The most reliable way to the doctorate

1. Regulations

Please print the  Doctoral Regulations (convenience translation) and read them carefully. If you have ambiguities, I am at your disposal.

2. Documents to be presented

Before submitting your documents, please make the electronic registration!!!

Follow the instructions of the electronic registration.

After finishing this registration, please submit your application, together with the following documents:

1. Scientific advision's letter, according to § 3 (1) 3.
2. Identification card or passport (just for personal)
3. Marriage, respectively birth certificate (either attested copies or original plus copy)
4. CV with handwritten date and signature.
5. Certificates: Abitur, diploma or state exam (both original and copy are possible)
6. Book of studies, respectively confirmation of matriculation of the Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
7. Criminal record from police (not older than 6 month), please apply for it at the "Bürgerbüro" or "Einwohnermeldeamt", in case of urgency bring the receipt. 
   The record should be send to the following adress: 
   Dekanat Math.-Nat.-Fakultät
   Geb. 25.32.00.36
   z.Hd. Fr. A. Simons
   Universitätsstr. 1
   40225 Düsseldorf
8. One bound copy of the dissertation for each commentator (Berichterstatter); inside the disertation, please insert two summaries (one in German and one in English). One copy for the deanery. 
9. One one page "loose" (DIN A4) representaion of the dissertation (in the language of the dissertation)
    

3. Submission of the examination

Availability: From Monday till Friday, from 9:30 till 11:30 a.m.

If, because of some job-reasons, you cannot manage to use these periods, it is possible to agree upon another, convenient appointment. +49 211 81 15092, or by 
 

5. Date of examination

During the lecture period

As soon as the reviews have been submitted, you will be informed.

When submitting your documents, you receive a list of dates on which you and the commentators must confirm one of the proposed dates as the examination-date.

Except this, you receive a list of examiners. Your scientific advisor proposes three more examiners (additionally to the commentators).

Please bring these two lists back as soon as possible.



The period for display of the dissertation (12 calendar days) will be filled in by the deanery.  

Out of lecture-period

Depends on availability of the deanery.

(Please see Regulations)

Still within the lecture-period, the scientific advisor must inform the dean in writing, that the doctorate in the discipline named confirm regulations, § 7, passage 1 Nr. 3 has been announced according to the rules. Furthermore all the examiners, chosen according to Regulations, § 7, passage 1, must confirm to the dean that they will be present at the exam which takes place out of the lecture period. The display period in this case will be of 18 calendar-days.

Date

You, all the groups of professors, private lecturers and commentators will be informed in writing about the date. One copy of the date-announcement will be displayed in the show-case. 

6. Examiers

According to the Regulations, your supervising advisor must present the exam proposals to the dean. You receive a preprint (list of examiners) where all the examiners participating in the exam are listed. This list must be signed by your supervising advisor, who is responsible for the presence on the fixed date of all the listed persons. This list, together with the list of dates must be handed out to the deanery "by return".

All habilitated members of the Faculty for Mathematics and Natural Sciences can be chosen to be examiners.

7. Examination

The oral examination takes at least one hour und consists of three parts:

20 minutes discours about your dissertation
20 minutes questions concerning the discourse
20 minutes questions from all the domains of the subject (Fach)

Possibilities of presentation for your discourse:

Beamer: You bring your notebook.
Overhead projector: You bring the overhead transparencies.
Poster: You can fix a poster on the blackboard or use a flipchart.
Blackboard: You develop your discourse/results on the blackboard. The dimensions of the blackboard are 2x2 m, 1 m high. Chalk (white and coloured), sponge, pointer and remote-control for the beamer are at hand.

When fixing the date, please let us know which presentation possibility you have chosen. If you have questions, please contact me.

After the oral examination you receive a written confirmation about your examination mark from the chairperson.

8. Publication of the dissertation

Guideline for publishing your dissertation

Together wit the review-requests all the commentators have received a revision-paper. These papers must be signed and sent back to the deanery, so that the dissertation can be published. After you have passed the examination and when all the revision-papers have arrived, the permission for publication will be issued. Only now publication is allowed.

For publication on the document server of the Heinrich-Heine-University, your dissertation must have the "PDF/A-1b" format. You can upload it following the step by step step-guidance .

Please inform yourself in time about the format. Please also pay attention to the advices from ULB (libary of the university) concerning the "PDF/A-1b" document . If you have questions, please contact die the author of the ULB.

Additionally you need two more depositary copies of your dissertation for your supervising tutor or the digital version on a suitable record (CD, DVD).


At the ULB you receive a receipt confirmation  From your tutor you need a confirmation about delivering the two depositary copies. This confirmation must also be handed over to the promotion office of the deanery. Here  you can find a layout sample for the title page and back page of the dissertation.

The dissertation must be published within one year after you passing the exam.

9. Certificate

After publication of the dissertation, a festivity will be organised where you receive your doctorate-certificate. If the publication delays, at the ceremony you receive a provisional copy of the certificate.

Here  you can find out the date of the next doctorate festivity.
Here  you can get pictures of the last doctorate festivity.


10.  Candidates from abroad
You have finished your studies abroad and want to get the title
»Dr. rer. nat« at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf?

In order to confirm the equality of your studies abroad with the German ones, you need an acceptance procedure by help of a University professor.

11. Starting into professional life

You are looking for a new job, but you don´t know, how to prepare your application?
You have already written hundreds of applications but without positive reactions?
You have no idea how to have a salary conversation?

At regular intervals (4-6 weeks) we offer a workshop Wie bewerbe ich mich richtig, zeitgemäß und erfolgreich? (application training).

You find the next date here  . You can get more information by asking per e-mail: