Your path to a doctorate
Find out about all the requirements and procedures before, during and after your doctorate at the Doctoral Research Centre for 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 doctoral 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 Centre. Each doctoral candidate must present the progress of their doctoral 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.
Account activation in docDaten
To apply for admission to the doctoral programme, your account must be activated in docDaten. To do so, please send an informal email to the administration office. Your account will usually be activated within the next few working days.
Documents required for the application for admission to the doctoral programme
The following documents are required for the application for admission to the doctoral programme:
- an up-to-date CV in German or English, which also provides information on the doctoral candidate’s academic background.
- a printed and bound copy of the written doctoral thesis, as well as an electronic version (as a PDF file). Research data must be submitted exclusively as attachments to the electronic version.
- In the case of provisional acceptance pursuant to Section 21(5), fifth sentence, of the PromOM, proof of fulfilment of the conditions.
- Proof of successful participation in the compulsory elements of the doctoral programme:
- To do this, please use the form ‘Documentation of the doctoral programme’.
- Complete the form and send it to the Doctoral Centre’s administrative office no later than two weeks before submission as an editable Word file, together with the supporting documents compiled into a single PDF file in the correct order.
- Once the form has been checked by the office, it will be returned to you by email and you can upload it as evidence to docDaten.
- Declaration regarding prior publications in accordance with section 23(6), second sentence, 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.
- If your monograph contains publication-based elements, or if you are pursuing a doctorate based on publications and these publications were co-authored, please submit the relevant declarations of authors’ contributions.
- a current (no more than 6 months old) official certificate of good conduct (including the original).
- If the title of your doctoral thesis has changed, please notify the Administration Office of the new title by email and put your primary supervisor in cc. You cannot change the title yourself in docDaten.
Application for admission to the doctoral programme
Once your account has been activated, you can edit and download the application for admission to the doctoral programme. In particular, you must provide the following details:
- Current contact details
- Indication of whether the doctoral degree is to be awarded in the feminine form
- Declarations
Please also check the details regarding the title of the written doctoral thesis and the doctoral degree. You cannot change either of these yourself. If necessary, please contact the Doctoral Centre’s administrative office.
Download the application from docDaten and send it to your primary supervisor for their comments on the commencement of the doctoral programme and for their proposal regarding the composition of the examination board.
You should then upload the signed application, together with the comments and the proposed composition of the examination board, to docDaten. The Doctoral Centre’s administrative office will review the documents you have uploaded.
Once you have received confirmation that the documents have been reviewed, please send the application, the mandatory copy and the remaining original documents to the Doctoral Centre’s administrative office:
Address:
Hochschule München
Promotionszentrum PRIM
z. Hd. Frau Dr. Cordula Burtscher
Lothstraße 34
80335 München
Required information on the title page
The title page of the doctoral thesis must contain the following information:
- the title of the doctoral thesis
- any subtitles, if applicable
- the doctoral degree to be awarded
- the name of the HM
- the name of the doctoral centre (PRIM)
- the name of the supervisors of the names of the supervisors
- the full name of the doctoral candidate
- the date of submission of the dissertation
A template for the title page for the respective doctoral centres can be found here.
Dissertations written in a foreign language follow the German format, but must state the foreign-language title first, followed by the German title (§ 23(8) PromOM).
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.