Acceptance to Doctoral Studies

According to the Doctoral Degree Regulations for Mechanical Engineering (2017):
§ 4 Requirements for admission to doctoral studies

1. the prerequisite for admission to the doctorate is [...] that the applicant

• a Master's degree program
• a degree program at a university or university of teacher education with a standard period of study of at least four years or
• a degree program based on an undergraduate degree program at a university, university of teacher education or at another university with the right to award doctorates

in a subject of

• engineering sciences,
• natural sciences,
• computer science
• mathematics

has graduated with an above-average degree. A degree with an overall grade of "very good" (1.5) or better, a degree with an overall grade corresponding to ECTS grades A or B or in cases where the applicant can prove that he/she is in the top 35 percent of his/her year is considered above average.

Acceptance as a doctoral candidate requires that you have found a scientific supervisor at KIT.

The following steps build on each other:

• Conclusion of a doctoral agreement A current template of a doctoral agreement can always be found here via the KIT intranet: https://www.haa.kit.edu/downloads.php In the doctoral agreement, you will be asked to register with KHYS and apply for acceptance as a doctoral candidate at the faculty.

• Registration with KHYS (Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists) is required: Doctoral agreement for the registration(https://docata.khys.kit.edu/home) you need a ***∂kit.edu - or a ***∂partner.kit.edu email account. If you do not yet have such an account, your main supervisor at KIT, your institute or the faculty will help you.

• Application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate required: Doctoral agreement and registration with KHYS. in DOCATA

• (optional) Enrollment as a student required: Acceptance as a doctoral candidate. Enrollment is mandatory for doctoral candidates, exceptions exist for persons employed full-time at KIT. Information on this can be obtained from Student Services.
   

The application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate is made via DOCATA. Please keep your contact details up to date to ensure smooth communication.

The application documents must be printed out and submitted in the original to the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in the Dean's Office (Building 10.91, 1st floor, Dean's Office, Doctoral Office). After approx. 6 weeks you will be informed of the confirmation or rejection.

Attachments:

• Proof of the university degree entitling you to a doctorate (certified copy or original certificate and transcript) in accordance with § 4 PromO 2017
  For foreign degrees, we require the original or a certified copy of the university entrance qualification and all university degrees obtained. If the degree documents are not issued in German or English, we also require a certified translation into German or English.
  For KIT degrees only, we also accept uncertified copies of certificates and transcripts.

• Description of your professional and academic career (CV)

• Written declaration in accordance with Annex 5a

• Copy of the doctoral agreement according to § 10 PromO

  • Enclosure1 (topic proposal/exposé, time/work plan)

  • Annex 2 (qualification measures according to §7 of the doctoral agreement)

• the doctoral certificate, if the doctoral candidate has already been awarded a doctoral degree.

If the 5-year period of your acceptance as a doctoral candidate is not sufficient to complete the dissertation, you can submit a written, justified application for an extension in good time before the deadline expires. The application is submitted via DOCATA.

Is your supervisor continuing the supervision during the extension? Then the application must also be signed by the main supervisor. If the supervisor is no longer available, a new supervisor must first be found.

Acceptance as a doctoral candidate can be extended by the doctoral committee for a further year to the end of the semester.

Applications for extension can be submitted repeatedly.