Doctorate at the TUM School of Natural Sciences (Promotion)

Information for doctoral candidates, applicants, and supervisors in physics, chemistry, and biosciences

At a glance

This portal explains the formal steps toward a doctorate at the TUM School of Natural Sciences: admission, supervision, membership in Graduate Center NAT, the qualification program, thesis submission, examination, and the publication of the doctoral thesis.

Useful German terms: Promotion, Dissertation, Promotionsordnung, Promotionsverfahren, Betreuungsvereinbarung, Doktorand, Doktorandin.

Finding the right information

I am planning a doctorate

Start here if you are interested in a doctorate at the TUM School of Natural Sciences and want to understand the requirements, the application process, or the recognition of a degree from outside Germany.

• Overview of doctoral studies at NAT (Promotion an der NAT)

• How to start your doctorate and admission requirements (Voraussetzungen für eine Promotion)

• Degrees from outside Germany (ausländische Abschlüsse)

• Application and entry in the doctoral list (Eintrag Promotionsliste)

I am currently a doctoral candidate

Use these pages if you are already accepted as a doctoral candidate and need information on your membership, qualification program, international activities, thesis submission, or examination.

• Membership, roles and responsibilities (Mitgliedschaft)

• Qualification program (Qualifizierungsprogramm)

• Internationalization and research stays (internationale Forschung oder Konferenzen)

• Confirmation of qualification program activities (Bestätigung Qualifizierungsprogramm)

• Preparing and submitting the doctoral thesis (Einreichen Doktorarbeit)

• Overview on doctoral procedure and examination (Promotionsverfahren und Doktorprüfung)

I supervise doctoral candidates

These pages summarize the main administrative steps and documents for supervisors, including supervision, feedback meetings, confirmation of the qualification program, assessment, and examination.

• Admission requirements and degrees from outside Germany

• Supervision agreement (Betreuungsvereinbarung)

• Feedback discussion (Feedbackgespräch)

• Confirming qualification program activities (Bestätigung Qualifizierungsprogramm)

• Assessment and acceptance procedure (Annahmeverfahren)

• Examination (Doktorprüfung) and Guidelines for doctoral examination committees (Prüfungskommission)

An overview on all content of this web portal is found below.

Helping to improve this information

These pages are continuously updated, refined, and expanded. If you are missing information on the formal steps toward a doctorate in the natural sciences, or if you have suggestions for improvement, please contact us at promotion@nat.tum.de.

Glossary

To support both German and international doctoral candidates, we provide an English and German glossary with important terms related to doctoral studies, including Promotion, supervisor (Doktormutter, Doktorvater), doctoral thesis (Doktorarbeit), and other administrative terms.

