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Technical University of Munich

At the beginning of your doctorate

The graduate center of the School of Social Sciences and Technology is especially open to all doctoral candidates of the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology. 

Pursuant to the current TUM Regulations for the Award of Doctoral Degrees (Promotionsordnung), all doctoral candidates who are entered in the doctoral list of the faculty after January 2014 will automatically become members of the TUM Graduate School (TUM-GS).

Consequently the completion of the qualification program stipulated in the TUM Regulations for the Award of Doctoral Degrees (Promotionsordnung) is obligatory. In order to successfully complete a doctorate at TUM, for all new doctoral candidates there is a minimum membership requirement of two years in the TUM Graduate School and the requirement to complete the basic program.

The training offered by the TUM Graduate School (TUM-GS) supports the successful and expeditious completion of a doctorate. With the exception of a few core elements, most of the program is flexible in terms of time and content and can be agreed between the supervisor, the graduate center and the doctoral candidate.

As a member, you benefit, among other things, from the unification of the doctoral programs and the more structured supervision. In addition, you are represented by the elected doctoral student representatives in the Doctoral Students' Convention and by its speaker in the TUM Senate.

Statute and Order of TUM Graduate School as well as doctoral regulations and guidelines of the Technical University of Munich can be found under 'Downloads' 

To enter the doctoral candidacy list

  1. First, you must find a professor (first supervisor) to supervise and support your doctoral thesis.

    You can explore a comprehensive list of professors at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology on the SOT website.
    For prospective applicants, relevant general information is available on the TUM Graduate School homepage.
    A second supervisor is optional and must be from TUM. Exception: in cooperative doctoral programs with universities of applied sciences (HAW) or in the case of membership in the Graduate Center IGSEE

  2. Select your Graduate Center: Usually, the Graduate Center TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology is the right choice if your first supervisor is from SOT.
     

  3. Download the Supervision agreement of Graduate Center TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology under Links and downloads. Fill out the form with your supervisor.  Please read carefully the Supervision Agreement. This document specifies the parameters for your planned doctorate. Please ensure your Supervision agreement is signed by your Supervisor, Mentor and you (doctoral candidate). The Graduate Center will sign your supervision agreement once you have submitted all documents.
    Find a Mentor
    For the Supervision Agreement, you need to find a mentor who will accompany your doctoral project. A Mentor can encourage the doctoral candidate in his/her personal development. For more information on finding a mentor, please check the following webpage.

    --> Please note that the registration of a mentor is a prerequisite for registration on the doctoral list at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology.

  4. You can prepare your exposé of your doctoral project within 6 months after the supervision agreement comes into force and upload it to Doc-GS after consultation with the first supervisor.
     
  5. Register online at www.tum.de/doc-gs with your TUM ID
    • Please create an account in Doc-GS and set up your profile. Make sure to enter your information completely and accurately, using a consistent spelling that matches your official ID (e.g., passport or national ID). You can save your progress and log out at any time.
    • Are you an external doctoral candidate? Then please contact your Chair to request a TUM account, which will allow you to log in to Doc-GS.
    • Select “Application for Entry into the Doctoral Candidacy List” and fill in all required information. Submit the application once completed.

    • Print the finalized application, sign it, and have it signed by your primary supervisor.

      Submitting the application does not automatically result in a valid entry in the doctoral candidacy list. This entry is only made after the complete review process of the submitted documents has been completed.
       

  6. Submit all necessary documents to the Graduate Center of the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology (no scans!)

    • The required documents are listed in your "Application for Entry in the Doctoral List".
      Please complete all documents and hand them to the Graduate Centre-SOT in person, by post or by internal mail (Hauspost).
      --> Incomplete documents with missing signatures or certifications cannot be processed and will lead to delays and additional administrative work.

      With a German Master's

    • Application for Entry in the Doctoral List (generated by Doc-GS), signed by the first Supervisor and the doctoral candidate
    • Supervision agreement filled in and signed by the first Supervisor, Mentor and doctoral candidate
    • An officially certified copy of your university diploma (no originals and no scans).
    • An officially certified copy of your final university transcript (no originals and no scans).
    • An identification document (presented in person or as a copy with the ID number blacked out)

      With an international degree
    • Application for Entry in the Doctoral List (generated by Doc-GS), signed by Supervisor and doctoral candidate
    • Supervision agreement filled in and signed by the first Supervisor, Mentor and doctoral candidate
    • An officially certified copy of your university diploma (no originals and no scans). More Information
    • An officially certified copy of your final university transcript, including ECTS Information (no originals and no scans). More Information
    • Copy of your Bachelor's diploma and transcript, including ECTS information
    • An identification document (presented in person or as a copy with the ID number blacked out)
    • An abstract of your master's thesis project (or equivalent), in German or English.
    • Resumé with information about your prior education (schools, university studies, etc.)

      --> An international university degree must be subjected to an equivalence check. Expect additional turnaround time.
       
  7. Entry to the doctoral candidacy list
    • After the formal and content-related review of all documents, you will receive a confirmation from DocGS.
      You are now officially listed in the doctoral candidacy register.
    • You can find the Regulations for the Award of the Doctoral Degree of TUM on our website, Links and Downloads

       
  8. Enrollment: Please note that being entered on the doctoral candidacy list does not automatically mean that you are enrolled as a doctoral candidate.
    To acquire “student status” (max. 8 semesters), you must register with the TUM Center for Study and Teaching (CST). Do not forget to mention your doctoral candidate status.
    Detailed information is available on the wiki pages from the TUM Graduate School Application via TUMOnline.
     
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