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Regulations for the Conduct of Doctoral Examinations

On May 1st, 2024 an amendment order for the Dr. phil./Ph.D. Regulations of the Department of Political and Social Sciences of February 14th, 2018 has come into force. The Regulations and their amendments are valid for doctoral procedures in the

    • Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology
    • Otto-Suhr-Institute of Political Science
    • Institute for Media and Communication Studies and
    • Institute for Sociology

New  Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations have come into force on June 26th, 2024. They are valid for all doctoral subjects of the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science. Doctoral candidates in one of these subjects are therefore free to choose between the Dr. phil./Ph.D. and the Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations.

The Central Institutes are not authorized to confer doctoral degrees. If you have completed a Master´s programme in one of the Central Institutes and/or wish to write a doctoral thesis with a focus on regional topics, you have to decide on the subject and the respective department you wish to do your doctorate in. Should you have already come to an agreement with a prospective supervisor please take into account which department she or he is affiliated with. For further information please get in touch with the department your doctoral subject belongs to. If your chosen field is represented in the Department of Political and Social Sciences please observe the a.m. information on the current regulations. 

Regulations for the Conduct of Doctoral Examinations
(Legal Documents, exclusively in German)

English Versions of the Regulations for the Conduct of Doctoral Examinations
(Not legally binding, for your information only)

 Notice

    • Dr. phil./Ph.D. Regulations:
      Please note: The amendments are not only valid for doctoral candidates who have been admitted to the doctoral procedure after May 1st, 2024. They are likewise valid for doctoral candidates who have been admitted before the amendments came into force unless they submit an application to remain in the rules and regulations for the Dr. phil./Ph.D. of February 14th, 2018 (FU-Mitteilungen Nr. 16/2018) to the competent Committee for Doctoral Exami­nations in writing until April 30th, 2025 latest. Decisions on the assignment to a specific version of the rules and regulations that have been taken upon application can not be revised.
    • Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. Regulations:
      The new Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations are valid for all doctoral candidates who have successfully applied for  admission according to the Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations since June 26th, 2024. Doctoral candidates who have been admitted before June 26th, 2024 may either complete their doctoral procedure in accordance with the previous rules and regulations, provided an interim period of four years is not exceeded or can apply to the Committee for Doctoral Examinations for a conversion into the new regulations. Decisions on the assignment to a specific version of the rules and regulations that have been taken upon application can not be revised.