You want to complete your doctorate at KW: 
We do not have a doctoral programme in the strict sense. Therefore, you cannot simply apply for or enrol on a doctoral programme.

You want to come to KW as a doctoral student for a semester via an exchange programme:
You can study with us as an exchange student for 1-2 semesters via a partner university. You can find out how this works at your home university!
If you have already secured a place with us, the information for exchange students (further up on the pages) is important for you!

You need a Master's degree (M.A.) that is recognised in the German education system and is equivalent to it.
If you have completed an M.A. within the EU, this is directly recognised and you are formally eligible for a doctorate with this degree.
If the M.A. degree was completed in a country outside the EU, you must have the degree checked for equivalence at the International Office. The question is then: Are you formally suitable for a doctorate - with this degree?

It is also important to know that you can only do a doctorate at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities if the content of your Master's degree is related to the subject area/institute in which you wish to do a doctorate.
Example: If you have completed an M.A. in Media Studies (or a related field), you can probably also formally do a doctorate in Media Studies. If you have a Master's degree in Education Studies (or a related academic field), you can probably also do a doctorate in Education Studies.
Why probably? Because the doctoral committee of the faculty will still assess your suitability on a case-by-case basis.

It is possible that you may have to continue studying at UPB in order to obtain the appropriate qualification if the content of your M.A. degree is not closely enough related to your doctoral subject.

Once you are sure that your Master's degree is equivalent to a doctorate at a German university, or have had it examined, the next step is to find a mentor.

Find a mentor or so-called doctoral supervisor:

1. you can apply for a project position or research assistant position at the Faculty. You can find the calls for proposals online on the websites and relevant digital portals. These positions often have an inherent academic qualification and you have the opportunity to do a doctorate in this position.

2. by keeping your research interests (in the subject area in which you have obtained an M.A. degree) in mind and then looking at the professors in the faculty from the department/research area. If you find a professor who matches your research area/research interest, get in touch with this person. If you already have a specific research question/research project, then send an outline of your project and a CV directly.

If you have a position at the university or have found a professor/mentor and have finalised your research project/research question, there are two more steps before you are an official doctoral candidate at the faculty:

1. you must officially apply to the doctoral committee to be accepted as a doctoral candidate

To do this, you need the following documents:
> Cover letter
> Exposé
> Proof of university degree (including a positive equivalence check, if applicable)
> Supervision agreement from the faculty
> CV in tabular form

Please submit all of this to the Faculty's doctoral office. There, the documents and your application will be prepared for the doctoral committee. The doctoral committee will then review your documents and give you written feedback on whether or not you have been officially accepted as a doctoral candidate of the faculty.

If you receive positive feedback: Congratulations! You are now an official doctoral candidate at the Faculty!

Optionally, you can also enrol as a doctoral student.

You can also enrol as a doctoral student at the university right at the beginning of your doctorate.

Important to know: You do not have to do it right at the beginning, but before you officially complete your doctorate, you must enrol!

You will need the following documents for this:
> Certificate of acceptance as a doctoral candidate of the faculty (you will receive this from the doctoral committee after a positive examination, see point 4)

Submit these documents to the Central Student Secretariat and they will then enrol you in the doctoral programme of the relevant subject area/institute.

As an enrolled student, you must pay the semester fees and then enjoy all the benefits and advantages that other students receive.

DAAD: active funding programmes

Scholarship database of the DAAD

DAAD Research Grants - Bi-nationally Supervised Doctoral Degrees

DAAD Research Grants - Doctoral Programmes in Germany

DFG Grant: Research Training Groups

DFG Grant: Support for Early Career Researchers within Collaborative Research Centres

EURAXESS Germany: Funding Database

Heinrich Hertz Foundation NRW

Research in Germany: Overview of funding institutions

German courses at the UPB

German courses (crash course and semester course)

German courses at the Centre for Language Teaching

Writing meeting for internationals

Writing meeting

External German courses

German courses at the adult education centre (VHS)

Networking at the faculty

Graduate forum of the KW