Doctorate at the TUM School of Natural Sciences

Have you already earned a Master of Science or a related degree with above-average results? Are you full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge? Are you interested in independent research in a current field and want to discover new things? Then this is the place for you! The former Department of Chemistry and the Physics Department merged into the new TUM School of Natural Sciences and the same applies for the Graduate Center of Natural Sciences.

TUM is one of the leading research universities in Europe and together with our partner institutions, the Campus Garching offers a rich and unique academic environment for physical sciences. The TUM School of Natural Sciences comprises three departments: Bioscience, Chemistry and Physics. With around 1100 ongoing PhD projects we offer an exciting environment to pursue a PhD in natural sciences. Doctoral studies at TUM are characterized by teamwork, interdisciplinarity and independent thinking and provide valuable assets for any successful career.

On these pages you will find all necessary information about requirements and guide you through the formal steps towards a PhD in natural sciences.

Note

These web pages are gradually updated and expanded.

Please let us know how we can improve our pages with an email to promotion@nat.tum.de.

Contents:

• General information
• Application as a PhD student at NAT
  • Requirements
    • Foreign Degrees
  • Overview of the application process
  • Registration at the TUM Graduate School: Membership at the Graduate Center of Natural Sciences
    • Supervision Agreement
    • Mentor
  • Entry onto the list of doctoral candidates
    • List of required documents
    • Information on diplomas and certificates / certified copies
  • TUM-ID and TUM email address
  • „Direct Track“ from a Master´s program
• Membership and roles as a doctoral candidate
  • Different institutions: memberships and roles
    • Confirmation of Membership
  • Funding of your Ph.D. project
  • Membership at TUM: TUM-ID (TUM-Kennung)
    • Important: Link your DocGS and TUM accounts
  • Enrollment as a doctoral student at TUM
• Changes of your doctorate at NAT
  • Changes in personal data
  • Change of regulations for the award of a doctoral degree
    • Documents for your information
  • Change of your Graduate Center
  • Change of mentor
  • Change of supervisor
• Qualification program
  • Good scientific practice
  • Mandatory elements of the qualification program
    • Kick-Off Seminar of the TUM Graduate School
    • Subject-Related Training
    • Active participation in the academic environment of TUM
    • Feedback discussion of your PhD project
    • Discussion in the international scientific community
    • Minimum membership of 2 years in the TUM-GS
    • Annual data confirmation in DocGS
    • Further information about the qualification program
  • Optional elements of the qualification program
    • Internationalisation funds of the TUM Graduate School
    • Transferable Skills Training
  • Reporting and confirmation of the qualification program
    • No direct entries in DocGS!
    • Physics
    • Chemistry
    • Moved pages
• Internationalisation funds of the TUM Graduate School
  • Application and frequently asked questions
  • TUM-GS Internationalization subsidy (since 2014)
  • TUM-GS Internationalization Grant
    • More information
  • Initiativ-Fonds of the Graduate Center NAT
  • Information of the TUM-GS
• Active participation in the academic environment of TUM
• Reporting teaching at NAT
  • Documentation of the DSSNAT system for reporting teaching activities
    • Individual teaching report
    • Teaching report for organizations
  • Deadlines for the academic year 2022/3
  • FAQ on the teaching duty system
    • The objective of the new teaching system
    • Basic information on the teaching system
    • Too few points for supervising exams
    • Tasks for exercise modules
    • Points for teaching exercises
    • Too few points for teaching an exercise / tutorial
    • Preparing a lecture script or other supplementary materials
    • Points required as an external PhD student
    • Problems with the TUM account or teaching account
• Submission of the thesis
  • Doctoral Thesis (“Dissertation”)
  • Remark on the dates of handing in and the oral exam
    • Qualification program of TUM GS
    • Earliest possible exam date
• Acceptance of the dissertation and doctoral examination
  • Appointment of the examining committee and assessment
  • Acceptance of the dissertation (“Umlauf-Verfahren”)
    • Acceptance committee Physics
    • Acceptance committee Chemistry
    • Acceptance committee Biosciences
    • Acceptance committee Engineering
  • Oral examination
• Publication of the thesis and final steps
  • Publication of the thesis
  • Certificate
  • TUM GS Certificate
• Contact for doctoral matters at the TUM School of Natural Sciences
  • Email address
  • Address
  • Dean’s office / doctoral studies
  • Graduate Center of Natural Sciences
    • Management and administrative matters
    • Speaker of the Graduate Center
    • Representatives of the Doctoral Candidates
• Downloads and links
  • General regulations and information about a doctorate at NAT