however, you are not automatically enroled! Rather, a second registration at the Student Registration Office of the University of Passau is required.

Doctoral candidates must report on their project at least every two years in the colloquium of the faculty. At the request of the supervisor, this period can be extended if there is a valid reason. Violation of the reporting requirement will result in termination of the doctoral student status.

According to § 13 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations (German), the registration for the doctoral examination takes place with the submission of your doctoral thesis. For this we need:

an informal application from the doctoral student
three copies of the doctoral thesis (typewritten and bound) as well as an electronic version (PDF) either as a CD or by e-mail to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems
the letter of admission as a doctoral student
proof of successful participation in four modules of the doctoral program of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems.
Note: In addition, a written declaration by the doctoral student is required that the modules submitted for recognition are not or were not the subject of another examination procedure or a previous degree program.
Indication of viva or disputation
- Indication of the subjects for the viva (ABWL, AVWL, two further subjects from the annex to the Doctoral Degree Regulations). Here you are allowed to express agreed wishes regarding your examiners
- for the disputation: a proposal for the composition of the doctoral committee (§ 16 (1) of the Doctoral Degree Regulations)
a proof of enrolment as a doctoral student at the University of Passau for two full semesters after your admission as such (see above)
three separate affidavits concerning (a) the independent completion of the doctoral thesis, (b) the fact that the doctoral thesis has not previously been the subject of a doctoral procedure, and (c) the absence of previous doctoral doctoral theses in economics or failed doctoral attempts
a current certificate of good conduct (max. 6 months old) as well as
the curriculum vitae
proof of at least one presentation in the doctoral colloquium (§ 12 p. 5 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations)
Declaration of consent for electronic display (German)
Requirements for the doctoral thesis
1. Doctoral thesis as a monograph
  - must be written by the doctoral student alone
2. Doctoral thesis as compilation
  - at least one paper must be written by the doctoral student alone
  - in the case of co-authored work, a written declaration of own substantial contribution with signatures of the co-authors must be enclosed
  - form (German)
  - please also note § 13 (4), (5) of the Doctoral Degree Regulations.
The doctoral thesis must be submitted to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems (Room 109, Economic Sciences Building) together with the documents listed above or sent by post to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems.

In the case of foreign degrees, the submitted foreign educational certificates are sent for evaluation to the Office of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany without exception. The Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) evaluates foreign qualifications in Germany. This can take several weeks.

Inspection is regulated in § 24 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations: "After completion of the doctoral procedure, the doctoral student is granted inspection of the doctoral files in accordance with the legal provisions.". Thus, no inspection of the expert reports is possible before completion of the doctoral project.

In addition, § 14 subsections 5 and 6 of the Doctoral Degree Regulation state that the doctoral thesis and the expert reports are laid out for the information of those entitled to participate in accordance with § 6(1) sentences 1 and 2 and thus only those entitled to participate can inspect them. These are: Professors, retired professors, associate professors and junior professors.

The following information refers to the 11th Amendment Statutes:

§ 13 para. 2 no. 5 three bound copies of the doctoral thesis in typescript as well as one copy in electronic form either as a CD or PDF file by e-mail to theoffice of the Board of Examniers for Doctoral Awards.
§ 13 para. 4 the doctoral thesis can be submitted in monographic form or in the form of a compilation of independently publishable scientific works, which have a thematic connection that is to be justified in an introductory presentation. If the doctoral thesis is submitted as a compilation of independently publishable scientific works, each individual work must be provided with its own bibliography.
§ 13 Para. 5 No. 2 If it is submitted in monographic form, it must be written by the doctoral candidate alone; if it is submitted as a compilation of independently publishable scientific works as defined in Para. 4, at least one work must be written by the doctoral candidate alone. Papers written in co-authorship with substantial participation of the doctoral candidate may be included in the compilation. In this case, the doctoral candidate must explain in writing what his/her own essential contribution to the respective independently publishable scientific work consists of.

The formatting, structure and all content-related criteria of the doctoral thesis must be agreed upon with the supervisor.

In the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems (Room 109).

Contact details:
Phone: +49 851 509 2401
E-mail: dekanat.wiwi@uni-passau.de
Office hours:
Monday - Thursday: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Wednesday: 2–4 p.m.

For more information on admission to the doctoral examination, see § 13 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations (German) and the page on registration for the doctoral examination.

Proof of enrolment as a doctoral student at the University of Passau for two full semesters after admission as a doctoral student
Proof of successful participation in four modules from the graduate program of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems
Proof of at least one presentation in the colloquium (according to § 12 S. 5)

A current overview of the modules from the doctoral program that are recognized as part of the doctoral degree can be found on the page of the doctoral program. In addition, a written declaration by the doctoral student is required that the modules submitted for recognition are not or were not the subject of another examination procedure or a previous degree program.

According to § 13 para. 2 no. 1 a. of the Doctoral Regulations (11th Amendment Statute), the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards may recognize equivalent modules upon request. The services to be recognized are basically for the purpose of further education (minimum duration one day) and therefore lectures etc. are not eligible for recognition. The application, a copy of the certificate as well as a detailed description of the course content must be submitted to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems (Room 109).

Admission as a doctoral student is defined in § 11 of the Doctoral Degree Regulations. Admission must be applied for in writing to the chair of the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards.
The application as well as documents to be attached to the application are to be submitted to the Dean's Office of the School of Business, Economics and Information Systems (Room 109).