First Steps Toward a Doctorate

Please find out which professor would be best suited to supervise your dissertation. Consider the professor's subject matter expertise. Refer to the websites of the respective school/department, where you can find information about professors' research interests, areas, and current dissertation projects.

To establish contact, we recommend sending an email introducing yourself and providing a brief summary of your dissertation project. Ideally, you should also attach a curriculum vitae (CV) and a short research proposal for your dissertation project.

Once you have secured the commitment of a professor to supervise your doctoral project, you and your supervisor must conclude a supervision agreement. This agreement sets out the framework for the ongoing supervision and support of your doctoral studies and defines, by mutual consent, the responsibilities and expectations of both you and your supervisor.

Please download the supervision agreement template and complete it together with your supervisor. Take sufficient time to discuss all aspects that are important to you, even if they are not explicitly covered by the template. Once completed and signed, the agreement should be submitted to the dean’s office of your school or department together with the agreed work and timeline plan. Alternatively, both documents can be submitted along with your application for admission as a doctoral candidate via Portal².

Please contact the doctoral office of your school or department to find out how the supervision agreement should be submitted (see also “3. Submitting the application for admission”).

After finalizing the supervision agreement, submit a proposal, also known as an application for admission, to your school or department. At this point, your eligibility to pursue a doctorate will be reviewed to ensure that you meet all the requirements specified in the regulations and procedures governing the doctoral dissertation. In addition to the proposal, you will generally be required to submit a CV as well as certified copies or originals of your degree certificates and diplomas. You can find the specific documents required by your school or department in the regulations and procedures governing the doctoral dissertation and on the proposal form.

The doctoral proposal can be submitted in paper form or digitally via Portal². Please check with the dean's office of your school or department to determine the required submission format. Either download the proposal form, fill it out, and submit it to the dean's office, or submit the digital proposal via Portal². Helpful information on submitting the proposal digitally can be found in the Portal² Instructions.

After your proposal has been reviewed and approved, you will receive written confirmation of your admission to the doctorate from your school or department.

Note: When submitting the proposal digitally, you must include the data sheet for student and examination statistics, fully completed.

If you have been accepted as a doctoral candidate by your school or department, you are required to enroll in accordance with Section 38(5) of the State Higher Education Act (LHG). An exception applies to doctoral candidates who are employed at their university at 50 percent or more of the regular working hours defined by the TV-L. In such cases, it is possible to apply for an exemption from the enrollment requirement.

If you do not apply for an exemption, enrollment will be processed automatically. A few days after receiving confirmation of admission from your school or department, you will receive an email confirming your enrollment. To complete the enrollment process, you will then be asked to pay the semester fee by bank transfer.

After enrollment, you are required to re-register each semester. Failure to do so by the specified deadline will result in a late fee. The obligation to re-register ends once you have successfully completed the oral examination of your doctoral degree (doctoral defense or Rigorosum)

More information on re-registration

Exemption from the Enrollment Requirement

If you qualify for an exemption from the enrollment requirement, you may submit a written application either shortly after your admission as a doctoral candidate or at a later stage if you take up eligible employment at the University of Mannheim. When deciding on the timing of your application, it may be helpful to consider Mannheim’s academic calendar, as the full semester fee is also payable for enrollments that take place during an ongoing semester.

The application form for exemption from the enrollment requirement is available in the download section.