Your path to a doctorate
Find out about all the requirements and procedures before, during and after your doctorate at the Doctoral Research Center Integrated Mobility (PRIM).
Doctoral regulations and further links
How to be accepted onto the PRIM programme
Graduates of a master's degree programme in STEM subjects or a comparable field with an above-average final grade (at least 2.0).
- The primary supervisor must be a professor who is a member of the PRIM Academic Board .
- Second supervisors may also be other professors who hold a doctorate. However, it is not compulsory to appoint a second supervisor.
- Any person holding a doctorate may act as a mentor. They may, for example, come from the doctoral candidate’s academic or professional circle. However, it is not compulsory to appoint a mentor.
(1) Find a PRIM member who is willing to act as your primary supervisor.
(2) Draw up a research proposal in close consultation with your primary supervisor, using the guide to writing an academic research proposal (German version) and the template (German version) provided.
(3) Once your research proposal has been accepted by your primary supervisor, you must draw up a supervision agreement (German version) with your primary supervisor and – if applicable – with your secondary supervisor, and have them sign it.
(4) You should then upload all the necessary documents via docDaten.
(5) Once the administrative office has reviewed your online application, you must either submit the original copies of the complete certificates and documents you have uploaded – including your higher education entrance qualification and proof of identity – to the administrative office, or send certified copies by post. Furthermore, the application summary form, bearing your original signature, must be submitted to the PRIM administrative office.
Please make an appointment at promotionszentren@hm.edu to submit the originals in person.
- Register with docDaten
- Please provide the following required information:
- Personal details, contact details
- Educational background
- Provisional working title of the doctoral project
- Field of study (STEM or equivalent)
- Supervisors (contact details, email); if there are several supervisors, please specify their respective areas of responsibility
An application for admission (online form) is then created via docDaten. This must be signed by the candidate and the principal supervisor and uploaded to docDaten.
- The following personal documents must be uploaded to docDaten:
- Higher education degree certificates, diplomas and Diploma Supplements
- Higher education entrance qualification
- Curriculum Vitae
- A copy of a valid identity document
- Signed supervision agreement
- Signed prospectus
The Doctoral Committee decides whether all the formal requirements have been met and whether the research proposal meets the academic standards.
At PRIM, doctoral candidates can obtain a Dr.-Ing. degree.
During my doctorate
The support includes:
(1) In-depth advice on defining and delimiting the PhD topic, its academic relevance and risk assessment
(2) Support in structuring the content and timetable of the doctoral phase, which should be planned to last for a reasonable period of time
(3) Supporting the academic exploration of the research topic through expert advice and suggestions
(4) Monitoring the doctoral candidate’s research process
(5) Feedback on the doctoral candidate’s current state of research and the results obtained so far
(6) Discussion of future research plans
(7) Teaching the principles of good scientific practice
(8) Support with integration into the national and international scientific community
(9) Advice on appropriate training content and suitable career progression
Doctoral candidates and their supervisors hold regular joint feedback meetings to discuss the progress of the doctoral project and the accompanying doctoral programme, and to agree on the next steps.
- If you have a doctorate place at the university, you will automatically be granted access to the library and the digital resources.
- If you are studying for a doctorate as an external student, you can apply for a guest account or enrol via your supervisor’s department.
- Further information on enrolment can be found at:
- §18 of the HM Enrolment Regulations (in German)
- On the Graduate School’s website
The general accompanying doctoral programme consists of the following compulsory elements:
- Compulsory courses:
- Good scientific practice (usually comprising 7 hours)
- Academic Research / Academic Writing (usually comprising 14 hours)
- Students must also choose courses totalling at least 14 hours from the HM’s compulsory elective programme.
Here you will find the latest courses and dates
- The supervisor may arrange for further subject-specific training courses as required.
- Doctoral candidates are required to participate regularly and actively in the research colloquium organised by the Doctoral Research Center. Each doctoral candidate must present the progress of their PhD project at least twice.
The written dissertation consists of an independently authored treatise that advances academic knowledge and demonstrates the doctoral candidate’s abilities to address academically significant research questions in a methodologically sound and independent manner and to present the findings appropriately. The dissertation may take the form of a monograph or a collection of published articles placed within an academic context (publication-based dissertation).
