Please take a look at our websites for those interested in a PhD and schedule an individual advising appointment with Dr. Anda-Lisa Harmening.

There are different ways to find a supervisor. Sometimes professors will talk to you directly, but you can contact them just as well. Supervision should always be arranged according to topic, so that the topic of the dissertation and the research focus of the supervisor match.

You are subject to the doctoral regulations that are current at the time you submit your thesis to the doctoral committee.

There are many options for financial support for your doctoral phase - they range from employment at a university or externally to a scholarship. As the offers are wide-ranging: Feel free to arrange an individual consultation with Dr. Anda-Lisa Harmening.

Yes. You can find information about the compensation options here (website only available in German).

You have to submit proof that you accomplished additional requirements (credit points) regarding the subject you are completing your PhD in.

For example: If you are a PhD student in Educational Science but completed your BA and MA degree in a different subject, you may have to acquire additional credit points as a requirement before completing your PhD.

You need to hand in proof of completion of these credit points to your supervisor, who will send an informal confirmation to the Promotionsausschuss (PhD board) that all required achievements have been fulfilled. Alternatively, you can use this form (form only available in German).

• Your research question(s);
• Current state of research reg. the research tradition(s);
• Contribution to the field(s) of research;
• Research methodology;
• Bibliography.

A 1-2 page synopsis is a requirement to be accepted as a doctoral candidate by the Promotionsausschuss (PhD board).

The writing center Kompetenzzentrum Schreiben offers a workshop for the preparation of exposés. Further information can be found here (website only available in German).

Contact the writing center Kompetenzzentrum Schreiben for writing consultations.

You must be enrolled when you start your doctoral procedure or submit your written thesis. Further information can be found in the doctoral degree regulations.

You receive

• the Semesterticket, which is the public transit ticket (semester-long validity) for students to travel in North Rhine-Westphalia free of charge (please be mindful of certain restrictions that apply);
• the local student ID that allows you to receive many discounts throughout the university (e.g. on meals at the Mensa or Cafeteria) as well as the city (e.g. at movie theaters, bakeries, etc.);
• the local library card (Bibliotheksausweis; currently only available in German) that you can use to borrow books at the university library.
• In addition, you can plan a stay abroad at one of our partner universities, if they offer so called 3^rd cycle mobility for PhD students. Further information on partner universities.

You are also eligible to receive a discounted student rate that many health insurance companies offer (depending on the health insurance company this may not apply for scholarship holders).

You can always hand in your documents and apply to become a PhD student at UPB. There are no periods or deadlines! Please allow approximately two weeks processing time.

You need to apply only via PAUL (our course management system).

If you are an international student/candidate without a German passport or if you have received your university entrance qualification or university degrees outside of Germany, you have to contact the International Office.

Steps to follow the above-mentioned procedures, if you are a graduate student or just graduated with an M.A. (or equivalent) degree at/from UPB:

• Apply to the PhD board to be accepted as a PhD student (see “Phase I” of formalities);
• Hand in: 
  • (1) conformation of said application,
  • (2) copy of your university degree(s)
  • (3) application to switch your enrollment status from student to PhD student.

Steps to follow the above-mentioned procedures, if you are not enrolled as a student at UPB:

• Apply to the PhD board to be accepted as a PhD student (see “Phase I” of formalities);
• Hand in: 
  • (1) Copy of ID card,
  • (2) proof of health insurance or certificate of exemption (if you are insured through private health insurance (Private Krankenversicherung); see  Studierendenkrankenversicherungs-Meldeverordnung (only available in German))
  • (3) officially certified/attested copy of your university degree(s),
  • (4) certificate of de-registration from last university attended.

See further information to enroll as a PhD student.

The doctoral regulations do not specify a maximum duration for the completion of a dissertation at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. If you are employed at a university, your employment contract specifies a maximum duration of six years in a fixed-term employment relationship.

The Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG - German law on fixed-term contracts in academia) generally allows the fixed-term employment of academic and artistic staff for qualification purposes for a period of 12 years, six years before and six years after the completion of the doctorate. There are possibilities for extension, for instance when taking care of children under the age of 18 and/or caring for a close relative. Few people know that a disability or chronic illness also extends the maximum period of fixed-term employment permitted under the WissZeitVG by two years. To qualify for a disability, the employee must present a corresponding certificate in accordance with the provisions of the Sozialgesetzbuch (German Social Security Code). Similarly, a serious chronic illness must be proven, and a medical certificate is required. Generally, when assessing if a person has a severe chronic illness, HR departments follow the so-called „Chroniker-Richtlinie“ ("Chronic Illness Guideline") of the gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (Federal Joint Committee). Even if the maximum fixed-term period permitted under the WissZeitVGis extended due to disability or chronic illness, employees are not legally entitled to employment by the university for all of the maximum period. Whether a further employment contract is offered is the discretion of the university.