Contents

• Doctoral studies at NAT: overview
  • Obtain a PhD in physics, chemistry, or bioscience (Promotion an der NAT)
  • Starting a doctorate at the TUM School of Natural Sciences
• Apply for a doctorate (Bewerbung zur Promotion)
  • Admission requirements at the TUM School of Natural Sciences (Voraussetzungen)
    • Foreign degrees and degree recognition (Anerkennung)
  • Application process overview (Bewerbung)
  • TUM ID and TUM email address
    • Use your TUM email address for official communication
  • Register with the TUM Graduate School and join a Graduate Center (Mitgliedschaft)
    • Supervision agreement (Betreuungsvereinbarung)
    • Mentor for your doctoral project
  • Entry on the list of doctoral candidates (Eintrag Promotionsliste)
    • Required documents
    • Diplomas, certificates, and certified copies (beglaubigte Kopien)
  • Direct Track from a Master’s program
• Membership and roles during your doctorate (Mitgliedschaft, Promotionsliste)
  • Memberships related to your doctoral project
    • TUM School of Natural Sciences
    • Graduate Center of Natural Sciences or another TUM Graduate Center
    • TUM Graduate School (TUM-GS)
    • Technical University of Munich (TUM)
    • Confirmation of doctoral candidate status (Bestätigung)
  • Other roles and affiliations
    • Funding your doctoral project (Finanzierung)
    • External institutions and external Graduate Centers
• Changes during your doctorate at NAT (Änderungen)
  • Change your personal data (persönliche Daten)
  • Change the doctoral degree regulations that apply to you (Promotionsordnung)
    • Documents and regulations
  • Change your Graduate Center (Graduiertenzentrum)
  • Change your mentor
  • Change your supervisor (Wechsel von Doktormutter oder Doktorvater)
• Qualification program during your doctorate (Qualifizierungsprogramm)
  • Qualification program tailored to your doctoral project
  • Good scientific practice (gute wissenschaftliche Praxis)
  • Mandatory elements of the qualification program (Pflichtelemente)
    • Kick-off seminar of the TUM Graduate School
    • Subject-related training (Fachspezifische Qualifizierung)
    • Active participation in TUM’s academic environment (Einbindung ins akademische Umfeld)
    • Feedback discussion for your doctoral project (Feedbackgespräch)
    • Presenting and discussing your research internationally
    • Minimum TUM-GS membership period of two years (Mindestmitgliedschaft)
    • Annual data confirmation in DocGS (Rückmeldung)
    • Further information
  • Optional elements of the qualification program
    • Internationalization
    • Transferable skills training
  • Report and confirm your qualification program (Bestätigung)
    • Report completed qualification elements
    • Do not enter qualification elements directly in DocGS
    • Confirmation of the qualification program (Bestätigung)
    • Physics-specific confirmation process
    • Chemistry-specific confirmation process
• Funding for international research stays and conferences
  • Internationalization support from TUM-GS and GC-NAT (Internationalisierungsmittel)
    • Application and reimbursement (Erstattung)
  • TUM-GS Internationalization Support
  • TUM-GS Internationalization Grant
    • More information on the TUM-GS grant
  • Initiativ-Fonds of the Graduate Center NAT
  • TUM-GS information on internationalization support
• Submit your doctoral thesis (Einreichung Doktorarbeit)
  • Submission steps
    • Title page for submission and publication (Titelblatt)
  • Submission date and earliest oral examination date
    • TUM-GS qualification program before submission (Qualifizierungsprogramm)
    • Earliest possible oral examination date
• Dissertation assessment and acceptance (Annahmeverfahren)
  • Completing your doctorate: process overview
  • Examination committee and assessment process (Prüfungskommission)
    • Guidelines for doctoral examination committees (Prüfungskommission)
  • Dissertation acceptance by circulation procedure (Umlaufverfahren)
    • Acceptance committee for Physics (Dr. rer. nat.)
    • Acceptance committee for Chemistry (Dr. rer. nat.)
    • Acceptance committee for Biosciences (Dr. rer. nat.)
    • Acceptance committee for Engineering (Dr.-Ing.)
• Oral examination (Doktorprüfung)
  • Public announcements of doctoral examinations (Prüfungsankündigungen)
  • Information required for the oral examination announcement
  • Organization of the oral examination
• Publish your thesis and complete your doctorate
  • Publish your thesis (Veröffentlichung)
    • Submit the final title page (finales Titelblatt)
    • Publication options
    • After publication
    • Embargoed publications (Sperrvermerk)
  • Final doctoral certificate (Promotionsurkunde)
  • TUM Graduate School certificate
• Services from GC-NAT
  • Funding for international research stays and conferences
  • Grammarly license
  • Confirmation of membership (Mitgliedsbestätigung)
  • Annual performance review (Jahresgespräch)
• Contact for doctoral studies at the TUM School of Natural Sciences
  • Email address
  • Postal address (Anschrift)
  • Dean’s Office for doctoral studies (Dekanat)
  • Graduate Center of Natural Sciences (GC-NAT)
    • Management and administrative support
    • Speaker of the Graduate Center (Sprecher)
    • Doctoral candidate representatives (Promovierendenvertretung)
• Downloads, forms, and links
  • Regulations and general information for doctoral studies at NAT (Promotionsordnung, Regelungen)
  • Templates and forms (Formulare)
    • Supervision agreement (Betreuungsvereinbarung)
    • Membership forms (Mitgliedschaft)
    • Submission forms and templates
  • Confirmation of doctoral candidate status (Promotionsbestätigung)