Guideline for the Doctoral Degree Process

Together with your supervisor, please fill out the first and second page of the Milestones (provided by the Center Manager). Do this twice and keep one of the documents. Send the other one to the Dean’s Office of the Business School, which will present it to the Doctoral Examination committee for acceptance.

Together with your Milestones or your Supervision Agreement, please submit an admission request to the Dean of the Business School (informal). Please state your topic (working title) in your letter and hand in the following documents: 

• CV (incl. place and date of birth, nationality, phone number, e-mail)
• Certified copy of Graduate degree certificate
• Declaration of consent to data processing

The Dean’s Office of the Business School examines the request regarding the requirements for acceptance and sends out a confirmation of acceptance as a doctoral candidate.

Funding acknowledgement statement for publications:

“This work was supported by the University of Mannheim’s Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences.”

After you have successfully completed your thesis, please set a date for the defense of your dissertation with your supervisor and speak to the Dean’s Office regarding date, time and location. Submit a request to the Dean (informal) in good time before the intended oral examination and hand in the following: 

• Registration form for examination
• Hand in one copy of your doctoral dissertation each to the Dean’s Office and your two evaluators (in format DIN A4). Also hand in an electronic version at the Dean’s Office.
• Declarations in lieu of oath and consent for the plagiarism check
• Final transcript of the CDSB

After you have successfully applied for the doctoral examination, the Dean’s Office of the Business School will coordinate the following: 

• Acceptance of the doctoral dissertation by the evaluators (section 9 subsection 3 and 4 of the Regulations)
• Public display (2 weeks, if the public display is during the lecture period; 4 weeks, if the public display is during the lecture-free period)
• Acceptance of the doctoral dissertation (if no one objects to it during the display period) 

For the oral examination, the Dean’s Office of the Business School takes care of the following: 

• Appoint group(s) of examiners
• Send invitations to examiners and candidates
• Preparation of examination forms and certificates

The examination will be hosted by at least two business administration examiners and, if applicable, one additional examiner. You will find all details regarding the oral examination in the Regulations. 

Please submit a request to the Dean regarding the printing permission of the doctoral dissertation. Together with the request, please hand in the title page of your dissertation (front and back) and a short CV that will be placed at the very back of your thesis (sample).

After having received your documents, the Dean's Office will seek written consent of your evaluators. Once these have arrived, the Dean will issue you a printing permission. You can then arrange printing and deliver your mandatory printed copies in DIN A5 format (210 mm x 148 mm) to the Dean's Office. Please note the different ways of publishing.

After delivering the mandatory copies, the Dean’s Office of the Business School will send you the official certificate as soon as it is available.