- Monograph
The monograph must not be identical to a previously written final assignment or a previously published paper, but may build upon such a work. The prior publication of parts of the work intended as a dissertation is permitted, provided that this is declared at the time of admission to the doctoral procedure and noted in the dissertation. - Publication-based dissertation
In a publication-based dissertation, the academic problem, the approaches used to address it, the results and conclusions reached, and the relevant literature must be presented in such a way as to demonstrate how the work fits into a broader academic context and to highlight the added value it offers beyond the publications cited.
A publication-based dissertation consists of:
- At least three accepted (peer-reviewed) publications in recognised specialist journals, of which at least two must have been authored by the doctoral candidate as the lead author, and
- a reasonably comprehensive, previously unpublished overview which adequately sets out the thematic connections between the published works and places the issues addressed within a broader academic context.
Completion of a doctorate
Please discuss the submission of your monograph or your publication-based dissertation with your supervisor. The application for admission to the doctoral procedure must be submitted to the PRIM Doctoral Committee. The following documents must be enclosed with the application (Section 22 PromOM):
- Updated CV in accordance with Section 21(2)(3) of the PromOM
- Statement by the principal supervisor regarding admission to the doctoral procedure
- The title of the written doctoral thesis
- A printed and bound copy of the doctoral thesis, together with an electronic version in PDF format
- In the case of provisional approval pursuant to Section 21(5), fifth sentence, of the PromOM, evidence of the fulfilment of the conditions
- Proof of successful completion of the compulsory elements of the accompanying doctoral programme
- Declaration regarding prior publications in accordance with Section 23(6) of the PromOM, together with a list of prior publications and a complete and up-to-date list of all other academic publications by the doctoral candidate
- Current standard certificate of good conduct
- Statement of the intended doctoral degree and a declaration as to whether the degree is to be awarded in the masculine or feminine form
- Submission of the following written statements:
- The doctoral thesis and the academic work documented therein were produced independently and without unauthorised assistance.
- The printed copy is identical to the electronic version
- The written doctoral thesis had not already been submitted, in whole or in part, to another examination board; the doctoral examination for the intended doctoral degree had not previously been definitively failed.
- The candidate has not yet passed the doctoral examination required to obtain the intended doctoral degree.
- All sources and resources used, as well as any material quoted verbatim or paraphrased
- Excerpts from other works have been identified as such.
- The written doctoral thesis may be stored electronically and used for the purposes of citation verification; it may also be checked for any instances of plagiarism using digital tools, in particular plagiarism detection software.
- The doctoral candidate is aware that the doctoral degree may only be used once the certificate has been issued, and that the rights acquired will lapse if the statutory copies are not submitted on time.
For each doctoral procedure, the Doctoral Committee appoints an examination board, which usually consists of a chairperson, the first examiner and the second examiner.
The oral examination takes place before the examination board and consists of:
- a public academic lecture lasting approximately 30 minutes and a public discussion of the objectives, approaches and findings of the doctoral thesis presented in the lecture, as well as
- a closed-door defence lasting approximately 45 minutes, attended only by the candidate, the members of the examination board and invited guests.
Further details are set out in Section 25 of the PromOM.
The approved version of the doctoral thesis must be submitted to the HM University Library for public access in one of the following publication formats:
- four printed copies, if the complete thesis, designated as a written doctoral thesis, is published by a publisher as a book with an ISBN and the publisher confirms a contractually agreed minimum print run or makes it available as an e-book that is permanently accessible online via the publisher’s website, or
- four printed and bound copies of a digital version of the doctoral thesis published on the university library’s publication server; in this case, the doctoral candidate grants the university the right to reproduce the thesis, make it available on data networks and convert it into other formats as part of its statutory duties.
In any case, a printed copy of the written doctoral thesis remains in the PRIM doctoral file.
Further details are set out in Section 29 of the PromOM.
The doctoral title may only be used once the doctoral degree certificate has been issued. The rights acquired will lapse if the statutory copies are not submitted on time.