PhD in Germany

Germany’s Doctorate degree has an excellent reputation in all over worlds. Teaching and research provide key impulses for innovation and progress. The German doctorate enjoys an outstanding reputation in all disciplines, with the country producing about 25,000 doctorates every year. The research infrastructure in Germany is second-to-none. Germany having produced over 100 Nobel prize-winners over the years!

There are very good reasons for this, which include among others International degree Programmes (IDP) taught in English medium, excellent quality of education, low or no tuition fees, career opportunities after graduation and above all social security.

German universities and research organizations are always looking for qualified doctoral students from abroad.

Types Of Ph.D. In Germany

Ph.D. students in Germany are most often referred to as Doctoral Candidates. There are two types of PhDs in Germany:

  • Traditional Approach
  • Structured Doctoral Programmes

The traditional approach involves identifying a supervisor (Doktorvater/Doktormutter, interestingly meaning a thesis father or mother!) at a German university who is willing to guide your research. This system offers a lot of flexibility since there is no compulsory attendance, deadlines or curriculum, but requires a great deal of dedication. The average length of this kind of Ph.D. is 4 years. Identify a programme. Contact the selected university. This will be your most important source of information as far as exact details about eligibility, programme structure, fee, application procedure etc. are concerned.

According to the German Council of Science and Humanities, the majority of doctoral candidates still complete a traditional doctorate but a growing proportion chose structured programmes, especially in the natural

For more information regarding "PhD Programs" and requirements, please visit www.daad.de

German University System

There are mainly two types of higher education institutions in Germany

Universities (including Technische Universität, also known as TU) are research-oriented and offer a wide variety of subjects. These can award doctorate degrees.

Fachhochschulen on the other hand, are practice-oriented and offer courses mainly in engineering, business administration, social sciences, and design. They do not award doctorates.