Acceptance of the dissertation and doctoral examination¶
Appointment of the examining committee and assessment¶
The Dean’s Office asks the supervisor (who is generally the first examiner) to suggest members for the examination committee. The Dean may accept this suggestion or change the committee. The committee members and the candidate are informed of the committee’s appointment. Furthermore, each committee member will receive a copy of the thesis.
The Dean’s Office requests the written reports. PhD committees and exam dates are published before the Dean’s Office.
Acceptance of the Dissertation (“Umlauf-Verfahren”)¶
After a doctoral thesis has been assessed by all examiners as “passed,” or better, the dissertation and the expert opinions are made available to the corresponding “Umlaufgremium” (Acceptance committee) of the TUM School of Natural Sciences.
Currently, there are four acceptance committees established:
The professors have at least seven days to give their statements to either “accept” or “reject” the thesis. A decision to reject must specify reasons. In case of acceptance, it is possible to include a comment. These reasons and comments are forwarded to the School Executive Board or the examination committee, respectively. The voters’ names (or the authors of comments and reasons) are not forwarded to the examination committee and the candidate.
The dissertation is accepted if there are sufficient statements to “accept” and no statement to “reject” the thesis, and the seven-day deadline has passed. Fifteen positive votes are required for acceptance committees with 20 to 39 members and 20 for those with 40 or more.
During the “Umlauf-Verfahren,” it is the candidate’s responsibility to actively seek the necessary “accept” statements.
Oral Exam¶
After completion of the acceptance procedure (Umlauf-Verfahren), the candidate should organize the exam date (and place) with the examiners and submit the coordinated date to the Dean’s Office. Once the “Umlauf” has been completed, the Dean’s office may announce the exam date, which must be at least seven days after its announcement. The Dean’s Office sends the official invitation to examiners and candidates for the oral exam. The Dean’s Office forwards the required documents for the examination to the committee chair. After the oral exam, the chair returns the completed documents to the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office forwards them to the central examination office.