Submitting the Dissertation

A certain number of copies of the dissertation will need to be submitted to the department’s doctoral degree office. Depending on the department’s regulations, the dissertation can either be a 'traditional' monogrphy or a collection of articles previously published in peer-reviewed academic journals (publication based dissertation). As far as language requirements are concerned, the doctoral rules and regulations of the respective departments apply.

Dissertation Review

After you submit the dissertation, it will be given to the reviewers for evaluation. The reviewers have a deadline to grade the dissertation independently. The corrected dissertation is then made available for viewing in the department’s doctoral degree office for a set period of time, where it will be judged by other professors and postdocs in the department. If your dissertation passes this period without comments, the department committee can then decide on the grade.

Oral Examination - Disputation - Defense

After your dissertation is given a positive assessment, an appointment for the oral examination can be made. Either you will defend your dissertation (“Disputation”), or be tested on your dissertation as well as on topics from related disciplines (“Rigorosum”), depending on the department’s regulations. This also concerns the language in which the exam is conducted. You will be tested by a group usually consisting of the two reviewers of your dissertation and other professors or postdoctoral department members. They will decide on the overall grade of your doctorate at the end of the exam, which will be noted on a preliminary certificate.

Grades

• With distinction (summa cum laude)
• Very good (magna cum laude)
• Good (cum laude)
• Satisfactory (rite)
• Failed

Publishing the Dissertation

You will need to publish your dissertation in order to earn your doctorate. Regulations pertaining to publication form are outlined in the department’s doctorate regulations.

Guidelines for the submission of copies of the doctoral theses can be found on the websites of university library.

Degrees and Conferment of Title

The departmental rules and regulations for the doctorate ("Promotionsordnung) define which doctoral degrees are conferred. The traditional German doctoral degrees are disciplinary and in latin: e.g. doctor philosophiae, Dr. phil.; doctor rerum naturalium, Dr. rer. nat.; doctor medicinae veterinariae, Dr. med. vet. etc.). With the exception of Freie Universität's Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Department of Earth Sciencess, Department of Law, and School of Business & Economics, all other departments offer conferment of the alternate degree Philsophical Doctor (PhD/Ph.D.); partly with disciplinary suffix, e.g. Ph.D in Natural Sciences at the Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy). Prerequisite for the conferment of the degree PhD/Ph.D. is the successful completion of the curricular requirements of a structured doctoral program under the umbrella of Dahlem Research School, thus following the anglosaxon tradition. After completion of structured doctoral studies, DRS issues a Program Certificate and a Transcript of Records for succesful candidates of the DRS-programs (in addition to the doctoral certificate issued by the resprective departmental doctoral degree office, see below).

After publication, you will receive an official Doctoral Certificate and be able to use the title “Doctor” (or "PhD", if applicable, see above). Many departments will have a ceremony known as the “Promovendenfeier” once or twice a year, an official event to ceremonially confer the titles.