In short: Pursue your doctorate at Freie Universität Berlin

The doctorate is the next step in the academic journey after a Master's degree. The successful completion and defense of the dissertation awards the doctoral academic degree and cements the skill to contribute significantly to the research field.

The pathways to a doctorate

In Germany there are two ways to pursue a doctorate - the individual and the structured way. To learn more about these options, please visit Dahlem Research School's website. The individual doctorate does not abide by any deadlines or calls for application - you can apply at any moment. The structured programs follow a different logic and they open places periodically. To check por open vacancies, please check the list of current calls for application.

Finding a supervisor / applying to the program

In the case of an individual doctorate the first step is to find a host/supervisor/tutor who is willing to act as your academic supervisor for the research that will go into your project. The supervisor is a crucial part of the success of your doctorate and his or her importance cannot be overstated. In order to try the help as much as possible in this process, Dahlem Research School compiled this guide on how to find a supervisor.

For those interested in entering a structured program this step is replaced by applying to the program of interest.

Admission and enrollment as a doctoral researcher

Depending on whether you choose to pursue your doctorate individually or in a program, please read about the admission and enrollment as a doctoral researcher.

The Departments: their significance and why they are the main point of reference

Starting at the doctorate level, Freie Universität becomes de-centralized. Because doctoral research is about the details, almost every question will have to be properly and specifically analized, before an answer can be given. This means that in case of questions about application, admission, general procedure, formalities regarding documents and other criteria the best place to reach out to is always the Doctorate Degree office of the department that hosts the discipline you are researching in. In case there is not an assigned doctorate office, please consult the list of departments to find the correct contact person.

Dahlem Research School: Centralized support for structured doctorate programs

Dahlem Research School is the center for junior researchers at Freie Universität Berlin.

DRS provides continuous, systematic and sustainability-oriented support to early career researchers. It develops strategies and measures to assure and improve the quality of graduate education and, on the other hand, offers an extensive qualification program. To get an impression of what DRS offers, please check out their site.

Current calls for application

DRS also keeps an updated list with all currently open calls for applications.

Funding

There are many ways to finance your doctorate at Freie Universität Berlin.

The Elsa Neumann Scholarships, for example, provide financing by the City-State of Berlin for doctoral research for up to three years. Some doctoral programs at Freie Universität Berlin also offer scholarships, to be updated please check the open calls for applications. Also, the DAAD offers a wide array of bi-national doctoral research scholarships. And while they are specific, the German Poltiical Foundations also offer research funding. Please, check their respective websites for more information about that.

Questions?

If you still have questions, don't hesitate to contact either beratung@drs.fu-berlin.de or saopaulo@fu-berlin.de.