Studying for a Doctorate

doctoral candidates working at a desk Photo: Torsten Silz

The FernUniversität offers you an attractive environment for completing your doctorate – either in combination with professional work in academic teaching and research (“internal doctorate”) or without a position at the FernUniversität ("external doctorate").

Doctoral students carry out a research project independently and write a dissertation, in just the same way as at on-campus universities. As a rule, doctoral students conduct their research in close cooperation with a professor. The dean’s offices of the respective faculties are responsible for the subject-specific requirements. You must find a scientist who is willing to supervise your research project.

Contact to the Faculties

Responsibility for the acceptance and implementation of doctorates lies with the individual faculties. Information on formal requirements and subject-specific frameworks can be obtained directly there.

Faculty Contact person
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Dr. Thomas Walter
Email: thomas.walter

Phone: +49 2331 987-1332
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science Jan Engelkamp
Email: jan.engelkamp
Phone: +49 2331 987-2672
Faculty of Psychology Anke Jürgens

Email: psy.dekanat
Phone: +49 2331 987-2906
Faculty of Business Administration and Economics Dr. Jens Wehrmann

Email: jens.wehrmann
Phone: +49 2331 987-2569
Faculty of Law Dr. Timo Zeiske

Email: timo.zeiske
Phone: +49 2331 987-4539

Graduate Services

The Graduate Service of the FernUniversität is on hand to help you with interdisciplinary questions about framework conditions, doctoral planning and financing.
To the Graduate Service

More information

  • Those who have been admitted to doctoral studies at the FernUniversität can apply to the Registrar’s Office as a doctoral candidate at any time (even outside the enrollment periods).

    Application for enrollment as a doctoral candidate

    Required Documentation

    The following documents must be submitted for enrollment:

    • Application for enrollment as a doctoral candidate
    • A copy of your degree certificate(s)
    • A copy of your letter of acceptance from the doctoral committee (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences/Business Administration and Economics/Psychology) or copy of your confirmation of supervision (Mathematics and Information Science/Law) from your supervising professor
    • Proof of name change, if applicable, if the name on your certificate differs from the name on your application (e.g. copy of marriage certificate)
    • Copy of your doctoral certificate if a doctoral degree is entered in the application
    • SEPA direct debit mandate, if applicable

  • Please note that enrollment is only for the first semester. During the duration of your doctorate, you must re-register each semester. You can complete the re-registration independently online via the Virtual Study Environment.

    More information

  • You must pay the course fees (EUR 11 per ECTS taken) for any courses/modules taken. In addition, a basic fee of EUR 60 is charged for courses or modules. Please note that you cannot register for courses online. Registration is only possible in writing via the Registrar’s Office.

    Usually, you will need to check with your supervising professor whether you need to complete certain courses/modules as part of your doctorate. You can also take courses/modules for your own personal further training.

    The student fee from the AStA is not charged for doctoral studies.

  • A doctorate is your gateway to an academic career. Stays abroad can be an important part of your own research at the FernUniversität. You can find out more about this on the following page:

    Stays Abroad: Information for Doctoral Students

 

FAQs

  • A doctorate consists of a scientific paper (dissertation), an oral examination (oral defense of the thesis) and the publication of the paper (publication). Your dissertation must be an innovative contribution to the respective scientific field, and must also be the product of your own independent research work. A doctorate requires a high degree of intrinsic motivation and interest in one’s own research question. Supervision of the dissertation by a professor or by a faculty-affiliated Privatdozent (senior lecturer) is obligatory. This means that you need to find a senior academic willing to supervise your research project.

  • The subject-specific requirements for a doctorate can be found in the doctoral degree regulations of the respective faculty. Contact the respective dean’s office if you have further questions (the following pages are in German):

  • The FernUniversität in Hagen does not offer a “distance doctorate” that is fundamentally different from a doctorate at an on-campus university. However, this does not mean that it is not possible to do a part-time doctorate at the FernUniversität in Hagen.

    In principle, a doctorate is piece of independent academic work and does not have to be carried out at a specific location. If you are employed as a research assistant, however, you will usually work on site in Hagen. If your work is connected to research projects or is financed through a scholarship, your location may well change over the course of your doctorate. External doctoral candidates who are involved in other professional activities are required to maintain a regular personal exchange with their doctoral supervisor and colleagues working on site in related fields.

  • An internal doctorate is linked to a professional activity (in the form of teaching and/or research) at a university, which is limited on a fixed contract in accordance with the Academic Short-term Contract Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz) (see also “How long does a doctorate take?”). A doctorate that is not linked to a position at the university is an external doctorate. Whether you are applying for a position at the university, which involves an internal doctorate, or as an external doctoral candidate, you must present yourself and your research question in a way that makes it interesting for a potential supervisor. A relevant research question and a great deal of initiative are required. In the case of external doctorates, the time required to complete the doctorate – this can be several years – must also be compatible with your life situation.

  • First of all, you should check whether you meet the formal requirements (see “Do I meet the formal requirements for a doctorate?”). In the case of an internal doctorate, your doctorate begins when you take up a position at the university. The qualification objective “doctorate” is set out in your employment contract. This serves as the justification for your temporary employment in accordance with the Academic Short-term Contract Act (WissZeitVG). During the application process, you will have previously demonstrated your abilities as a researcher and – if required – submitted an outline of your planned research project as part of your application.

    The path to an external doctorate demands a great deal of personal initiative and a relevant research topic. The first thing you should decide is which area you want to research in. As you will be working in this area for a long time, you will need to have a high level of enthusiasm for and interest in your subject. Then the search for a suitable supervisor begins. The faculty websites provide information on the subject clusters where research is being carried out. Only contact potential supervisors who have the prerequisite expertise for your research topic. Some websites will also provide information describing in which form the lecturers would like to be contacted with a supervision request.

  • The length of a doctorate varies greatly from subject to subject and person to person. There is no upper limit. According to a survey conducted by HIS in 2012, the average duration of a doctorate was 4.5 years, or up to 5 years depending on the subject area. An academic job with a fixed-term employment contract that is linked to the qualification is limited to a maximum of six years under the Academic Short-term Contract Act, but this does not mean that the duration of the doctorate is also limited.

Office for Communication and PR | 12.11.2024