The topic of the doctoral dissertation can be changed even after admission to the doctoral programme. A new synopsis is only required if this involves a change of supervisor.

As a scholarship holder, you are generally required to take out insurance yourself. Some health insurance companies still classify scholarship holders as students, while other health insurance companies consider scholarship holders to be employees. 

The 6-year-rule does not necessarily apply to scholarship holders, because they usually are only allowed to work a maximum amount of 10 hours per week and therefore less than 25 percent. If a scholarship holder is allowed to work more than the aforementioned 25 percent, the 6-year-rule applies to them as well. Please always refer to your individual scholarship regulations in order to confirm which rules apply to your case.

However, if one obtains further qualifications after completing the doctorate, then the years "saved" in the first qualification phase (which resulted from the form of employment outlined above) are not added to the new six years.

• Job offers at UPB (only available in German)
• UPB job exchange for external positions
• Overview on funding opportunities

In general:

In accordance with the WissZeitVG (German law on fixed-term contracts in academia) (only available in German), no PhD student employed at a German university may be under short-term contract for longer than 6 years.

It is possible to apply for a personal study room at UPB library (Universitätsbibliothek; currently only available in German). There are eleven individual study rooms available that can be applied for through the UPB library’s application form (currently only available in German).

The Doctoral Committee does not provide any guidelines on how to organise your thesis. Please refer to the guidelines of your subject area and contact your supervisor if in doubt.

The doctoral dissertation can also be written in English, French or Spanish without application. For theses written in English, German-language summaries no longer need to be included.

As a rule, the doctoral committee consists of four members: the two assessors, the chairperson and one other member. The doctoral committee may only include university lecturers in accordance with Section 11 (1) No. 1 HG, extraordinary professors, private lecturers, honorary professors, habilitated professors and a maximum of one research assistant with a doctorate. The chairperson may not also be a reviewer and may not hold an adjunct professorship. Chairs of doctoral committees must be members of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

In some subject areas of the faculty, both a monographic and a cumulative doctorate are possible. Further information can be found in the doctoral degree regulations (German only). In any case, please consult with your supervisor, who is ultimately responsible for deciding on the format of the doctoral dissertation.

If the defence has been passed, the doctoral committee shall determine the overall grade for the doctorate immediately after assessing the defence in accordance with Section 16 (5). As a rule, the grades of the doctoral dissertation and the defence have a weighting of 2 : 1 for the overall grade. The overall grade with distinction can only be awarded if the doctoral dissertation and the defence have been assessed with distinction. The Chair of the Doctoral Committee shall inform the doctoral candidate of the overall grade of the doctorate without delay.

According to §9 (4) of the doctoral regulations, the following applies: "A doctoral dissertation will not be recognised as such if it has already been published in its entirety. In exceptional cases, the doctoral committee may recognise previously published parts as part of the doctoral thesis on the recommendation of the doctoral committee."

In addition, the following applies: previously published content of your doctoral dissertation may not be included in the dissertation in the same wording. If you publish findings that are also relevant to your dissertation elsewhere in advance, note the other publication in a footnote within the dissertation and refer to the resulting dissertation within the publication. This will help you avoid self-plagiarism. It is important to avoid using the same wording.

The members of the clearing centre at the GKW are happy to be your first point of contact in cases of conflict. The members of the doctoral committee are also there to help you with formalities relating to the doctoral procedure.

In principle, you can contact the members of the doctoral committee. You are also welcome to determine together with your supervisor at an early stage who else you can contact.

According to § 21 of the current doctoral degree regulations , the doctoral title may be used after the certificate has been awarded by the Dean.

A prerequisite for the award of the certificate is the submission of a publishing contract with a minimum circulation of 150 copies or electronic publication via the university library (see §20 of the doctoral degree regulations).

You can publish your dissertation online via the university library and/or with an academic publisher.

Find more information on the publication of your dissertation.

Yes, this is possible. It is possible to then publish it in another online format as well as with a publishing house.

Find more information on the publication of your dissertation.

In paragraph 20 of the doctoral regulations there are hints and possibilities for the publication of the dissertation. One hint refers to the mention within the published work that the work is a dissertation and was supervised in Paderborn. This can be implemented as follows: Submitted as a dissertation, Paderborn

The following information can be found in paragraph 19 of the doctoral degree regulations (German only).

1. In the case of distribution via the book trade by a commercial publisher with a minimum print run of 150 copies (and identification of the publication as a dissertation stating the location of the dissertation on the back of the title page), two specimen copies must be submitted to the University Library.
2. If an electronic version (including abstract in German and English; max. 1500 characters each) is submitted, the data format of which must be agreed with the University Library, a print specimen copy for the University Library in the same format as the copy for the examination file with the exception of the declarations in § 12 para. 3.