At the beginning of your doctorate

The graduate's centre of the School of Social Sciences and Technology is open to all doctoral candidates. According to the current TUM Regulations for the Award of Doctoral Degrees (Promotionsordnung) all doctoral candidates who enter correctly the doctoral list of the faculty after January 2014 will automatically become members of the TUM-GS.

Consequently the completion of the qualification program stipulated by the doctoral regulations is compulsory. 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 courses offered by the TUM Graduate School (TUM-GS) support the successful and speedy completion of a doctorate. With the except of several core elements, the majority of the program is flexible in terms of time and content and can be arranged between the supervisor, FGC and the doctoral candidate.

In addition, the doctoral candidates will represent by the elective doctoral candidate's representative in the doctoral candidate's convention and by his speakers in the senate of TUM.

Statute and Order of TUM Graduate School as well as doctoral regulations and guidelines of TU München, can be find under 'Downloads' [→here]

To enter the doctoral candidacy list

1. First, you must find a professor(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.

2. Select your Graduate Center: Usually, the Graduate Center TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology is the right choice; however, you can choose another Graduate Center.
   
    

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, you can contact us.

   --> 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
   • Please create only one Account. Saving and logging out is possible at any time.
   • A PDF with your Application for Acceptance as a Doctoral Candidate will be generated when all fields are filled in. Please print this document and sign it, along with your supervisor.
     The submission of an application is not automatically associated with a valid entry in the doctoral list. This only takes place after the entire review process of the submitted documents.
      
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

   • Application for Entry in the Doctoral List, signed by Supervisor and doctoral candidate
   • Supervision agreement filled in and signed by 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, signed by Supervisor and doctoral candidate
   • Supervision agreement filled in and signed by 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 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
   • Your entry to the doctoral candidacy list will be confirmed by email, whereby you become a full member of the TUM Graduate School.
   • Once registered on the doctoral candidacy list, you can also enrol as a doctoral candidate, taking advantage of several available benefits (max. 8 semesters). Application is via TUMOnline.
      
8. Membership:  Once you are on the doctoral candidacy list, you will be a member of TUM Graduate School. A minimum of 2 years of membership at TUM Graduate School is a prerequisite for the award of a doctoral Degree.
    
9. Enrollment: Please note that entered on the doctoral candidacy list does not automatically mean that you are enrolled as a doctoral candidate.
   To acquire “student status”, you must register with the TUM Center for Study and Teaching (CST). Do not forget to mention your doctoral candidate status.

You will find checklists and the Regulations for the Award of Doctoral Degree of TUM in our website Links and Download.